Hundreds gathered in Toronto on Saturday night to honour the latest inductees, including She-Hulk: Attorney at Law actress Tatiana Maslany; Heather Reisman, founder, chair and CEO of Indigo Inc., and Canadian rock band the Tragically Hip, in a star-studded night of tributes and performances.

Recognition and representation

"This moment is about recognition," said Cox on the red carpet before she received her star. "It's monumental. It's about representation. I never saw many people that looked like me or heard people like me on the radio or anything here. So, this moment means so much to be recognized that I can inspire someone else."

The 48-year-old songstress best known for her 14-week Billboard R&B No. 1 song "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here," received her induction from international record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who said Cox elevates their songs no matter what they write.

Milestones and great moments

The trailblazing music video director, Director X, took the naming honour and ceremony in his stride. "These are great milestones and moments," he said about his journey to the red carpet.  

"Shooting the Sean Paul video, watching reggae explode, working with Usher on You Got it Bad, Drake on Hotline Bling, making Superfly with Joel Silver and now Robyn Hood, coming out in 2023—it has been a lot."

And what about the walk for 2021 honouree Jully Black? She waited a whole year to celebrate her milestone, and she teared up when presented with her Walk of Fame plaque.

“It was bittersweet,” said the platinum and multi-award-winning recording artist dubbed Canada's Queen of R&B/Soul. “Because I wanted to sing…but that’s okay. Deborah’s here tonight, and I’m so excited. When Black singers, hip-hop artists, and reggae artists win, we all win; a win for one is a win for all.”

Investing in the walk

Established in 1998, Canada’s Walk of Fame celebrates the best in Canadian excellence and achievement. But it does more than engrave maple-leaf-like stars on the sidewalks of Toronto’s Entertainment District.

"We're spending much more time diving into our inductees and honourees and their walk," said Walk of Fame CEO Jeffrey Latimer.

"It's not just their fame. We're asking them, 'now that you have a platform, what are you doing with it?' We're asking them, 'when they fell, how did they get back up?' We're trying to truly inspire the next generation instead of saying, 'look at how famous you are; look at how wonderful you are.' "

"So, we've built programs around mentorships, and we are trying to make this mean more to more people, more often and nationally, and not just a Toronto event."

You can catch Celebrating Greatness: Canada's Walk of Fame 2022 on Saturday, December 17 at 7 pm ET on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app.