John Rae was the third of a trio of Hudson Bay Company employees to explore Canada by learning and using survival techniques from Native Americans.

Samuel Hearne 1745 – 1792 was the first European to make an overland excursion across northern Canada to the Arctic Ocean, specifically to Coronation Gulf, via the Coppermine River.

David Thompson 1770 – 1857 traveled 90,000 kilometers (56,000 mi) across North America, mapping 4.9 million square kilometers (1.9 million square miles) of the continent along the way. He also used native knowledge, techniques and contacts to survive and explore. He kept detailed records and discovered a route through the Rockies to Canada's Pacific coast.

David Thompson was Rae's boss at some point in his career. The word is they did not get on well.

Ray Mears has an excellent series of TV programs on these men.