Upper Canada College NOTABLE ALUMNI
Many private schools in Canada have numerous graduates who have gone on to great things. Learn about a school’s most influential, important, successful, and famous alumni.
List of Alumni
| Alumnus | Grad Year | Accomplishment |
|---|---|---|
| Robertson Davies | 1932 | One of Canada's most internationally celebrated novelist, playwright, journalist, and essayists |
| David Gilmour | 1968 | Journalist and Governor General's Award for English language fiction winning novelist |
| Stephen Leacock | 1882 | Celebrated writer, humourist and economist. The most widely read English-speaking author in the world between 1910 and 1925. |
| Peter C. Newman | 1947 | Peabody award-winning journalist and former editor of Macleans and the Toronto Star. Noted chronicler of the "Canadian Establishment" |
| Foster Hewitt | 1921 | Legendary broadcaster and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee |
| Galt MacDermot | 1942 | Grammy Award winning musician and co-author of the Broadway musical Hair |
| Geraint Wyn Davies | 1975 | Stage, film and television actor (Forever Knight) |
| Leonard Dick | 1982 | Emmy Award, Golden Globe, and Writers Guild Award winning producer and writer of Lost, House, The Good Wife and many other sitcoms |
| Michael Snow | 1948 | Internationally recognized modern artist, with public works featured prominently throughout Toronto. Exhibited around the world, including at MoMa. |
| Timothy Eaton | 1852 | Founder of the now-defunct Eaton's department store |
| William George Gooderham | 1867 | Owner of Gooderham Worts Distilleries and president of the Bank of Toronto |
| Tom Szaky | 2001 | Co-founder of TerraCycle, an innovative recycling company |
| Vivek Rao | 1986 | Youngest faculty member ever to join UofT's cardiac surgery division. Second youngest Chair of cardiac surgery ever in Toronto's University Health Network. Made Canada's Top 40 under 40. |
| Michael Ignatieff | 1965 | Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Noted Harvard historian and journalist. Gemini Award winner. Lionel Gelber Prize winner. Shortlisted for Booker Prize. |
| Harold Ballard | 1921 | Owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Maple Leaf Gardens. Hockey Hall of Fame inductee. |
| Colin Greening | 2005 | Current NHL hockey player for the Ottawa Senators |
| Conn Smythe | 1909 | Owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, founder of Maple Leaf Gardens, and coach of the 1928 Winter Olympics gold medal winning team. Namesake to the NHL's Conn Smythe Trophy |
| Stuart Lang | 1970 | Member of the Canadian Football League Edmonton Eskimos and winner of four Grey Cups |
| Stephen Clarkson | 1954 | Leading Canadian political scientist and Member of the Order of Canada. |
| George Grant | 1936 | Internationally renowned Canadian philosopher and theorist. Had a major influence on subsequent Canadian scholars and political culture. Considered one of Canada's most original thinkers. |
| Ted Rogers | 1951 | Visionary entrepreneur and Canada's ninth wealthiest man. Founder and Chairman of Rogers Communications. |
| Galen Weston | 1958 | Chairman of George Weston Limited and Canada's second wealthiest man. Grandson of George Weston and father of Galen Weston Jr., also UCC graduates |
| David Thomson | 1975 | Chairman of Thomson Reuters. Canada's wealthiest man, and sixth wealthiest in the world. Son of Kenneth Thomson, also a UCC graduate |
| Peter Dalglish | 1976 | Founder of Street Kids International and recipient of the Outstanding Young Persons of the World award |
| Harry Crerar | 1904 | Military General, and Canada's leading field commander during World War II |
| Michael Wilson | 1955 | Federal Minister of Finance and Canadian Ambassador to the US. Co-architect of NAFTA. Chairman of Barclays Capital Canada. Order of Canada recipient. Chancellor of UofT. |
| John Godfrey | 1961 | Federal Minister of State for infrastructure and communities. Editor of the Financial Post. Oxford graduate |
| Bill Graham | 1957 | Leader of the Opposition and Interim Liberal Party of Canada Leader. Foreign Affairs Minister, National Defense Minister |
| John Black Aird | 1941 | Founder of Aird & Berlis LLP and 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Ontario |
| Robert Prichard | 1967 | President of the University of Toronto, President and CEO of Torstar, Chairman of Bank of Montreal. Officer of the Order of Canada and Member of the Order of Ontario. |
| George Connell | 1947 | President of the University of Toronto, President of the University of Western Ontario. Officer of the Order of Canada. |
| Charles Watchter | 1993 | Emmy Award winning executive producer of "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" |
| Michael MacMillan | 1974 | Founder and executive chairman of Alliance Atlantis Communications. Academy Award winner. Member of the Order of Canada. |
| Jim Cuddy | 1974 | Juno award–winning musician Jim Cuddy is one of Canada’s best-loved singer/songwriters and a founding member of Blue Rodeo |
| Doug Bassett | 1958 | Founder of CFTO-TV. President of the CTV Television Network. Member of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. |
| Patrick Graham | 1984 | Journalist for Harper's, the New York Times Magazine, and television correspondent for CBC |
| John Stackhouse | 1981 | Editor-in-Chief of The Globe and Mail |
| Brian Stewart | 1958 | Award winning Senior Correspondent for the CBC's "The National" . Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs at UofT. Member of the Order of Ontario. |
| James Greig Arthur | 1962 | World's leading mathematician in representation theory and creator of the General Trace Formula |
| Timothy Endicott | 1979 | Dean of Law at Oxford University. Legal scholar and philosopher. |
| Mark Cohon | 1985 | Commissioner of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Director of corporate and game development for MLB. VP of business development for the NBA. Chair of the Ontario Science Centre. |
| Barney Williams | 1996 | Silver medal winning Olympic rower (Athens 2004) and Oxford University graduate |
| Michael Evans | 1984 | Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia. Gold medal-winning Olympic rower (Los Angeles 1984). |
| Tom Wright | 1971 | Commissioner of the Canadian Football League (CFL). President of Adidas Canada. Director of Operations for UFC Canada |
| Sir Henry Pellat | 1876 | Financier, Major General, and builder of Toronto's Casa Loma |
| Hal Jackman | 1950 | Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, philanthropist, and financier. Chancellor of the University of Toronto, chairman of National Trust Company and The Empire Life Insurance Company. Member of the Order of Canada. |
| Gordon Cheesbrough | 1971 | Prominent Canadian investment banker. Chairman and CEO of Scotia Capital Markets. Co-founder of Blair Franklin Capital Partners |
| Ernest McCulloch | 1943 | Pioneering biologist and the co-discoverer of the existence of stem cells. Lasker award winner, member of the Orders of Canada and Ontario, and Canadian Medical Hall of Fame inductee |
| Alexander Roberts Dunn | 1844 | First Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross, the highest honour recognizing gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded in the British Commonwealth |
| John Robert Cartwright | 1912 | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada |
| Andrew Heintzman | 1986 | Noted author and venture capitalist. President of Investico Capital, an environmental investment company. Co-founder of Shift magazine and editorial board member for The Walrus. |
| David R. Beatty | 1961 | Noted international businessman and diplomat with extensive board experience, serving on 29 boards (and Chairing 5). Honorary Consul General for Papua New Guinea. University of Toronto professor |
| Brendan Fraser | 1987 | Hollywood actor |
| Nicholas Campbell | 1970 | Canadian film and television star. Two-time Gemini winner |
| John Fraser | 1963 | Editor of Saturday Night Magazine and master of Massey College. Member of the Order of Canada. Chaired the Canadian Journalism Foundation until 2008. Multiple award winner for journalism. Published worldwide. |
| Jeffrey Kofman | 1978 | Peabody Award winning ABC news correspondent, reporting for World News with Diane Sawyer, Nightline, and Good Morning America. Toured Iraq and Afghanistan as an embedded reporter. Two-time Emmy winner |
| John William Bosley | 1964 | Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons |
| Conrad Black | 1959 | Notorious newspaper magnate and accomplished historian. At one point controlled the third-largest media empire in the word as Chairman and controlling shareholder of Hollinger International. (Did not graduate). |
| Greg P. Meredith | 1976 | Chairman and CEO of HSBC Bank USA. Professional NHL hockey player (Calgary Flames) |
| Andy Chisholm | 1977 | Chief Strategy Officer for Goldman Sachs (Global) |
| Blake Hutcheson | 1980 | Canadian real estate icon: has been called the Warren Buffet of Canadian real estate. President and CEO of Oxford Properties Group. |
| James Cockburn | 1833 | Father of Confederation and first Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons |
| Alan Macnaughton | 1921 | Speaker the Canadian House of Commons. Canadian Senator |
| Michael Cassidy | 1954 | Leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party. Federal Member of Parliament |
| Matthew Cartwright | 1979 | Current US Democratic Congressman. Assigned to Committee on Natural Resources and Committee on Oversight and Government Reform |
| Norm Kelly | 1959 | Federal Member of Parliament and Toronto's Deputy Mayor (and unofficial acting mayor). Governor General's Award winner for historical writing. Also taught history at Upper Canada College |
| Andrew Hutchison | 1956 | Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada (Archbishop) |
| Rocco Rossi | 1981 | President and CEO of Prostate Cancer Canada. CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. National Director of the Liberal Party of Canada. Princeton graduate |
| James George | 1936 | Ambassador and environmental activist. Rhodes Scholar. Served as Canada's ambassador to Iran and the Gulf States |
| Jameel Jaffer | 1990 | Deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union. Litigated Freedom of Information Act request on U.S. torture of prisoners. Served as law clerk to the Supreme Court of Canada. |
| John Graham | 1952 | CIA spy on Cuba after the missile-crisis. Canadian ambassador and diplomat |
| Daniel Lang | 1938 | Canadian Liberal Senator |
| Modris Eksteins | 1961 | Renowned and award-winning historian of Germany. Rhodes Scholar. |
| Terry Grier | 1954 | President of Ryerson University. Transformed Ryerson from a college to a university. NDP Member of Parliament |
| Allan Lamport | 1923 | Mayor of Toronto, member of the Order of Canada |
| Alan Tonks | 1959 | Mayor of Toronto and Liberal MP |
| John Thomson | 1961 | Chairman of Toronto-Dominion Bank Financial Corporation. Vice Chairman of IBM. 20th Chancellor of The University of Western Ontario. |
| Galen Weston, Jr. | 1992 | Executive Chairman and President of Loblaws Companies Limited |
| Shafiq Qaadri | 1983 | Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament for Etobicoke North. Medical doctor and popular writer on Andropause. |
| Avi Lewis | 1986 | Award winning journalist and documentary filmmaker. Host of CBC's "On the Map" and Al Jazeera's "Fault Lines". |
| Ben Dunkelman | 1931 | Israeli war hero and commander of the 7th Brigade, one of Israel's most celebrated armored brigades. Also known as Benjamin Ben-David. |
| Brian Conacher | 1959 | All-Star NHL hockey player. Was on the 1967 Stanley Cup winning Leafs team. Olympian. |
| John Ridpath | 1955 | Award-winning professor, historian, and philosopher. Was a noted proponent of Objectivism, serving on the board of directors of the Ayn Rand Institute. |
| John Julius Cooper | 1947 | British historian, travel writer and television personality. Member of the British House of Lords. |
| Edward Blake | 1851 | 2nd Premier of Ontario. Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. Founder of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (law firm). |
| Tom Clark | 1971 | Host of CTV's "Power Play". Chief political correspondent for Global News. Host of Global's "The West Block". Substitute anchor for CTV's National News. |
| Oliver Aiken Howland | 1865 | 31st Mayor of Toronto. Member of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. |
| George Stewart Henry | 1889 | 10th Premier of Ontario |
| Sir Arthur Edward Grasett | 1906 | Canadian born Lieutenant-General in the British Army. Field Commander during WWII. Military Cross; Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire; Companion of the Order of the Bath. |
| Thomas Symons | 1947 | Founding president and chancellor of Trent University. Chairman of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Companion of the Order of Canada. Order of Ontario. Governor General's Award for Canadian Studies |
| John Strathearn Hendrie | 1875 | 11th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. |
| Andrew Saxton | 1982 | Conservative Member of the Canadian Parliament for North Vancouver |
| Walter L. Gordon | 1924 | Canada's Minister of Finance. President of the Privy Council. Chancellor of York University. Companion of the Order of Canada. Commander of the Order of the British Empire. |
| Bruce Matthews | 1927 | Commander of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division during the Second World War. Major General. President of Argus Corporation. President of the LIberal Party of Canada. |
| Alexander Gordon McKay | 1942 | Award-winning Canadian academic and scholar of Virgil. Officer of the Order of Canada. President of the Royal Society of Canada. |
| Arnold Cantwell Smith | 1933 | Canadian diplomat and the first Commonwealth Secretary-General. Rhodes Scholar. Officer of the Order of Canada. |
| Joseph Tyrrell | 1876 | Discoverer of dinosaur bones in Alberta. Canadian geologist, cartographer, and mining consultant. |
| William Johnston Tupper | 1880 | 12th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. |
| William Morley Kilbourn | 1944 | Author, historian, and noted chronicler of Toronto. City councillor. Harvard Professor. Member of the Order of Canada. Founder of many philanthropic organizations and boards. |
| Jeff Dennis | 1976 | Noted serial entrepreneur, best-selling author ("Lessons from the Edge"), public speaker, and public company director. |
| Sir Charles Kingsmill | 1873 | Admiral. Considered the father of the Royal Canadian Navy. |
| Humphrey Hume Wrong | 1912 | Canadian ambassador to the United States. Key architect of the North Atlantic Treaty, (later giving rise to NATO). Professor of history at University of Toronto. |
| Lewis Wallbridge | 1834 | Chief Justice of Manitoba. |
| Eugène-Étienne Taché | 1854 | Noted architect and engineer. Designer of the Quebec Parliament Building. Designed Quebec's coat of arms and motto, "Je me souviens". |
What Upper Canada College says about their alumni network:
- For an overview of notable alumni please visit: https://www.ucc.on.ca/welcome/our-history/notable-old-boys
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