JUNE 30, 2023 – Tomorrow, July 1, is Canada Day, which, according to Wikipedia, “celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the British North America Act, 1867, when the three separate colonies of the United Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into a single dominion within the British Empire called Canada.”

When you think of Star Trek and Canada, certain individuals might pop into your head, such as William Shatner and James Doohan, both well known Canadians. Today, though, we’ll take a brief look at a more or less random selection of a few other Canadians you know from the Star Trek universe.

Star Trek fans know him (and his voice) as Commodore Stone from the Star Trek: The Original Series’ first season episode, “Court Martial.” Percy Rodriguez was born in Montreal in 1918 and was acting by the 1930s. He appeared on stage and the small screen in Canada and won a Canadian Drama Festival award in 1939. He was on Broadway by 1960, guested on numerous television series, such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Wild, Wild West, and The Fugitive. His appearance as Commodore Stone made him the first Black actor to portray a flag office on Star Trek. He was also well known for playing Dr. Harry Miles in 45 episodes of Peyton Place.

Rodriguez is also known for his voiceover work, including many film trailers, ranging from Alien and The Exorcist to Spaceballs and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life.

Although he was considered for the role of Benjamin Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, he ended up being the one to challenge a young Jim Kirk to make more of himself. Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek: Into Darkness’ Captain Christopher Pike, Bruce Greenwood, was born in Quebec in 1956.

Greenwood’s career stretches back to the late 1970s and includes film, television, and voiceover work. He made regular appearances on St. Elsewhere, Knot’s Landing, and, most recently, on The Resident. He will be appearing this fall as Roderick Usher in the Netflix miniseries, The Fall of the House of Usher. And Greenwood might be Canadian, but he’s played the President of the United States a couple of times, including his noted portrayal of John F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days, in 2000.

Among Greenwood’s awards are Best Cast wins for Star Trek from the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Denver Film Critics Society.

Star Trek: Discovery’s Lt. Keyla Detmer, Emily Coutts, was born in 1989 and graduated from York University’s drama program. She has appeared in multiple television episodes and has written, produced and starred in several independent short and feature films.

Coutts credits Discovery with giving her the courage to come out, saying, “I was inspired to be brave enough to finally come out, and tell people that I was gay, and trust that my future would be a beautiful thing if I was living openly and freely. I’m really grateful for that experience and proud of myself for taking the leap.”

Regarding her Canadian roots, she told BLNCD World, “Canada produces some insanely talented actors and filmmakers. We really have to prove ourselves to make it down to the States so we develop a very strong work ethic that can’t be beat. People don’t just sit around in Canada, we are always making our own work. That hard working attitude is something I will always have with me as I begin to live and work in other places.”

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country’s Shakespeare-quoting Klingon, General Chang, was portrayed by the man perhaps best known as Captain Georg von Trapp, in The Sound of Music. That contrast goes a ways toward accounting for an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards for Christopher Plummer, who was born in Toronto in 1929 and raised in Quebec. He was the great grandson of the first Canadian Prime Minister born in Canada, Sir John Abbott.

Plummer began his professional acting career in 1948, with the Stage Society in Ottawa and made his Broadway debut in 1953. Naturally, he did plenty of Shakespeare, in unwitting preparation for his future role as General Chang, who quotes from eight of the Bard’s plays in The Undiscovered Country. His film debut was playing a young writer in Stage Struck, in 1958. (The year prior, his daughter, Amanda, was born, whom Star Trek fans know as Vadic from Star Trek: Picard.)

According to the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia, “He is a Companion of the Order of Canada, and in 2001, received a Governor General’s Award. In March 2017, he was honoured for Lifetime Achievement by the Canadian Screen Awards. In his witty acceptance speech, he remarked: ‘Never be ashamed of making a fool of yourself. Just enjoy it all, have fun. I've spent almost 70 years making a fool of myself in this crazy, mad profession of ours, and I've had the time of my life.’”

Fans know Sara Mitich from her multiple roles in Star Trek: Discovery, including Airiam (who was played by fellow Canadian Hannah Cheesman in season two), and the Prime and Mirror Universe versions of Lt. Commander Nilsson. Mitich was born in Ontario to Serbian immigrants. She attended the National Ballet School of Canada and did actor training with a joint program between the University of Toronto and Sheridan College.

Outside of Star Trek, Mitich has appeared in multiple shorts, films, and television episodes, including recurring roles in Murdoch Mysteries and The Expanse.

If you’re of a certain vintage, you might remember Red Skelton and his character, Freddie the Freeloader. As it turns out, the television debut of our final Canadian was on Freddie the Freeloader’s Christmas Dinner, also starring Vincent Price and Imogene Coca, which aired on HBO in 1981. Toronto native Nicole de Boer appeared uncredited a week shy of her eleventh birthday.

de Boer is known around these parts as Ezri Dax (and Ezri Tigan in the Mirror Universe) from the final season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. According to StarTrek.com, “DS9 writer/producer Hans Beimler paved the way for de Boer to land her role as Ezri Dax. They'd worked together on both Beyond Reality and TekWar, and it was Beimler who suggested that she be considered for the job. He had her send in an audition tape, which resulted in an invite to audition in person, which won her the part.”

Trek-adjacently, she also made an appearance in the TekWar series, based on the novels conceived by William Shatner and ghost written by Ron Goulart. She’s also known for her roles in films and television shows such as Cube, The Dead Zone, Deepwater Black, The Outer Limits, and Stargate: Atlantis. de Boer’s longest television stints otherwise include Beyond Reality, Catwalk, and, most recently, Private Eyes, all produced and filmed in Canada.

So a Happy Canada Day goes out from all of us here at Daily Star Trek News!