Canadian inventions and discoveries are objects, processes, or techniques—invented, innovated, or discovered—that owe their existence either partially or entirely to a person born in Canada, a citizen of Canada, or a company or organization based in Canada. Some of these inventions were funded by
National Research Council Canada (NRCC), which has been an important factor in innovation and technological advancement. Often, things discovered for the first time are also called inventions and in many cases, there is no clear line between the two.
The following is a list of inventions, innovations or discoveries known or generally recognized to be Canadian.
Montreal melon – originally cultivated in the
Montreal area but lost due to
industrialization. The melon's seeds have recently been rediscovered and its cultivation revitalized.[9][10]
Trackball – first built for the
DATAR computer (although the concept was first mentioned in a similar project in the
United Kingdom).[22]
Communications
56k modem – invented by Dr. Brent Townshend in 1996[11]
735 kV power line – the international standard for long-distance electricity transmission, invented by
Jean-Jacques Archambault in Quebec, where the world's first 735,000-volt line was commissioned in 1965[11]
Parka – invented by the
Inuit in the Arctic to protect the wearer from the cold[32]
Plexiglas – made practical by William Chalmers' invention for creating
methyl methacrylate, while a graduate student at McGill University in 1931
Snow goggles – used by
Inuit to prevent
snow blindness in the
Arctic due to the glare from snow and ice and were made typically from ivory, bone or other materials[33]
Wonderbra Model 1300 (aka Dream Lift) – the modern plunged-style
push-up bra, designed by Louise Poirier in 1964. Though the term Wonder-Bra was coined by an American named Israel Pilot in 1935, the brand itself was popularized by Canadian
Moses Nadler, who licensed (and later won) the Wonderbra patent from Pilot. Nadler made his first Wonderbra in 1939 at his Montreal-based Canadian Lady Corset Company, and directed Poirier, his employee, to design the Model 1300 bra[18]
Contrabass bugle – first produced by the
Whaley Royce Company, it is the lowest-pitched brass instrument in the drum and bugle corps and marching band hornline[45]
Crokinole – a disk-flicking dexterity board game possibly invented by Eckhardt Wettlaufer who produced the first board in 1875[46]
Snocross – a racing sport involving racing specialized high performance snowmobiles[50]
Six String Nation – public art and history project conceived by
Jowi Taylor and centred around a
steel-string acoustic guitar built from a variety of artifacts collected by Taylor representing diverse cultures, communities, characters and events from every province and territory of Canada
Table hockey game – invented by Donald Munro (1930s)
Cymric cat – The Cymric is a muscular, compact, medium-to-large cat that weighs between 3.2 to 5.9 kg (7 to 13 lb), and Canada claims to have developed the long-haired variant
Canadian Arcott – a breed of domestic sheep native to Canada
Hare Indian Dog – an extinct domesticated canine; possibly a breed of domestic dog,
coydog, or domesticated
coyote; formerly found and originally bred in northern Canada by the
Sahtu (Hare Indians) for
coursing
Lac La Croix Indian Pony – also known as the Ojibwe pony (bebezhigooganzhii, mishdatim) is a semi-feral Canadian horse breed developed by the
Ojibwe
Landseer dog – canine breed, the Landseer was developed in Canada and in continental Europe, a black and white variant of the Newfoundland is acknowledged as a distinct breed
Nunavut Day – 9 July, originated as a paid holiday for
Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and regional
Inuit associations. It became a half-day holiday for government employees in 1999 and a full day in 2001. Most employers give the day off with the notable exceptions being the federal government and
the North West Company
Ramp Ceremonies – a popular military tradition that started in the 2000s when bringing the nations fallen soldiers home
^Rutherford, E.; Owens, R. B. (1899). "Thorium and uranium radiation". Trans. R. Soc. Can. 2: 9–12.: "The radiation from thorium oxide was not constant, but varied in a most capricious manner", whereas "All the compounds of Uranium give out a radiation which is remarkably constant."