Life certainly doesn’t end at 50 – and some of Canada’s top newsmakers in 2006 are the proof. From those who have bravely put themselves in the front lines to those whose notoriety comes from merely having been born, here are 6 of them.

Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire (60)
Retired LGen. Romeo Dallaire may not be commanding troops anymore but he is doing anything but sitting around. This year the first recipient of the Aegis Award on Genocide Prevention from the United Kingdom drew the world’s attention to the tragic situation in Darfur. He also continues to assist the Canadian Forces and Veterans’ Affairs Canada in matters related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This year Concordia University announced that Dallaire would sit as Senior Fellow at the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS), and he continues to lecture at many other institutions.

Bob Edmonds (82)
When CBC’s The Fifth Estate aired its story about Bob Edmonds of Coboconk, ON, a senior citizen whose $250,000 winning lottery ticket had been stolen by store clerks in 2001, t set off a political firestorm. Edmonds had refused to take the scam lying down and despite a lack of response from Ontario’s Lottery and Gaming Corporation, pursued the case until receiving a settlement in 2005. The piece has also prompted investigations in other provinces.

Elizabeth May (52)
Chosen as the Green Party’s new leader in August of 2006, Elizabeth May has already raised the party’s profile. An Officer of the Order of Canada and the former Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada, she brings impressive credentials to the role. Even more impressive was her second place showing in the London, Ontario federal by-election in December. With the Green Party ready to run candidates in all ridings across the country in the event of a federal election, Elizabeth May is set to bring the party to the main stage.

Ralph Klein (64)
Ralph Klein’s 14 year leadership of the province of Alberta came to an end this year. Known for bringing issues on the conservative side of Canadian politics to the forefront of the political stage across the country, the western politician plans to resign his seat and to go on the lecture circuit, speaking on journalism and political issues at various schools and think-tanks.

Wally Buono (56)
The head coach of the Grey Cup winning (and breaking) B.C. Lions has a lot to celebrate this year. He’s fast becoming known as one of the CFL’s top coaches of all time, with a regular season record of 201-103-2 (second only to Don Matthews). After being diagnosed with angina in 2004, Buono has also been a strong spokesperson for Making the Connection™, a program dedicated to the ongoing education of Canadians about the dangers of high cholesterol and its link to heart disease.

Winnefred Bertrand (115)
Sometimes you can make the news just by virtue of your birth date. This year Winnefred Bertrand, who turned 115-years-old Sept. 15, become the world’s oldest woman after Elizabeth Bolden, 116, of Memphis, Tenn., died in her nursing home. Bertrand lives in a nursing home in Montreal. But she may not care: in a Montreal Gazette piece her 74-old nephew, Andre Bertrand, said his aunt is unaware of the record she holds.

“It’s not something she would want to brag about.”