Meet Astronaut Julie Payette, the New Governor General of Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau name retired astronaut Julie Payette as the next governor general, the acting head of state and Queen Elizabeth's representative in Canada. Payette, 53, would replace outgoing Governor General David Johnston, 76, whose term is set to expire in September after nearly seven years in office.

Engineer, songstress, mother, pilot, astronaut, linguist, Olympic flag-bearer, scuba diver, governor-general designate. It’s a stretch to imagine any Canadian checking off all of those boxes, but Julie Payette, astonishingly, has managed it.

Standing alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday afternoon in Ottawa, Payette was confirmed to be his choice for the Queen’s next representative in Canada. Both the NDP and Conservative leaders sent their best wishes.

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada to all fans of buzzcanada blog.

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

French version

Drake Grammy 2017 Wins and Buzz

Toronto born Hip Hop A-list, Drake won two gongs last night for this record "Hotline Bling" - Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Rap Song. He missed out on the "Best Rap Album" to Chance the Rapper.

Drake was not in attendance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 12) night to witness Chance the Rapper's best new artist win firsthand, but the hip-hop superstar was still celebrating. Following his award, Chance shared a text message conversation with Drake congratulating his victory and saying he was toasting Chance from tour in Manchester, England. "CONGRATS BOI," Drake's texts read. "WELL DESERVED. I AM IN MANCHESTER HAVING A DRINK FOR YOU BROSKI."

Another highlight for Drake is the dishes from his recent flame. Speaking at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night, Jennifer Lopez, the 47-year-old gushed to E! News about the star. She told Ryan Seacrest: “Of course. I love Drake. “He’s so brilliant, talented, amazing. Coolectively, Drake has had 35 nominations since 2010 but won three including two last night. Well done Son!

See full list of winners

Game of Thrones Took The Emmy Crown

“Game of Thrones” conquered the Emmy kingdom Sunday, honoured as top drama for the second consecutive year and becoming the most honoured prime-time TV series ever on a night of surprises and sharp political jabs.

“Veep” repeated as best comedy series and its star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, won a record-breaking sixth Emmy as best comedy actress. Jeffrey Tambor’s trophy as top comedy actor for “Transparent” also was his second.

“Games of Thrones,” the fantasy saga based on George R.R. Martin's novels, received a total of 12 awards Sunday and at last weekend's technical arts ceremony for a cumulative 38, besting “Frasier” by one to claim most prime-time series awards ever.

Full list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Awards:

Drama Series: “Game of Thrones.”

Directing, Drama Series: Miguel Sapochnik, “Game of Thrones”

Meet First Canadian Woman to Win a NASCAR Race

Amber Balcaen, 24, the 1st Canadian-born woman to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race in the United States.(shorttrack247)

Whether it's the tracks in Manitoba or a NASCAR race, Amber Balcaen has a need for speed.

The 24-year-old dirt racer from Winnipeg made history this weekend becoming the first Canadian-born woman to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race in the United States.

"It has sunk in and it hasn't. I've been smiling for the last two days and I'll be smiling all week," Balcaen said on Sunday.

"This is something I dreamed of, and I believed that I could achieve it and make it happen. For it to actually become a reality and for me to pull off the win was really a dream come true."

Balcaen took the title on Saturday in the seven-car Limited Sportsman Field during the NASACR Whelen All-American Series. This means Balcaen is in the first level of NASCAR, and she said her plans are to make it to the top of the five tiers.

Drake Longest-Ever Chart Domination with #1 Single “One Dance” & Album “Views” for 9 Straight Weeks

Drake Ties with Michael Jackson for Longest-Ever Chart Domination with #1 Single “One Dance” & Album “Views” for 9 Straight Weeks.

Go Drake! The Canadian rapper has tied with Michael Jackson “for the longest-ever simultaneous domination of the two rankings by a male artist” on Billboard.

The two rankings are the album sales – Views has been at the top of the Billboard 200 for 9 weeks consecutively and One Dance featuring our very own Wizkid and Kyla has been Number One on the Hot 100.

The album is also Drake’s most commercially successful till date.

Aww! Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel welcome son

According to People magazine, Justin Timberlake and wife Jessica Biel have welcomed a son, Silas Randall Timberlake. A rep told the magazine that mom and the baby are doing well and dad is “ecstatic

Wow! British Family Welcome Baby Girl After 200 Years Of Having Only Male Children

It was joy galore for the family of Lawrie when they welcomed a baby girl four months ago, after about 200 years of not having one. The last time they had a baby girl in their family was in 1809. 

“When little Myla Lawrie was brought home from hospital four months ago, a veritable sea of pink greeted her, with clouds of balloons filling the sitting room, along with cards, bunting and ribbons in every shade of girliness.

For this was a very special event in the Lawrie family. When Myla was born in October, she was the first girl to be born in her family since 1809. The last time a midwife announced ‘It’s a girl’, the Napoleonic war was still being fought, the motorcar was yet to be invented, and ‘mad’ King George III was on the English throne.

Serena Williams Wins Sixth Australian Open Title

Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova 6-3 7-6 (7-5) to win the Australian Open title. It is her sixth Australian Open title and her 19th grand slam title. 

Rapper Snoop Dogg Welcomes Grand Son

Snoop Dogg, 43, is a grandpa for the first time! His first son, 21 year old Corde Broadus welcomed a son with his girlfriend, a white woman said to be in her 30s and was once 'friends' with Snoop Dogg. The baby boy named Zion was born on Saturday January 10th. That's Corde and his newborn son pictured above.  A pic of him and his baby mama after the cut...

Pop Singer Usher is Engaged to his Manager Grace Miguel!

Usher and his girlfriend Grace Miguel are reportedly engaged.

According to US Weekly, the 36-year-old singer popped the question recently to his business partner and manager but the couple, who have been dating since 2009, are trying to keep things quiet.

CR7 Cristiano Ronaldo Wins FIFA Ballon d’Or World Footballer of the Year Award

Portugal’s captain Cristiano Ronaldo has won the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the best player in the world for the third time, following previous wins in 2008 and 2013.

Germany midfielder Nadine Kessler also claimed her first-ever FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award.

Germany’s coach Joachim Löw and compatriot Ralf Kellermann, coach of VfL Wolfsburg Ladies, were also named as FIFA World Coaches of the Year for Men’s and Women’s Football, respectively.

All the winners were chosen by the coaches and captains of national teams, as well as by international media representatives invited by FIFA and France Football, a French football magazine.

The entire electoral procedure was overseen and monitored by PricewaterhouseCoopers Switzerland (PwC).

The awards were presented on Monday evening during a 90-minute show at Zurich’s Kongresshaus, which was hosted by British journalist Kate Abdo.

Musical entertainment for the 1,100 guests and TV viewers in 190 countries and territories around the world was provided by Swiss singer-songwriter Bastian Baker.

Canadians Ellen Page and Tatiana Maslany makes Forbes 30 Under 30 list

Hello!
Forbes has released its annual 30 Under 30 lists, one of which honours young adults who are “changing Hollywood.” This year, three Canadians landed a spot on the coveted catalogue – television star Tatiana Maslany, actress Ellen Page and Epic Meal Time creator Harley Morenstein.

Tatiana, 29, has earned accolades for playing an astonishing eight different characters (with several different accents) on the Canadian sci-fi series Orphan Black.

Halifax-native Ellen, 27, was selected because she “bravely took a stand” by publicly coming out as a gay woman during a conference last February. Since then, the Oscar-nominated actress has graced countless magazine covers, including W and Flare.

Lastly, Montreal-born Harley, 29, is responsible for “creating one of the most popular online shows," boasting more than 6.6 million followers on his YouTube channel, Epic Meal Time.

Denis Villeneuve's Enemy is Toronto Movies Critics top Canadian pick

CBC

The 2014 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards were presented at a gala dinner on Tuesday, where Richard Linklater's Boyhood was awarded three top prizes and Denis Villeneuve's doppelganger thriller Enemy won the honour of best Canadian film of the year. 

The nominees for the best Canadian film award, which carries a $100,000 cash prize, were down to three features — Villeneuve's Enemy, Michael Dowse's The F Word and Xavier Dolan's Mommy. 

This is the third time Villeneuve has won the award, having previously taken it for 2009’s Polytechnique and 2010’s Incendies. 

“All three Canadian finalists are Montreal directors, but their films could not be more different,” said TFCA president Brian Johnson. “With Enemy, Denis Villeneuve ventured onto David Cronenberg’s home turf and took no prisoners. By embracing this nervy psychodrama, our critics held it up to the light.”

Justin Bieber unveiled as new face of Calvin Klein

Ned Ehrbar MetroThe biggest ego in Canada just got bigger. Pop’s reigning prince, Justin Bieber, has been unveiled as the new face — and body — of Calvin Klein Underwear. Bieber makes his debut in a series of black-and-white photos featuring his best Blue Steel and a suspiciously rounded and unrealistic bulge. He kicked things off with a six-second video feature showing him playing drums. We’re pretty sure that, at least, is all Bieber.

Canadian Actress Alison Pill is engaged to boyfriend Joshua Leonard

Hello!
Tis the season – for celebrity engagements! Shortly after Joe Manganellio popped the question to Sofia Vergara over the holidays, Canadian actress Alison Pill has revealed that she, too, is planning to walk down the aisle this year.

The Newsroom star’s longtime love, actor Joshua Leonard (Togetherness, The Blair With Project), took to Instagram to announce the happy news with a cute shot of his fiancée sporting her diamond sparkler. He captioned the snap, “Lets do this, 2015!!!”

Hollywood Actress Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds Welcome Their First Child

Hollywood actress Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds welcomed their first child over the holidays but have kept things hush-hush so far.

According to New York Page Six, the 27-year-old actress gave birth to their child near their home in Bedford, NY, just before the New Year. Page Six reports that the child arrived earlier than expected, but we’re told that mom and baby are both healthy and doing well.

Blake Lively and 37-year-old Ryan Reynolds got married in 2012.

Actress & talk show host Tamera Mowry announces pregnancy

The Sister Sister star and co-host of The Real talk show took to her instagram page last night to announce that she is pregnant with baby No 2.

Actress Zoe Saldana reveals names of twin baby boys

Zoe Saldana has finally revealed the names of her twin boys, nearly a month and a half after giving birth. "Our boys CY and BOWIE are finally here. #marcoperego and I wanted to thank you for your beautiful wishes and for your patience," the star tweeted on Friday 2 January.

The actress' rep confirmed to PEOPLE that they welcomed the twins Cy Aridio and Bowie Ezio Perego-Saldana on Thursday, 27 November in Los Angeles. "Mother and sons are happy and healthy."

Hollywood Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt Is Married

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a married man, with People magazine reporting that the Looper star and longtime girlfriend Tasha McCauley tied the knot on Dec. 20.

Joseph has kept his relationship with the Tasha — co-founder of a robotics company in Silicon Valley — under the radar, and revealed to Howard Stern in a 2013 interview that she prefers to stay out of the spotlight.

"I have a girlfriend but I tend not to really like to talk about it in public," he said, without revealing her name. "The girl that I'm with, she really doesn't want to be a part of that."

The couple were married in a private ceremony at their home.

ET