Canadian Who's Who 1995

J.L. Granatstein is a professor of history at York University, the
co-author of the Dictionary of Canadian Military History and Empire to
Umpire: Canada and the World to the 1990s, and the author of The Good
Fight.

That this is the best Who’s Who published in Canada there can be no
doubt. First, the annual volumes are very large indeed, with more than
15,000 entries of prominent men and women. Second, no one pays for an
entry, which suggests a degree of impartiality. Third, the criteria
employed are the proper ones—biographees are selected because of the
positions they hold or because of their contribution to Canadian life.

Nevertheless, curious blind spots remain. One is that individuals
provide their own biographical date, and accuracy must be suspect in
some cases, there being far too many entries for the editors to check
every one. The criteria for selection, while stated, seem to be applied
inconsistently. What is the easiest way to win a place in Canadian
Who’s Who? The answer is simple—be an academic. There are far too
many professors of very modest accomplishment in the volume (a list will
be provided on request). By contrast, there is a very slight
representation of sports figures (where is the Blue Jays’
Toronto-dwelling manager Cito Gaston, for example?) and some curious
omissions in law (how can the nation’s leading labor lawyer be
omitted?). Still, this is the resource to use when looking for detail on
the lives of current notables, and it belongs in every library.