Greatest Canadian
 

The show was just on tonight on CBC and the list isn't out on the net yet.

Apparently the top 10 that we have to vote for is the following:

John A MacDonald
Dr. Frederick Banting
Don Cherry
Lester B Pearson
Pierre Elliott Trudeau
Alexander Graham Bell
Tommy Douglas
Terry Fox
David Suzuki
Wayne Gretzky

Who are you going to vote for and why?

I'm for John A MacDonald simply because he created Canada. Canada may have existed before. But he tied all of Canada together, even when the french and english fought against each other all the time, he just forced them to work together toward the first step to unification of Upper and Lower Canada and eventually, creating a nation that runs from Atlantic and Pacific ocean. He pushed for a national railroad that ties Eastern Canada to Western Canada.

Edit: When I say Canada may have existed before, I meant as Upper/Lower East/West, the culture, etc etc, we just didn't need the british government to let us know that we're our own country at that time ;)

I'm with you on John A MacDonald, but I believe that Trudeau will win the poll. people still remember the Trudeau years and as time (and the man) has passed they have created an image that is more myth than history.

Could someone offer any sort of rational explanation as to why Don Cherry is on that shortlist?

There is no ration explaination for Don Cherry on the list or otherwise...

Personally I think Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine are two that should be way up on the list... The fact that most Canadians don't know who they are speaks volumes about how we don't mythologize our history as other nations do but nothing about how much these two men did to unite French and English Canada and most importantly set the pace for a peaceful move towards reposnsible government in pre-confederation Canada...

I can't believe Pamela Anderson didn't make the list!

On a more serious note, Terry Fox is certainly the way I'd like to think of Canada and Canadians.

My respect for Terry Fox and everything he stood for is impossible to measure. That man gets my vote.

Don Cherry made it onto the list because thousands of idiots think he's somehow helped Canada and voted him on. I apologize in advance if anyone on this forum voted for him. :)

If I were to vote, I'd have gone with Terry Fox.

Gotta go with Tommy Douglas. Without universal healthcare (such as it is), many of us wouldn't be here today. Besides, he's a good prairie boy and an NDPer to boot.

Trudeau and Pearson will be the top vote-getters, I think. Trudeau, because, as was mentioned, he's our parents prime minister, and he was the liberalist liberal, and because he's more myth than truth. Pearson is my vote. He was a true Canadian, a statesman, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, he was responsible for Peace Keeping whether you like it or not, it's Canada's legacy. What else did he do? Our flag, for one. He's done a lot.

I wouldn't vote for Cherry, and he probably doesn't fit on the list, but I do love him. He's got a lot of clout. He is a true Canadian in my mind.

Suzuki has nothing to do with Canada. He's a scientist. He has never, to my knowledge, expressed any nationalistic sentiment in his career.

Any notable omissions?

Grace, Too... I find it interesting that you think being nationalist is important in being a Great Canadian.

Under your terms Terry Fox, Alexander Graham Bell and Banting don't belong on the list. Great men all, but not really about national interests... moreover they are important International gifts.

To me the list should feature great people who happen to be Canadian.

Under those terms Suzuki and the other eight definately belong in the top 10 (I say eight because Don Cherry still doesn't belong on the list... :D )


I was truly surprised that there were no women on the list and no arts or entertainment types... Margaret Atwood or Margaret Lawrence could have fit both of those criteria.

Charlatan,

I admit, I'm not sure of the criteria. However, the greatest Canadian would not and should not be someone who was great, or acheived some great thing, and by the by he or she was Canadian. Like Suzuki. He's a scientist. What he did or who he was brought no glory or praise or adulation to the country of Canada. Suzuki was a great individual, maybe.
In my opinion the greatest Canadian should be someone who put Canada on the global stage. Someone who brought Canada into the fore. I argue that Suzuki did no such thing. Pearson did. Trudeau did. Heck, even Grapes does.

Pearson and Trudeau were fiercely patriotic and nationalistic. Is Suzuki? I agree that Bell and Banting were not, and as such I do not believe that they truly should be voted the greatest Canadians. I believe the greatest Canadian should have been an advocate of his country. A statesman.

Tommy Douglas built a system that Canada and Canadians are proud of and one that other countries identify Canada and its greatness with

Damn, Gord Downie isn't on the list. :/ While I realize he is only a Canadian pop culture icon, he and the rest of the band of merry men sure make me glad that I'm Canadian every time I see them. :-)

I would definitely vote for Suzuki or Terry Fox considering they are helping further the pursuit of science.

Has n e one seen the rest of the list? its disgusting

How the hell Did Avril Lavigne Beat Wilfred Laurier Let alone be even on the bloody list???

Trudeau All the way

Trudeau...he'd be about last on my list..;)

I agree wholeheartedly with Pheer. Avril Lavigne over Mr. Compromise? Bullhonkey!

Wow... Cherry has done something that brings glory to Canada on the international stage? What, like the 5 people watching Hockey Night in Canada on the Satellite in the US?

I would argue that David Suzuki through his environmental advocacy (in Canada and around the world) and by extension his excellent series The Nature of Things (which is seen in over 50 countries around the world) has done a heck of a lot to bring Canada to the global stage.

The list is more about stardom and popularity and common knowledge (IE: Mass stupidity) than objective "who has done the most"

Pearson gets my vote

One of the issues is that Canadian history is so poorly understood by Canadians in general... Of course, a series like this can help to alleviate that shortfall...

In the fame and celebrity hold no weight but they do hold our attention.

Don Cherry would never make my list!

There are few women on the top 100 list, including Pamela Anderson, Marguret Atwood, Shania Twain (sic), Celine Dion (never mind Avril, how the hell did she get here?), and a few others. My vote goes to Tommy Douglas. He helped shape Canada the most out of anybody, for everybody. John A Macdonald is a formidable Canadian, who helped shape it initially, but Tommy tried to help make it a great country to live in for everybody.

If I look at it from an "advancement" perspective, Tommy Douglas would get my vote.
If I go with what touched or moved me, I believe The Great one did just that.

I thinkthe hardest part about this whole deal is that they didn't ever really specify for what it should be based on. Medicine, politics, how about creating a common goal....
if it was broken down into categories it would make it so much simpler... but it's not... so the decision will be tough.

Ok Cherry on the list is a bit silly, but Trudeau on there is just laughable. This country is still plagued with the harm he did.

Shania Twain

Depends who you talk to. Some see it positively, some see it negatively.

lol...yeah I know...and I think those people who see his tradition as a positive one are the ones who, inch by inch, are chipping away at the former greatness of our country.
Now granted I'm rather conservative, but I simply cannot see how, in an alternative universe, Canada would not have been better off without the Charter of 1982 and the N.E.P.

Wait, maybe this belongs in the politics section...

They don't show the vote numbers on the CBC website do they? I checked it today (and voted for Pearson again) and noticed that Tommy D. is still in the lead. I am baffled by Banting's high rating. Must be alot of diabetic CBC fans. I'd like to know that the disparity is between candidates.

I agree with "prosequence" that there should be categories... but oh well.

I voted for Terry Fox.

It's almost offensive that Don Cherry and David Suzuki are on the top 10 list.

While I voted for Fox I wish I also could have voted for John A. MacDonald, which of course illustrates why catagories would have been a good way to go.

1. Nation Builders
2. National Icons
3. Pop Icons (just to get Avril and Celine out of the way)
4. International Stage.

Given those 4 catagories who would you place at the top of each?

Well, Avril could fit on the bottom three...

That's true Grace.too, but that could be said about almost anyone. IE: is Wayne Gretzky just an athlete? Arguably, no. He's also a national icon and international celebrity.

Anyway, in my catagories my picks are:

1. Nation Builder :: Sir John A MacDonald
2. National Icons :: Terry Fox
3. Pop Icons :: Stompin' Tom
4. International Stage :: Wayne Gretzky

I am at a loss as to why there is such animosity for David Suzuki. While he isn't the "greatest" Canadian, he deserves (as much as anyone in the top 20) to be in the top 10.

I have to agree with Charlatan on this one. Suzuki has done a lot of good over the years.

I'm going to vote Terry Fox and Trudeau. While Gretzky is a great canadian, he hasn't done a whole lot for the country aside from hockey-based things. Terry Fox made a terrific effort to do something he believed in. He even died doing it. Trudeau stood up for his ideals, followed through with promises, and did what he said he would. It's a toss-up between the two, but think on how different a country we'd have if Trudeau was never Prime Minister.

I'm torn between John A. and Terry Fox but I think I'd go with Terry. The kid died running across Canada raising money for cancer research.

Trudeaux - well put it this way I'm from BC and still remember him pulling out of PG and flipping the locals the bird from the back of the train.

Don Cherry - give me a break
Wayne Gretsky - amazing hockey player but well what else has he done?
David Suzuki - real nice guy, real smart and commited to the environment and he probably deserves to be on the list but I'm already voting for Terry, sorry David
The other guys well honestly I'm not sure what they did other than Bell. One of them discovered/invented pennicilin and many STD sufferers really appreciate that, One of them is responsible for medicare. Pearson brokered a peace deal between a couple countries (can't remember which ones right now)

But shit, how 'bout Dan Akroyd?

Pamela Anderson

:p ah yes the mountians of canada. created in calli though.

Toss up between Trudeau and Tommy Douglas for me. There's no way Cherry belongs on the list, and Bell is only 1/3 Canadian I'd say, (being 1/3 British and 1/3 American). The rest of the top 10, I can't really complain about. On the larger top 100 list, I think women and visual artists are under represented. Good that the show creates some water cooler talk about Canadian history, values etc.

Um it was insullin not pennicilin... Diabetes not STDS...

Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize for suggesting that Peace comes through Understanding... and dreaming up the idea that the UN should serve as Peacekeepers... amongst other things that he did in Canada (like get us the flag...etc.)

Yes, Pearson is a good choice. Kind of represents Canada as viewed by the world.

Didn't he tell Lyndon Johnson to basically shove it once upon a time?

Lester B Pearson is great and would get my vote, although there should be a few different names in there instead of someone like Don Cherry

Nope. LBJ told Pearson to shove it, once. His exact words, after he picked Pearson up by the scuff of his collar, were "don't piss on my rug". After Pearson spoke at some American university about Viet Nam I think.