List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries

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

Computing, film, and animation

IMAX format

Communications

Three Blackberry phones
Fessenden barretter
Rotary snowplow

Defence

CADPAT digital camouflage pattern
  • ASDIC – invented by Robert William Boyle in 1916
  • Canadian pipe mine – a land mine used in Britain in World War II
  • Beartrap (hauldown device) – invented for the Royal Canadian Navy in the early 1960s to assist helicopter landings onboard ships
  • CADPAT – the first digital camouflage system, which was then used for the United States MARPAT (1996)
  • G-suit (or anti-gravity suit) – a suit for high-altitude jet pilots invented by Wilbur R. Franks in 1941[26]
  • Defendo – a Canadian martial art
  • Gunstock war club – an indigenous weapon used by many First Nations in Canada
  • Gas mask – the first widely used military gas mask was introduced by Cluny Macpherson in 1915
  • Sonar – invented by Reginald Fessenden
  • Stealth snowmobile – in 2011 the Canadian Armed Forces announced the development by Canadian-based company CrossChasm Technologies[27][28]
  • Tomahawk – traditional Canadian war instrument created by the Algonquian peoples

Domestic life and fashion

  • Alkaline battery – invented by Lewis Urry in 1954
  • Amauti – an Inuit woman's parka from Canada's eastern Arctic used to carry (pack) children[29]
  • Bi-pin connector – invented by Reginald Fessenden in 1893
  • Bottle return programs — programs where alcoholic bottles are returned from consumers in exchange for money
  • Capote – worn by the inhabitants of New France to protect from the harsh winters
  • Ceinture fléchée – one of many pieces of Canadian clothing listed
Inuit woman wearing an amauti

Science and medicine

Calcium carbide

Sport, music, and entertainment

Swimming polar bear carved from walrus ivory, Middle Dorset culture, Iglulik region
Table hockey

Tools and manufacturing

Collerette ladder
  • Automatic Lubricating CupElijah McCoy invented an automatic lubricator for oiling the steam engines of locomotives and ships in 1872
  • Caulking gun – invented by Theodore Witte in 1894[23]
  • Collerette ladder for firefighting – invented by Montreal firefighter Rodrigue Colleret and demonstrated in London in 1896[53]
  • Kakivak – a leister used by Inuit for spear fishing and fishing at short range
  • A process for distilling kerosene was invented by Abraham Pineo Gesner and made the fuel popular[7]
  • Paint roller – invented by Norman James Breakey of Toronto in 1940[7][18]
  • Robertson screw – invented by Peter L. Robertson in 1908
  • Rotary vane pump – invented by Charles Barnes and patented in 1874
  • Toggling harpoon – an Inuit tool used by Inuit while whale or seal hunting to impale the animal when thrown
  • Ulu – an all-purpose knife traditionally used by Inuit women

Transportation and mobility

Canadarm (right) during Space Shuttle mission
Bell hydrofoil

Animal breeds

A Canadienne heifer
  • Canadian Eskimo Dog – is a working breed of dog native to the Arctic
  • Canadienne cattle – the only breed of dairy cattle developed in Canada
  • 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
  • Newfoundland dog – an unnamed Newfoundland is famous for saving Napoleon Bonaparte from drowning
  • Canadian horse – a breed of horse that is powerful, well-muscled, and typically dark in colour
  • Chantecler chicken – a breed of chicken originating at Abbey of Notre-Dame du Lac, Oka, Quebec
  • 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 mare
  • 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
  • Lacombe pig – breed of swine from Alberta
  • Labrador Retriever – breed of dog developed in the United Kingdom from St. John's water dogs imported from the colony of Newfoundland[62]
  • Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever – a hunting-focused medium-sized gundog breed
  • Newfoundland sheep – a breed of sheep native to Newfoundland
  • Red Shaver – a sex-related breed of chicken called the Red Shaver was created in Canada
  • Speckle Park – a modern Canadian breed of beef cattle
  • Sphynx cat – cats of the Canadian Sphynx breed are distinguished by their lack of fur
  • St. John's water dog – an extinct landrace of domestic dog from Newfoundland
  • Tahltan Bear Dog – a breed of dog that came to Canada in early migrations and acclimatised to the environment
  • Tonkinese cat – Tonkinese cats are intelligent, loud, lively, and typically people-oriented

Holidays and events

See also

  • Technological and industrial history of 20th-century Canada

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