science

List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries

List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries rather than just read about it. In short: 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.

Key takeaways

List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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.

Inventions and improvements Notable Canadian inventions and improvements to existing technologies include:

Agriculture, food and beverage

Ambrosia apple – first cultivated in British Columbia during the early 1990s. B.C. roll – a type of sushi invented in Vancouver in 1974 by chef Hidekazu Tojo. Beaver tails and touton – fried dough pastry that is sold in a variety of flavours. Butter tart – a filling of butter, sugar, syrup, and egg, baked in a pastry shell. Caesar (cocktail) – invented by Walter Chell in Calgary in 1969. California roll – a sushi roll with the seaweed wrapped on the inside of the rice, said to be created by the Japanese-Canadian chef living in Vancouver, Hidekazu Tojo, in 1974, although there are competing claims. Canada Dry Ginger Ale – a dry ginger ale invented by John J. McLaughlin in 1904 under the name of "Pale Ginger Ale", before it was patented in 1907 under "Canada Dry Ginger Ale". Canola Oil – developed from natural rapeseed (a plant from the turnip family) by National Research Council Canada (NRCC) personnel in the 1970s, containing a low-erucic acid content. Cheezies – a brand of cheese puff snack food made and sold in Canada by W. T. Hawkins Ltd. Cipaille – a Quebec adaptation of sea-pie without seafood. Coffee Crisp – a chocolate bar invented by British company Rowntree in Canada. Crispy Crunch – created by Harold Oswin in 1930. Donair – a regional variation of the doner kebab, using beef instead of lamb. Invented in Halifax, Nova Scotia around 1970 by Peter Gamoulakos. Fricot – a traditional stew consisting of clams, chicken and other meats. Garlic fingers – an Atlantic Canadian dish, similar to a pizza in shape and size and made with the same type of dough. Ginger beef – is a Canadian Chinese dish made from beef, ginger, and a distinctive sweet sauce. Hawaiian pizza – invented by the Greek-Canadian cook and businessman Sam Panopoulos, in 1962. Instant mashed potatoes (dehydrated potato flakes) – invented by Edward Asselbergs in 1962. Jubilee apple – developed by Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in British Columbia. London Fog – a hot tea-based drink that consists of Earl Grey tea, steamed milk, and vanilla syrup. Maple taffy – a sugar candy made by boiling maple sap. Marquis wheat – invented by Charles E. Saunders in 1908 and tested at the Agassiz experimental farm in British Columbia. (c. 1900), developed from Red Fife wheat. McIntosh apple – developed by John McIntosh in Upper Canada in 1811 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. Nanaimo bar – a dessert bar that requires no baking, invented in Nanaimo around 1953. Pablum – infant cereal, invented by Frederick Tisdall, Theodore Drake, and Allan Brown in 1930. Peanut butter – Canadian chemist Marcellus Gilmore Edson patented a way to make "peanut paste", also known as peanut butter in 1884. Pizza Pops – a calzone-type snack produced by Pillsbury. Poutine – created in the Centre-du-Québec region in the 1950s. Ragoût de boulettes (Meatball Stew) – traditional Canadian comfort food from Quebec. Ragoût de Pattes de Cochon (Stewed Pig's Feet) – French-Canadian stew with leg or feet, originating in Quebec. Red Fife wheat – a Canadian landrace descendant of Western Ukrainian (Galicia) wheat, first grown by David Fife in Upper Canada in 1842. Spartan apple – an apple similar to the McIntosh introduced to Summerland, British Columbia in 1936, developed by R. C. Palmer. Tourtière – a French Canadian meat pie common during holidays, invented in the early 1600's, with the first recipe in 1840. Yukon Gold potato – invented by Gary Johnston in 1966.

Computing, film, and animation

Archie (search engine) – the first internet search engine, invented by Alan Emtage at McGill University around 1988. Film colorization – invented by Wilson Markle in 1983. Four Line Conics – An experimental mathematics film directed by Trevor Fletcher, produced by the National Film Board of Canada in 1961 IMAX movie system – co-invented by Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor, and Robert Kerr in 1968, following the creation of what is now the IMAX Corporation. Java programming language – invented by James Gosling in 1994. Key frame animation – co-invented by Nestor Burtnyk and Marcelli Wein at the NRC in the 1970s. Multi-dynamic image technique – invented by Christopher Chapman in 1967. Trackball – first built for the DATAR computer (although the concept was first mentioned in a similar project in the United Kingdom).

Communications

56k modem – invented by Dr. Brent Townshend in 1996 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 AM broadcasting – invented by Reginald Fessenden in 1906 Amplitude modulation – invented by Reginald Fessenden in 1906 BlackBerry device – its development was led by Mike Lazaridis, who founded BlackBerry Limited Cesium Beam atomic clock – developed by National Research Council personnel in the 1960s Computerized braille – invented by Roland Galarneau in 1972 Creed teleprinter system – invented by Frederick G. Creed in 1900 Fathometer – an early form of sonar invented by Reginald Fessenden in 1919 Gramophone – co-invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1889

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries

In research: List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Canada history-related lists, Canadian inventions, Lists of inventions or discoveries, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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Frequently asked questions

What is List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries in simple terms?

Why does List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries.