The Canadian Space Agency unveiled its top 16 candidates to be the country's next astronauts on Monday, including a former Olympic kayaker, as part of its ongoing astronaut recruitment campaign.

The candidates were chosen from among 5,351 hopefuls who submitted online applications.

Among the finalists is Peter Giles, who was a member of the canoe-kayak team that represented Canada at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Giles was part of the team that finished seventh in the four-man, 1,000-metre kayaking event.

He also served as Canada's assistant chef de mission at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The 16 finalists range in age from 26 to 40 and hail from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

They have diverse professional backgrounds, and include a few doctors, a number of fighter pilots and a wildlife researcher.

The candidates, listed with their birth cities, are:

• Matthew Bamsey, Burlington, Ont.
• Desmond Brophy, Regina, Sask.
• Christopher Denny, Toronto, Ont.
• Peter Giles, Lake Echo, N.S.
• Jeremy Hansen, Ailsa Craig, Ont.
• Allyson Hindle, Winnipeg, Man.
• Ryan Hunter, Mississauga, Ont.
• Jameel Janjua, Calgary, Alta.
• Joshua Kutryk, Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.
• Mark McCullins, Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Stuart Rogerson, Crewe, U.K.
• David Saint-Jacques, Quebec, Que.
• Geoffrey Steeves, Halifax, N.S.
• Kenneth Welch, Calgary, Alta.
• Keith Wilson, Winnipeg, Man.
• Bruce Woodley, Richmond, B.C.

"The Top 16 candidates in the National Astronaut Recruitment Campaign represent an incredibly accomplished, well-rounded and diverse group of Canadians," CSA president and former astronaut, Steve MacLean, said Monday in a statement.

"This is only the third Astronaut Recruitment Campaign held in Canadian history. As we proceed with our selection process, two of these highly talented individuals will be chosen for the opportunity of a lifetime."

MacLean said that there's a lot of talent in the country capable of becoming astronauts.

"It's not like winning a race . . . it's so multidimensional its tough to select an individual," he said of the candidates. "I think number 16 could easily do a good job and when I looked at CV 200, I remember thinking 'Boy, what a career this individual has had.'"

The recruitment campaign was launched in May 2008, and the space agency has whittled down the list of candidates by putting them through a series of medical exams, as well as physical and skills tests.

The group of 16 will undergo a series of interviews and rigorous medical tests over the next two months before the agency chooses two candidates to join Canada's Astronaut Corps in May.

The astronauts will have "the opportunity to represent Canada in future space exploration missions, including long-duration space flights on the International Space Station," according to the CSA's website.

The astronaut search is the third of its kind in Canada. In 1983, the search yielded Roberta Bondar, Marc Garneau, Robert Thirsk, Ken Money, Bjarni Tryggvason and MacLean.

The 1992 search produced Chris Hadfield, Julie Payette, Dave Williams and Mike Mackay.