Meet the Canadians on Time's list of 100 most influential people this year
Every year, Time Magazine releases its list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
The list, first published in 1999, features figures who have significantly contributed to their fields, ranging from politics and science to entertainment and business.
This year’s Time 100 featured comedy genius and bend-and-snap icon Jennifer Coolidge, musical pioneer Doja Cat, and current First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska.
Previous years have seen many influential Canadians grace the Time 100, including Simu Liu, known for portraying Shang-Chi in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, headlining the 2022 list. Other famous Canadians on prior Time 100 lists include Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Toronto-born singer Shawn Mendes.
Here are the Canadians on this year’s list:
Nathan Fielder
Instagram/@nathanfielder
Nathan Fielder is a Canadian through and through. He grew up in Vancouver and attended Point Grey Secondary School, where he was a member of an improv comedy group with fellow comedy legend Seth Rogen.
He was nominated by co-star Emma Stone, who has previously been a part of Time’s 100 list. Fielder and Stone are currently working together on an upcoming comedy series called The Curse.
Stone told Time that Fielder is “a truly amazing actor.”
“He could burst into tears or a fit of rage out of nowhere, and it was stunning because it all felt so honest,” she said, adding that Fielder “finds society fascinating” and is more of an observer of human behaviour than a comedian.
Fielder is perhaps best known for co-creating and starring in Nathan for You on Comedy Central. He also wrote, directed and starred in the critically-acclaimed docu-comedy series The Rehearsal.
Many were pleased to see Fielder and his relatable weirdness on the influential list.
nathan fielder time 100 sounds so right feels so right pic.twitter.com/ETyS4IGM2B
— ratro (@nathanfieldussy) April 13, 2023
My new career goal is to be as weird as Nathan Fielder and still end up on The Time 100 Most Influential People list, that man is a hero for goofballs everywhere pic.twitter.com/pVdme4OIUX
— Jason Levin (@iamjasonlevin) April 13, 2023
Elon Musk
Shutterstock/Kathy Hutchins
Elon Musk left home in South Africa at 17 to work on his cousin’s farm in Waldeck, Saskatchewan. He became a Canadian citizen there, as his mother was born in Canada.
A year later, Musk started his studies at Queen’s University in Ontario before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania.
Journalist and podcast host Kara Swisher wrote Musk’s Time 100 article. She says she first met Musk in 1999, while he was working on his Silicon Valley start-up X.com.
According to Swisher, Musk “soon distinguished himself using his boundless imagination and relentless drive that has landed rockets on platforms in the ocean, pioneered the electric-vehicle revolution, and changed how we think about energy in many forms.”
However, Swisher no longer feels so positively about Musk’s career. She says his escapades at Twitter have transformed him into “the world’s richest online troll.” She also added that “under Musk’s erratic rule, Twitter has become a nonstop grievance tantrum we must all endure.”
While Swisher is not alone in her soured feelings toward Musk, the scale of his global influence is undeniable. Twitter praised Swisher for her scathingly accurate review of Musk for Time 100.
An accurate, brief summary of what most responsible and well informed, business people and government leaders actually think about Elon Musk, whether they choose to say it out loud or not.
— Andrew Wastak (@AndyWChicago) April 13, 2023
Elon Musk Is on the 2023 TIME 100 List, and Kara Swisher’s assessment is fire. https://t.co/7wH4FAflN2
— michael mazenko (@mmazenko) April 18, 2023
How do you feel about Fielder and Musk being part of this year’s list? Is there another Canadian who should’ve made the cut? Let us know in the comments.
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