1.
Toronto
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Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. With a population of 2,731,571, it is the fourth most populous city in North America after Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles. A global city, Toronto is a centre of business, finance, arts, and culture. Aboriginal peoples have inhabited the area now known as Toronto for thousands of years, the city itself is situated on the southern terminus of an ancient Aboriginal trail leading north to Lake Simcoe, used by the Wyandot, Iroquois, and the Mississauga. Permanent European settlement began in the 1790s, after the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase of 1787, the British established the town of York, and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, the town was the site of the Battle of York, York was renamed and incorporated as the city of Toronto in 1834, and became the capital of the province of Ontario during the Canadian Confederation in 1867. The city proper has since expanded past its original borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities at various times in its history to its current area of 630.2 km2. While the majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, Toronto is a prominent centre for music, theatre, motion picture production, and television production, and is home to the headquarters of Canadas major national broadcast networks and media outlets. Toronto is known for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere. The name Toronto is likely derived from the Iroquois word tkaronto and this refers to the northern end of what is now Lake Simcoe, where the Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, in the 1660s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagonon the banks of the Humber River. By 1701, the Mississauga had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the Beaver Wars, French traders founded Fort Rouillé on the current Exhibition grounds in 1750, but abandoned it in 1759. During the American Revolutionary War, the region saw an influx of British settlers as United Empire Loyalists fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario, the new province of Upper Canada was in the process of creation and needed a capital. Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto, in 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, instead naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from Newark to York, the York garrison was constructed at the entrance of the towns natural harbour, sheltered by a long sandbar peninsula. The towns settlement formed at the end of the harbour behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street. In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, the Battle of York ended in the towns capture, the surrender of the town was negotiated by John Strachan. US soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation, the sacking of York was a primary motivation for the Burning of Washington by British troops later in the war
2.
Ontario
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Ontario, one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, is located in east-central Canada. It is Canadas most populous province by a margin, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all Canadians. Ontario is fourth-largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and it is home to the nations capital city, Ottawa, and the nations most populous city, Toronto. There is only about 1 km of land made up of portages including Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border. Ontario is sometimes divided into two regions, Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The great majority of Ontarios population and arable land is located in the south, in contrast, the larger, northern part of Ontario is sparsely populated with cold winters and is heavily forested. The province is named after Lake Ontario, a thought to be derived from Ontarí, io, a Huron word meaning great lake, or possibly skanadario. Ontario has about 250,000 freshwater lakes, the province consists of three main geographical regions, The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and central portions, which comprises over half the land area of Ontario. Although this area mostly does not support agriculture, it is rich in minerals and in part covered by the Central and Midwestern Canadian Shield forests, studded with lakes, Northern Ontario is subdivided into two sub-regions, Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario. The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the north and northeast, mainly swampy. Southern Ontario which is further sub-divided into four regions, Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, the highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 metres above sea level located in Temagami, Northeastern Ontario. In the south, elevations of over 500 m are surpassed near Collingwood, above the Blue Mountains in the Dundalk Highlands, the Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern region of the province. A well-known geographic feature is Niagara Falls, part of the Niagara Escarpment, the Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 87 percent of the area of the province. Point Pelee is a peninsula of Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario that is the southernmost extent of Canadas mainland, Pelee Island and Middle Island in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the border of California. The climate of Ontario varies by season and location, the effects of these major air masses on temperature and precipitation depend mainly on latitude, proximity to major bodies of water and to a small extent, terrain relief. In general, most of Ontarios climate is classified as humid continental, Ontario has three main climatic regions
3.
Queens Quay (Toronto)
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Queens Quay is a prominent street in the Harbourfront neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The road supplanted both Front Street and Lake Shore Boulevard as the most southerly east-west corridor in the city when it was created on reclaimed land in the inner harbour, sometime after 1919 to the early 1920s the inner harbour was filled in and new slips were created. Queens Quay continues to go through a significant transformation, originally, it served as an access road for the various ports and slips in the inner harbour. However, the industrial uses along Queens Quay were slowly replaced by commercial and residential uses. Between 1975 and 1979, a cluster of large, concrete towers were erected at the foot of Bay Street, south of Queens Quay, in 1990, the 40-storey York Quay towers were built and remain the tallest buildings on Queens Quay. The scale and density of these and subsequent high-rise development along Queens Quay were criticized for blocking the lake, in 1999, the Toronto Transit Commission opened a dedicated streetcar right-of-way in the median from Bay Street to Bathurst Street. In 2001, the city set out to improve Queens Quay by reclaiming public space for pedestrians. This resulted in the Waterfront Toronto Central Waterfront Public Realm International Design Competition, in August 2006, the city closed the two eastbound lanes, replacing them with bike lanes as part of the Martin Goodman Trail and additional pedestrian space. The experiment resulted in a public realm and more visitors to the overall waterfront area. The plan will restrict Queens Quay to two lanes, on the north side of the streetcar tracks, similar to the design of the 2006 experiment. Additionally, the calls for the beautification and extension of the Harbourfront streetcar line along Queens Quay East between Yonge and Cherry Street. The transit right-of-way will be grass-covered, in 2013 two open spaces opens, Ontario Square and Canada Square. The former is a public space and the latter a green area. Both replace the parking lot, which is now underground. Queens Quay is served by two lines, operating on a dedicated right-of-way. The 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina both terminate at Union Station and run along Queens Quay from Bay Street, westward, at Spadina Avenue, the 510 heads north to Spadina Station, and the 509 continues west, bound for the Exhibition Loop. Originally there was to have been a station in front of the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel. This plan was cancelled when the management became unwilling to share in the cost
4.
Government of Canada
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The Government of Canada or more formally Her Majestys Government, is the federal government of Canada, a country in North America, composed of 10 provinces, Ottawa, and 3 territories. The head of government is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose party the Liberal Party of Canada won the majority of seats in the Canadian Parliament in the 2015 Canadian federal election, in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council. Further elements of governance are outlined in the rest of the Canadian constitution, which includes written statutes, court rulings, in Canadian English, the word government is used to refer both to the whole set of institutions that govern the country, and to the current political leadership. In federal department press releases, the government has sometimes referred to by the phrase Government. The same cabinet earlier directed its press department to use the phrase Canadas New Government, as per the Constitution Acts of 1867 and 1982, Canada is a constitutional monarchy, wherein the role of the reigning sovereign is both legal and practical, but not political. The executive is formally called the Queen-in-Council, the legislature the Queen-in-Parliament. The government is defined by the constitution as the Queen acting on the advice of her privy council, however, the Privy Council—consisting mostly of former members of parliament, chief justices of the supreme court, and other elder statesmen—rarely meets in full. This body of ministers of the Crown is the Cabinet, one of the main duties of the Crown is to ensure that a democratic government is always in place, which means appointing a prime minister to thereafter head the Cabinet. The monarch and governor general typically follow the advice of their ministers. The royal and viceroyal figures may unilaterally use these powers in exceptional constitutional crisis situations, politicians can sometimes try to use to their favour the complexity of the relationship between the monarch, viceroy, ministers, and parliament, and the publics general unfamiliarity with it. Per democratic tradition, the House of Commons is the dominant branch of parliament, the Senate, thus, reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint. The Constitution Act,1867, outlines that the general is responsible for summoning parliament in the Queens name. After a number of sessions, each parliament comes to an end via dissolution. As a general election typically follows, the timing of a dissolution is usually politically motivated, the sovereign is responsible for rendering justice for all her subjects, and is thus traditionally deemed the fount of justice. However, she does not personally rule in cases, instead the judicial functions of the Royal Prerogative are performed in trust. Below this is the Federal Court, which cases arising under certain areas of federal law. It works in conjunction with the Federal Court of Appeal and Tax Court of Canada, in some cases, however, the jurisdictions of the federal and provincial parliaments may be more vague. For instance, the federal parliament regulates marriage and divorce in general, other examples include the powers of both the federal and provincial parliaments to impose taxes, borrow money, punish crimes, and regulate agriculture
5.
Montreal
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Montreal, officially Montréal, is the most populous municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec and the 2nd-most populous in Canada as a whole. Originally called Ville-Marie, or City of Mary, it is believed to be named after Mount Royal, the city has a distinct four-season continental climate, with warm-to-hot summers and cold, snowy winters. In 2016, Montreal had a population of 1,704,694, Montreals metropolitan area had a population of 4,098,927 and a population of 1,958,257 in the urban agglomeration, with all of the municipalities on the Island of Montreal included. Legally a French-speaking city,60. 5% of Montrealers speak French at home,21. 2% speak English and 19. 8% speak neither, Montreal is one of the most bilingual cities in Quebec and Canada, with 56% of the population able to speak both official languages. Montreal is the second-largest primarily French-speaking city in the world after Paris, historically the commercial capital of Canada, it was surpassed in population and economic strength by Toronto in the 1970s. It remains an important centre of commerce, aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, education, culture, tourism, gaming, film, Montreal was also named a UNESCO City of Design. In 2009, Montreal was named North Americas leading host city for international events, according to the 2009 preliminary rankings of the International Congress. According to the 2015 Global Liveability Ranking by the Economist Intelligence Unit, in the 2017 edition of their Best Student Cities ranking, Quacquarelli Symonds ranked Montreal as the worlds best city to study abroad. Also, Montreal has 11 universities with 170,000 students enrolled, the Greater Montréal region has the highest number of university students per capita among all metropolitan areas in North America. It is the only Canadian city to have held the Summer Olympics, currently, the city hosts the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One, the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Just for Laughs festival. In 2012, Montreal was ranked as a Beta+ world city, in Kanien’kéha, or Mohawk language, the island is called Tiohtià, ke Tsi or Ka-wé-no-te. In Anishinaabemowin, or Ojibwe language, the land is called Mooniyaang, though the city was first named by French colonizers Ville Marie, or City of Mary, its current name comes from Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city. The most popular theory is that the name derives from Mont Réal, Cartiers 1535 diary entry, naming the mountain, according to the Commission de toponymie du Québec and the Geographical Names Board of Canada, Canadian place names have only one official form. Thus, Montreal is officially spelled with an accent over the e in both English and French. In practice, this is limited to governmental uses. English-speaking Montrealers, including English-language media, regularly omit the accent when writing in English, archaeological evidence demonstrates that First Nations native people occupied the island of Montreal as early as 4,000 years ago. By the year AD1000, they had started to cultivate maize, within a few hundred years, they had built fortified villages. Archeologists have found evidence of their habitation there and at locations in the valley since at least the 14th century
6.
Expo 67
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It is considered to be the most successful Worlds Fair of the 20th century with the most attendees to that date and 62 nations participating. It also set the attendance record for a worlds fair. Expo 67 was Canadas main celebration during its centennial year, the project was not well supported in Canada at first. It took the determination of Montreals mayor, Jean Drapeau, defying a computer analysis that said it could not be done, the fair opened on time. After Expo 67 ended in October 1967, the site and most of the continued on as an exhibition called Man and His World. By that time, most of the buildings — which had not been designed to last beyond the original exhibition — had deteriorated and were dismantled. Today, the islands hosted the world exhibition are mainly used as parkland and for recreational use. The exposition was offered first to Toronto but politicians there rejected the idea, however, Montreals mayor, Sarto Fournier, backed the proposal, allowing Canada to make a bid to the Bureau International des Expositions. At the BIEs May 5,1960 meeting in Paris, Moscow was awarded the fair after five rounds of voting that eliminated Austrias, in April 1962, the Soviets scrapped plans to host the fair because of financial constraints and security concerns. Montreals new mayor, Jean Drapeau, lobbied the Canadian government to try again for the fair, several sites were proposed as the main Expo grounds. One location that was considered was Mount Royal Park, to the north of the downtown core, but it was Drapeaus idea to create new islands in the St. Lawrence river, and to enlarge the existing Saint Helens Island. The choice overcame opposition from Montreals surrounding municipalities, and also prevented land speculation, Expo did not get off to a smooth start, in 1963, many top organizing committee officials resigned. Another more likely reason for the resignations was that on April 22,1963. Canadian diplomat Pierre Dupuy was named Commissioner General, after Diefenbaker appointee Paul Bienvenu resigned from the post in 1963, one of the main responsibilities of the Commissioner General was to attract other nations to build pavilions at Expo. Dupuy would spend most of 1964 and 1965 soliciting 125 countries, dupuys right-hand man was Robert Fletcher Shaw, the deputy commissioner general and vice-president of the corporation. He also replaced a Diefenbaker appointee, C. F, Shaw was a professional engineer and builder, and is widely credited for the total building of the Exhibition. Dupuy hired Andrew Kniewasser as the general manager, the management group became known as Les Durs - the tough guys - and they were in charge of creating, building and managing Expo. To this group the chief architect Édouard Fiset was added, all ten were honoured by the Canadian government as recipients of the Order of Canada, Companions for Dupuy and Shaw, Officers for the others
7.
1976 Summer Olympics
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The 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, officially called the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event in Montreal, Quebec, in 1976, and the first Olympic Games held in Canada. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12,1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and it is so far the only Summer Olympic Games to be held in Canada. Calgary and Vancouver later hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1988 and 2010, the vote occurred on May 12,1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Los Angeles was eliminated after the first round and Montreal won in the second round, Moscow would go on to host the 1980 Summer Olympics and Los Angeles the 1984 Summer Olympics. One blank vote was cast in the second and final round, toronto had made its third attempt for the Olympics but failed to get the support of the Canadian Olympic Committee, which selected Montreal instead. Robert Bourassa, then the Premier of Quebec, first asked Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to advise Canadas monarch, Elizabeth II, however, Bourassa later became unsettled about how unpopular the move might be with sovereigntists in the province, annoying Trudeau, who had already made arrangements. The Oxford Olympics Study estimates the outturn cost of the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics at USD6.1 billion in 2015-dollars and cost overrun at 720% in real terms. This includes sports-related costs only, that is, operational costs incurred by the committee for the purpose of staging the Games. The competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, and media and press center, the cost overrun for Montreal 1976 is the highest cost overrun on record for any Olympics. The cost and cost overrun for Montreal 1976 compares with costs of USD4.6 billion, average cost for the Summer Games since 1960 is USD5.2 billion, average cost overrun is 176%. The ceremony marked the opening of the Games of the XXI Olympiad, the queen entered the Royal Box with her consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and her son, Prince Andrew. The parade of athletes began moments later with the arrival of the Greek team, All other teams entered the stadium according to French alphabetical order. Although most would eventually boycott the Games in the days to follow, much of the music performed for the parade was arranged by Vic Vogel and was inspired by late Quebec composer, André Mathieu. Immediately following the parade, a troupe of 80 women dancers dressed in white performed a dance in the outline of the Olympic rings. Following that came the official speeches, first by Roger Rousseau, head of the Montreal Olympic organizing committee and her Majesty was then invited to proclaim the Games open, which she did, first in French, then in English. Accompanied by the Olympic Hymn, the Olympic flag was carried into the stadium, the flag was carried by eight men and hoisted by four women, representing the ten provinces and two territories of Canada. As the flag was hoisted, a choir performed an a cappella version of the Olympic Hymn. Once the flag was unfurled, a troupe of Bavarian dancers, representing Munich, host of the previous 1972 Summer Olympics, following a brief dance, that flag was then passed from the Mayor of Munich to the IOC President and then to the Mayor of Montreal
8.
Toronto Eaton Centre
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The Toronto Eaton Centre is a shopping mall and office complex located in the downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned and managed by Cadillac Fairview and it was named after the Eatons department store chain that once anchored it before the chain became defunct in the late 1990s. The Toronto Eaton Centre attracts the most visitors of any of Torontos tourist attractions and it is North America’s busiest mall, largely because of extensive transit access and tourist traffic. The number of visitors to the Toronto Eaton Centre in 2015 exceeds the total 2015 passenger counts at Toronto Pearson International Airport, the main retail mall in the centre is organized around a long arcade, running parallel to Yonge Street. The complex also contains four buildings and the Ryerson University Ted Rogers School of Management. Additionally, the Eaton Centre is linked to a 17-storey Marriott hotel, Timothy Eaton founded a dry goods store on Yonge Street in the 19th century that revolutionized retailing in Canada, and became the largest department store chain in the country. By the 20th century, the Eatons chain owned most of the bounded by Yonge, Queen, Bay and Dundas streets, with the notable exceptions of Old City Hall. The Eatons land, once the site of Timothy Eatons first store, was occupied by Eatons large Main Store, the Eatons Annex and a number of related mail order and factory buildings. As the chains warehouse and support operations were increasingly shifting to cheaper suburban locales in the 1960s, Eatons wanted to make better use of its valuable downtown landholdings. In particular, the wanted to build a massive new flagship store to replace the aging Main Store at Yonge and Queen. In the mid-1960s, Eatons announced plans for a massive office, Eatons sought to demolish Torontos Old City Hall and the Church of the Holy Trinity. The plan required the closing of a number of city streets within the block, Albert Street, Louisa Street, Terauley Street, James Street, Albert Lane, Downeys Lane. At one point, even the Old City Hall clock tower was to be demolished, after a fierce local debate over the fate of the city hall and church buildings, Eatons put its plans on hiatus in 1967. The Eaton Centre plans were resuscitated in 1971, although these plans allowed for the preservation of Old City Hall, controversy erupted anew, however, as the congregation of the Church of the Holy Trinity exhibited an increased willingness to fight the demolition plans for its church. These amendments to the plans resulted in three significant changes to the centre from the 1960s concept. This resulted in the mall being constructed with Eatons and Simpsons acting as anchors at either end, finally, the bulk of the centre was shifted east to the Yonge Street frontage, and the complex was designed so that it no longer had any frontage along Bay Street. Old City Hall and the church were saved, as was the Salvation Army headquarters building by virtue of its location between the two other preserved buildings. Eatons partnered with the Cadillac Fairview development company and the Toronto-Dominion Bank in the construction of the Eaton Centre, the complex was designed by Eberhard Zeidler and Bregman + Hamann Architects as a multi-levelled, vaulted glass-ceiling galleria, modelled after the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy
9.
Yo-Yo Ma
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Yo-Yo Ma is a Chinese American cellist. Born in Paris, he spent his years in New York City and was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four. He graduated from the Juilliard School and Harvard University and has enjoyed a career as both a soloist performing with orchestras around the world and a recording artist. He has recorded more than 90 albums and received 18 Grammy Awards and he also collaborated with Grammy Award-winning jazz singer Bobby McFerrin. Mas primary performance instrument is a Montagnana cello crafted in 1733 valued at US$2.5 million and he has been a United Nations Messenger of Peace since 2006. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2001, Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, Yo-Yo Ma was born in Paris on October 7,1955, to Chinese parents and had a musical upbringing. His mother, Marina Lu, was a singer and his father, Hiao-Tsiun Ma, was a violinist, the family moved to New York when Ma was seven years old. At a young age, Ma began studying violin and piano and later viola, according to Ma, his first choice was the double bass due to its large size, but he compromised and took up cello instead. The child prodigy began performing before audiences at age five and performed for Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, at age eight, he appeared on American television with his sister, Yeou-Cheng Ma, in a concert conducted by Leonard Bernstein. In 1964, Isaac Stern introduced them on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and he attended Trinity School in New York but transferred to the Professional Childrens School, from which he graduated at age 15. He appeared as a soloist with the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra in a performance of the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations, Ma studied at The Juilliard School at age 19 with Leonard Rose and attended Columbia University but dropped out. He later enrolled at Harvard College, prior to entering Harvard, Ma played in the Marlboro Festival Orchestra under the direction of cellist and conductor Pablo Casals. However, even before that time, Ma had steadily gained fame and had performed many of the worlds major orchestras. He has also played music, often with the pianist Emanuel Ax. Ma received his bachelors degree from Harvard in 1976, in 1991, he received an honorary doctorate from Harvard. In 1997, he was featured on John Williams soundtrack to the Hollywood film Seven Years in Tibet. In 2000, he was heard on the soundtrack of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and, in 2003, on that of Master and Commander and he collaborated with Williams again on the original score for the 2005 film Memoirs of a Geisha. He also has over 90 albums,18 of which are Grammy Award winners, Ma is a recipient of the International Center in New Yorks Award of Excellence
10.
Celine Dion
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Céline Marie Claudette Dion, CC OQ ChLD is a Canadian singer and businesswoman. Dion first gained recognition in the 1980s by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest where she represented Switzerland. Following a series of French albums during the 1980s, she signed on to Epic Records in the United States, in 1990, Dion released her debut English-language album, Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world. During the 1990s, with the help of Angélil, she achieved fame after releasing several English albums along with additional French albums. Her albums, Falling into You and Lets Talk About Love, were certified diamond in the US while Deux became the best-selling French-language album of all time. However, in 1999 at the height of her success, Dion announced a hiatus from entertainment to start a family and spend time with her husband and she returned to the top of pop music in 2002 and signed to perform nightly in A New Day. A five-star theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Paradise and it became the most successful residency show of all time, grossing US $385 million. Dions music has influenced by genres ranging from rock and R&B to gospel. Her recordings are mainly in French and English, although she sings in Spanish, Italian, German, Latin, Japanese. While her releases have received mixed critical reception, she is regarded as one of pop musics most influential voices. Dion has won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and she is the second best-selling female artist in the US during the Nielsen SoundScan era. In 2003, Dion was honoured by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for selling over 50 million albums in Europe, Dion remains the best-selling Canadian artist and one of the best-selling artists of all time with record sales of over 200 million copies worldwide. Dion was born in Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada, the youngest of 14 children of Thérèse, a homemaker, and Adhémar Dion, Dion was raised a Roman Catholic in a poverty-stricken, but, by her own account, happy home in Charlemagne. Music had always been a part of the Dion family, indeed, Dion herself was named after the song Céline. Thereafter, she continued to perform with her siblings in her parentss small piano bar called Le Vieux Baril, from an early age, Dion had dreamed of being a performer. In a 1994 interview with People magazine, she recalled, I missed my family and my home, I had one dream, I wanted to be a singer. At age 12, Dion collaborated with her mother and her brother Jacques to write and compose her first song, Ce nétait quun rêve, whose title translates as It Was Only a Dream or Nothing But A Dream. Her brother, Michel Dion, sent the recording to music manager René Angélil, Angélil was moved to tears by Dions voice and decided to make her a star
