#1Science & Medicine
Roberta Bondar
born 1945Canadian astronaut
43 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Athletes stand out among the 134 famous people born in Sault Ste. Marie
Articles in 43 languages make the Canadian astronaut Roberta Bondar the best known. 41 of them were born between 1946 and 1969, more than in any other period. From Thomas McKay to Keara Graves, the births on the list run from 1797 to 1999. For every 10,000 residents the town has 16.5, while at least half the towns in Ontario list nobody born there.
Born here
134
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Roberta Bondar
43 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1797
Thomas McKay
Youngest
1999
Keara Graves
Most common field
Sports
80 people
What stands out about Sault Ste. Marie’s famous people
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Sault Ste. Marie’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1980s come out on top, with 20 births.
SportsPolitics & LawWriting & ArtsFilm, TV & StageMusicMilitaryBusinessScience & MedicineNotable
One dot per person, piled up by decade of birth.
The best known
Born in Sault Ste. Marie
#1
#2Sports
Phil Esposito
born 1942Canadian ice hockey player
27 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
MT#3
Sports
Marty Turco
born 1975Canadian ice hockey player
20 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Known for
What Sault Ste. Marie is known for
The field furthest above the usual share is athletes, at 1.6 times.
For comparison, the usual town: how the people listed across Canadian towns split by field. Tap a field to list its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Sault Ste. Marie
131 more, best known first.
Christopher D. Lewis
born 1953NotableWikipedia ↗
Joseph Mannzotti
1923–1976SportsWikipedia (French) ↗
No one matches both filters.
Questions about famous people from Sault Ste. Marie
Who is the most famous person from Sault Ste. Marie?
Roberta Bondar (Canadian astronaut) comes first, by the number of Wikipedia languages that cover them. Next come Phil Esposito and Marty Turco.
How many famous people were born in Sault Ste. Marie?
Of the 173 Wikidata puts here, the rest have no English or French article that confirms it.
What is Sault Ste. Marie known for?
60% here, set against 38% for Canadian towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Sault Ste. Marie?
Thomas McKay (1797). At the other end, the youngest was born in 1999.
Who counts as from Sault Ste. Marie?
Wikidata has to place the birth inside Sault Ste. Marie’s municipal boundary (Statistics Canada’s 2021 census subdivision), counting its hospitals and districts, and an English or French Wikipedia article has to say the same. Adult performers, people known mostly for crimes and anyone who only lived here stay off the list.
Why is someone missing?
Often Wikidata names only Canada or a province as the birthplace, or a rural area, a hamlet or another town; sometimes the Wikipedia article names somewhere else, or nowhere. A person appears here once both agree, so a correction on either site reaches this page at the next refresh.
Birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations and the count of Wikipedia and sister-site articles come from Wikidata (CC0). Each birthplace is checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article, or the French one where English says nothing or has no article; the articles are linked, never quoted. Wikidata’s Statistics Canada code, the place’s name or its point inside the 2021 census outline puts a birth in a town, and a birth given only as a split city stays on that city’s page. Fields are read from the description and occupations, and the list runs by number of articles. “The usual town” is everyone listed across Canadian towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (51)
- Roberta Bondar: JSC/NASA, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Phil Esposito: Алексей Дружинин / Alexei Druzhinin, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tony Esposito: Chicago Blackhawks / NHL, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Brad Jacobs: Krazytea, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ron Francis: akulawolf, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Colin Miller: Lisa Gansky from New York, NY, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Paul Maurice: Arc1294, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ryan Harnden: Allthegoldmedals, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- A. M. Rosenthal: Photographer - Arthur Studios, Inc., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Thorburn: Michael Miller, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- E. J. Harnden: TracyFleuryFan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chico Maki: Ralrton-Purina Company, maker of Chex cereals, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Matt D'Agostini: Michael Miller, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Marty Pavelich: TGC-Topps Gum Cards, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tyler Kennedy: Michael Miller, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Brian Finley: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jonathan Wilkinson: U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Canada, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Art Duncan: Stuart Thomson, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Drew Fata: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael Amadio: Pens Through My Lens, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cole Jarrett: Alex Micheu Photography from VILLACH, Austria, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Graham Annable: Joshin Yamada, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kyle Dubas: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Oliphant: US Consulate Toronto, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Blake Speers: Jfvoll, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Carla Collins: Canadian Film Centre from Toronto, Canada, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Borrelli: Matteo Brama, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Greg Amadio: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Greig Nori: Tabercil, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jeremy Rebek: Ex13, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Alvin Fisher: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Eric Wild: Wildoxford, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Gerald Munro: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mike Buchanan: Unidentified (Ensian published by University of Michigan), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mike Zuke: St Louis Blues / NHL, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Terra Findlay: David W. Carmichael, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Brendan Yarema: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cy Gray: HUNT LESLIE (FLIGHT LIEUTENANT), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Gene Ubriaco: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- H. Stuart Knight: Abbie Rowe, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Sidney Hamilton: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Kalle Mattson: Floris Looijesteijn, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kerry Diotte: Dave Cournoyer, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Paula Fletcher: Ravipjoshi, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Brian Vallée: University of Algoma Archives, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jay Aymar: Krorz, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kevin Closs: Jim Patterson, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pat King: The Unknown Videographer, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Karl Morin-Strom: Legislative Assembly of Ontario, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Patrick Dovigi: Chrisn45, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rocky Dipietro: photographed by Mike F. Campbell / 76wins at en.wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).