We’re inviting all UBC alumni to vote to help choose UBC’s most famous alum.
We've made it to the quarterfinals and the final eight alumni represent an extraordinary range of achievement. We encourage you to learn more about these accomplished individuals and show your support by voting.
Voting for this round is now closed, and the results are below.
Results
Nardwuar - 43.53%
Canadian media personality and musician Nardwuar the Human Serviette (BA’90) has forged a distinctive approach to interviewing through his boundless enthusiasm and extraordinary research. After forming the rock band The Evaporators and beginning his broadcasting career at UBC’s CiTR radio station in the 1980s, he has interviewed artists, actors, and politicians as varied as Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga, Nirvana, Timothée Chalamet, and Prime Minister Mark Carney. Surprising guests with astonishingly detailed questions and thoughtful gifts, he has brought humour, eccentricity, and curiosity to conversations with some of the world's best-known public figures—and is known for concluding interviews with his trademark sign-off, “Doot doola doot doo…doot doo.”
Pierre Berton - 56.47% - Advances
A household name in Canada, Pierre Berton (BA'41, LittD'85) was an author, journalist, and broadcaster who popularized the nation’s history across generations of readers and viewers. From UBC's The Ubyssey, he went on to become a writer and editor for the Toronto Star and Maclean's. His prolific work spanned newspaper and magazine articles, bestselling books, and numerous CBC TV programs, including 39 years as a panelist on Front Page Challenge. Many of his more than 50 books, including Klondike and The National Dream, are considered Canadian classics. Among numerous honours, he received three Governor General's Awards and was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Suzanne Simard - 42.06%
Scientist, author, and UBC professor Suzanne Simard (BSF'83) transformed understanding of forest ecosystems through her pivotal research on plant communication and intelligence. Her findings on how trees connect and interact through underground fungal networks have influenced conservation science and environmental education worldwide. In 2015, she launched the Mother Tree Project to identify management practices supporting climate-resilient forests. Her bestselling books Finding the Mother Tree and When the Forest Breathes, along with TED Talks with more than 10 million views, have reached international audiences and even influenced James Cameron’s Avatar. In addition to publishing more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, she has made her ideas accessible through interviews, presentations, and documentaries.
Gabor Maté - 57.94% - Advances
Physician, author, and speaker Gabor Maté (BA'68, MD’74) is one of the world’s leading experts on addiction, trauma, and mental health. His bestselling books, including In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts and When the Body Says No, have been published internationally in more than 40 languages. Over the past three decades, his work has explored the links between childhood experiences, emotional stress, substance use, and physical health, and influenced approaches to addiction treatment and therapeutic practice. Known for his compassionate perspective, he has helped transform public understanding of these issues while informing health-care professionals across the globe.
Justin Trudeau - 68.78% - Advances
Justin Trudeau (BEd’98) served as the 23rd Prime Minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. After becoming leader of the Liberal Party in 2013, he led it to victory in three federal elections, including a majority government in 2015. He established Canada’s first gender-balanced cabinet, advanced policies on climate action and social programs, and led the nation through the COVID-19 pandemic. His government expanded early learning and child care, legalized medical assistance in dying, and renegotiated the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. During his decade in office, he became one of Canada’s most recognizable political figures on the world stage.
Kim Campbell - 31.22%
As Canada’s 19th Prime Minister in 1993, lawyer, politician, and speaker Kim Campbell (BA'69, LLB'83, LLD'00) became the first and only woman to hold the office. Previously, she held several senior cabinet portfolios, becoming the first woman appointed Minister of Justice and Minister of National Defence. After leaving federal politics, she became Canada’s consul general in Los Angeles, helped found the Club de Madrid for former democratic leaders, and served as Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders. A respected voice on world affairs, she has advanced democracy, women's leadership, international cooperation, and nuclear non-proliferation through diplomacy, collaboration, and public engagement.
Rick Hansen - 89.03% - Advances
Paralympian and inclusion advocate Rick Hansen (BPE'86, LLD'87) is internationally renowned for raising global awareness about spinal cord injury and accessibility through his Man in Motion World Tour. During this wheelchair marathon, he travelled across 34 countries from 1985 to 1987, raising more than $26 million for research, rehabilitation, and wheelchair sports. To further support this work, he established the Rick Hansen Foundation in 1988 and the Rick Hansen Institute (now the Praxis Spinal Cord Institute) in 2008. A six-time Paralympic medallist, he was inducted into both BC and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Doug Mitchell - 10.97%
Athlete, lawyer, and sports executive Doug Mitchell (LLB'62) helped shape Canadian football and university athletics. A star UBC middle linebacker, he later played for the BC Lions before serving as CFL commissioner, later becoming part-owner of the Calgary Stampeders and representing the Calgary Flames on the National Hockey League’s Board of Governors. In 1992, he and his wife established Canada's highest university athletic honour, now known as the Lois and Doug Mitchell U Sports Athletes of the Year Awards. As a lead donor, he helped create the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, a UBC venue for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
