Canadian Inventions

The history of invention in Canada has followed a long and noble path. Canadian inventors have patented more than one million inventions, yet few people can name more than one or two Canadian inventors or any Canadian accomplishments.Canadian author Roy Mayer states in his book Inventing Canada: "Our innovators have given novelty, variety, and color to our lives with their great practical gifts, and the world would be an exceedingly boring and grey place without their vitality."

Canadian Inventors

Only a small percentage of the great inventions invented by Canadian inventors are listed below.

•5 Pin Bowling A truly Canadian sport invented by T.E. Ryan of Toronto in 1909[

•Able Walker The walker was patented by Norm Rolston in 1986

Access Bar Patented food bar designed to help burn fat by Dr Larry Wang

•Air-Conditioned Railway Coach Invented by Henry Ruttan in 1858

•Abdominizer The infomercial exercise darling invented by Dennis Colonello in 1984

•AC Radio Tube Invented by Edward Samuels Rogers in 1925

•Acetylene Thomas L. Wilson invented the production process in 1892

•Acetylene Buoy Invented by Thomas L. Wilson in 1904

•Agrifoam Crop Cold Protector Co-invented in 1967 by D. Siminovitch & J. W. Butler

•Analytical Plotter 3D map-making system invented by Uno Vilho Helava in 1957

•Andromonon Three-wheeled vehicle invented in 1851 by Thomas Turnbull

•Anti-Gravity Suit Invented by Wilbur Rounding Franks in 1941, a suit for high altitude jet pilots

Automatic Foghorn The first steam foghorn was invented by Robert Foulis in 1859

•Automatic Machinery Lubricator One of the many inventions invented by Elijah McCoy


Automatic Postal Sorter In 1957, Maurice Levy invented a postal sorter that could handle 200,000 letters an hour

•Basketball Invented by James Naismith in 1891

•Bone Marrow Compatibility Test Invented by Barbara Bain in 1960

•Bromine A process to extract was invented by Herbert Henry Dow in 1890

•Calcium Carbide Thomas Leopold Willson invented a process for Calcium Carbide in 1892

•Canada Dry Ginger Ale Invented in 1907 by John A. McLaughlin

•Chocolate Nut Bar Arthur Ganong made the first nickel bar in 1910

•Computerized Braille Invented by Roland Galarneau in 1972

•Creed Telegraph System Fredrick Creed invented a way to convert Morse Code to text in 1900

•Compound Steam Engine Invented by Benjamin Franklin Tibbetts in 1842



•CPR Mannequin invented by Dianne Croteau in 1989

•Electric Car Heater Thomas Ahearn invented the first electric car heater in 1890

•Electric Cooking Range Thomas Ahearn invented the first in 1882

•Electric Light Bulb Henry Woodward invented an electric light bulb in 1874 and sold the patent to Thomas Edison

•Electron Microscope Eli Franklin Burton, Cecil Hall, James Hillier, Albert Prebus co-invented the electron microscope in 1937

•Electric Organ Morse Robb of Belleville, Ontario, patented the world's first electric organ in 1928

•Electric Streetcar John Joseph Wright invented an electric streetcar in 1883

•Fathometer An early form of sonar invented by Reginald A. Fessenden in 1919

•Film Colourization Invented by Wilson Markle in 1983

•Garbage Bag (polyethylene) Invented by Harry Wasylyk in 1950

•Goalie Mask Invented by Jaques Plante in 1960

•Gramophone Co-invented by Alexander Graham Bell & Emile Berliner in 1889
•Green Ink Currency ink invented by Thomas Sterry Hunt in 1862

•Half-tone Engraving Co-invented by Georges Edouard Desbarats and William Augustus Leggo in 1869

•Heart Pacemaker Invented by Dr. John A. Hopps in 1950

•Hydrofoil Boat Co-invented by Alexander Graham Bell and Casey Baldwin in 1908

•IMax Movie System Co-invented in 1968 by Grahame Ferguson, Roman Kroitor, and Robert Kerr

•Instant Mashed Potatos Dehydrated potato flakes were invented by Edward A. Asselbergs in 1962

•Insulin Process Fredrick Banting, J. J. Macleod, Charles Best and Collip invented the process for insulin in 1922

•JAVA Software programming language invented by James Gosling in 1994

•Jetliner The first commercial jetliner to fly in North America was designed by James Floyd in 1949. The first test flight of the Avro Jetliner was on August 10 1949.

•Jolly Jumper Baby's delight invented by Olivia Poole in 1959

•Kerosene Invented by Doctor Abraham Gesner in 1846

•Lawn Sprinkler Another invention made by Elijah McCoy

•Light Bulb Leads Leads made of nickel & iron alloy were invented by Reginald A. Fessenden in 1892

•Marquis Wheat Invented by Sir Charles E. Saunders in 1908

•McIntosh Apple Invented by John McIntosh in 1796

•Music Synthesizer Invented by Hugh Le Caine in 1945

•Newsprint Invented by Charles Fenerty in 1838

•Odometer Invented by Samuel McKeen in 1854

•Paint Roller invented by Norman Breakey of Toronto in 1940

•Plexiglas Polymerized Methyl Methacrylate invented by William Chalmers in 1931

Polypump Liquid Dispenser Harold Humphrey made pumpable liquid hand soap possible in 1972

•Portable Film Developing System Invented by Arthur Williams McCurdy in 1890, but he foolishly sold the patent to George Eastman in 1903

•Potato Digger Invented by Alexander Anderson in 1856

•Process to Extract Helium from Natural Gas Invented by Sir John Cunningham McLennan in 1915

•Prosthetic Hand An electric prosthetic invented by Helmut Lucas in 1971

•Quartz Clock Warren Marrison developed the first quartz clock

•R-Theta Navigation System Invented by J.E.G. Wright in 1958

•Radio-Transmitted Voice Invented by Reginald A. Fessenden in 1904

•Railway Car Brake Invented by George B. Dorey in 1913

•Railway Sleeper Car Invented by Samuel Sharp in 1857

•Robertson Screw Invented by Peter L. Robertson in 1908

•Rotary Blow Molding Machine Plastic bottle maker invented by Gustave Côté in 1966

•Rotary Railroad Snowplow Invented by J.E. Elliott in 1869

•Rubber Shoe Heels Elijah McCoy patented an important improvement to rubber heels in 1879

•Safety Paint A high reflectivity paint invented by Neil Harpham in 1974

•Screw Propeller Ship's propeller invented by John Patch in 1833

•Silicon Chip Blood Analyzer Invented by Imants Lauks in 1986

SlickLicker Made for cleaning oil spills and patented by Richard Sewell in 1970

•Snowblower Invented by Arthur Sicard in 1925

•Snowmobile Invented by Joseph-Armand Bombardier in 1958
•Standard Time Invented by Sir Sanford Fleming in 1878

•Stereo-orthography Map Making System Invented by T.J. Blachut, Stanley Collins in 1965

•Superphosphate Fertilizer Invented by Thomas L. Wilson in 1896

•Synthetic Sucrose Invented by Dr. Raymond Lemieux in 1953

•Television System Reginald A. Fessenden patented a television system in 1927

•Television Camera Invented by F. C. P. Henroteau in 1934

•Telephone Invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876

•Telephone Handset Invented by Cyril Duquet in 1878

•Tone-to-Pulse Converter Invented by Michael Cowpland in 1974

•Trivial Pursuit Invented in 1979 by Chris Haney and Scott Abbott

•Tuck-Away-Handle Beer Carton Invented by Steve Pasjac in 1957

•Undersea Telegraph Cable Invented by Fredrick Newton Gisborne in 1857

•UV-degradable Plastics Invented by Dr. James Guillet in 1971

•Variable Pitch Aircraft Propeller Invented by Walter Rupert Turnbull in 1922

•Walkie-Talkie Invented by Donald L. Hings in 1942

•Wireless Radio Invented by Reginald A. Fessenden in 1900

•Wirephoto Edward Samuels Rogers invented the first in 1925

•Zipper Invented by Gideon Sundback in 1913