By External Source
Canada’s Walk of Fame celebrated its 20th-anniversary last weekend as nine influential Canadians were inducted for excellence in their respective fields, including sports, music, science, business and entrepreneurship, and the arts. From the red-carpet moving moments on stage, Canadians across the country can watch and share in the celebration and unified national pride, when CTV airs its etalk special tonight (7 p.m. ET/PT) and The 2018 Canada’s Walk of Fame Awards on Sunday, Dec. 9 (9 p.m. ET/PT) and streaming on ctv.ca.
Red Carpet and Pre-Show Highlights:
The evening began as past and new inductees walked the Red Carpet, making their way into the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto for the 2018 Canada's Walk of Fame Awards. This year’s inductees comprised: Col. Chris Hadfield, Andrea Martin, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Jimmy Pattison, Andy Kim, Lorca Cohen for Leonard Cohen, and Allan Slaight Honour Recipient Jessie Reyez. Notable Canadians who attended the evening’s celebration included:
Principal dancers from the National Ballet of Canada
Players from Team Canada ‘72
Music royalty: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of RUSH, Randy Bachman, and Sarah McLachlan
And notable dignitaries including Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Former Governor General David Johnston, Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell (Ontario), Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell (Alberta) and Toronto Mayor John Tory
Awards Show Highlights:
Paul Anka surprises inductee Jimmy Pattison with a performance and new rendition of “My Way” with special guest singer, Warren Buffett
Tessa and Scott’s tribute video chronicling their 20-year-journey together from skating practices as kids to their 2018 Winter Olympic Gold moment in PyeongChang
Catherine O’Hara and Andrea Martin brought laughter and tears in their segment
MLSE Community Hero Stella Bowles received her honour from legendary figure skater Kurt Browning
advertisementBarenaked Ladies perform a new song written specifically for Col. Chris Hadfield after Dr. Roberta Bondar spoke about the unique cosmic bond they share
Russell Peters introduces Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and they give their hilarious acceptance speech highlighting ‘Canadianisms’
Jessie Reyez brought the audience to tears with her passionate words about gratitude, family and love of Canada
Marie-Mai, Sarah McLachlan, Whitehorse and The Tenors pay tribute to Leonard Cohen’s greatest hits
Maestro Fresh-Wes, Divine Brown and Jully Black brought the house down with Andy Kim joining in to sing versions of “Rock Me Gently” and “Sugar, Sugar”
CTV is the broadcast partner of Canada’s Walk of Fame. John Brunton, Lindsay Cox, Jeffrey Latimer and Randy Lennox are Executive Producers of the Awards.
Canada’s Walk of Fame 20th Anniversary Gala (Not on Broadcast) Highlights:
The magic didn’t end there! Following the Awards Show, Inductees, political figures and special guests attended the 20th Anniversary Gala at the Fairmont Royal York.
Special moments included:
Kurt Browning as Master of Ceremonies – he was humorous and fabulous as he introduced the show
Logan Staats in full Indigenous dress did the anthem in Cree and English with a drum – a magnificent way to launch the night
advertisementSean Jones (and the 8-piece band on the balcony) did a tribute to three of the greatest songs from Canadian artists. This included a standing ovation from Sarah McLachlan for the new soul version of “Angel” with The Faith Chorale Choir.
All of the Inductees and guests from Warren Buffett to Geddy Lee took photos with all of our proud Canadian supporters in the room
Powerful In Memoriam segment for all past Inductees with Juno-winner Justin Rutledge performing The Tragically Hip’s Fiddler’s Green
Jeffrey Latimer’s speech inspired the audience to talk about the WALK more than the FAME and tell us why Canada’s Walk of Fame is a great cause
advertisementTeam Canada gave named jerseys to all of the Inductees and then they all got on stage to do a photo of TEAM CANADA 2018
Russell Peters was the DJ for the after party in the lobby where Maestro Fresh-Wes and Andy Kim joined and hundreds danced into the wee hours
All So Proud To Be Canadian.
