Famous Canadian Explorers

David Thompson was a British-Canadian explorer, fur trader, and surveyor. He was known to some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer". He traveled over 90,000 kilometers (56,000 mi) across North America over the course of his career and established a successful fur trade. He was married to a Metis woman and had numerous children. 

Aloha Wanderwell was a Canadian-American explorer, aviator, author, and filmmaker. In 1927, she became the first woman to travel around the world in a Ford 1918 Model T, at the age of 21. When she was 16, she undertook a journey, in which she traveled across 80 countries. Wanderwell is also remembered for making films like My Hawaii. 

Louis Joliet was a French-Canadian explorer who lived during the 17th century. He is known for making several discoveries in North America. Along with Jesuit Father Jacques Marquette, a Catholic priest and missionary, he became one of the first non-Natives to map the Upper Mississippi River. He disappeared during an expedition to Anticosti Island in 1700. 

Vilhjalmur Stefansson was a Canadian-born Arctic explorer. He studied anthropology at Harvard University and set off on extensive travels. He did archaeological research in Iceland and went on an Anglo-American Polar Expedition with Ejnar Mikkelsen and Ernest de Koven Leffingwell. He organized and directed a major Canadian Arctic Expedition in the 1910s. He had an affair with novelist Fannie Hurst. 

Pierre-Esprit Radisson was a French fur trader and explorer who undertook many adventures with his brother-in-law Médard des Groseilliers. As a young man, he was captured and tortured by the Iroquois though he later managed to escape. He eventually became a successful fur trader and also embarked on several missionary expeditions. The town of Radisson, Quebec is named after him. 

Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye was a French Canadian military officer and fur trader. Along with his four sons, he explored the area west of Lake Superior and established trading posts there. The family also helped in the process of adding Western Canada to the original New France territory.  He was awarded the Order of Saint Louis. 

Alexander Henry The Elder was a fur trader and a partner in the North West Company. He was also a founding member and vice-chairman of the Beaver Club. He took an apprenticeship in business as a young man and ventured into the fur trade. He traveled extensively between different continents and pioneered the British-Canadian fur trade. 

Henry Youle Hind was a Canadian geologist who was also a noted explorer. Born in England, he moved to Canada and settled there. He led numerous expeditions to explore the Canadian prairies in 1857 and 1858 and helped open up the Canadian Prairies for agriculture settlement. He was named a National Historic Person in 2018. 

Kathleen Conlan is an Antarctic marine biologist who was named one of Canada's greatest explorers by Canadian Geographic. She has a Ph.D. from Carleton University. She was invited by pioneer Antarctic marine biologist Dr. John Oliver to join his Antarctic research team. She received an Antarctica Service Medal and the Science in Society Children's Book Award for her works.