The Greatest Canadian

Officially launched on April 5, 2004, The Greatest Canadian was a project by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, to find who is the greatest ever Canadian. The project was inspired by the BBC series Great Britons.

Comments and Criticisms

Some critics have said the format used to select the "top 10" was not completely honest since CBC knew the ranking order of the nominees as determined by popular vote, but did not reveal this information. This format is identical to that of the Great Britons series and was designed to encourage a more informed vote as the feature documentaries were run.

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At least three members of the top 50 got into the list by an active mass-voting campaign among that individual's loyal, well-organized followers. Kin founder Harold A. Rogers, DJ Hal Anderson, and Bahá'í activist Mary Maxwell all benefitted from an active grassroots campaign to get their names included in the list. CBC openly admitted this, and recognized that these three esoteric individuals are probably quite unknown to the general public. Others complained that all the top 10 were men and all but Suzuki are white. The producers admitted they were surprised and disappointed to see the demographic mix work out as it was, but decided that interfering with it to create a diverse list would be pointless as they would be criticized for that act as well.

Related Topics:
Kin - DJ - Bahá'í - Grassroots

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Some critics have complained that the large number of entertainers on the list, like Jim Carrey and Avril Lavigne, reflects Canadians confusing popularity with greatness. In particular, Don Cherry's inclusion in the top 10 upset many Canadians, especially considering it forced out figures they believe are more worthy like Louis Riel and Jean Vanier (Don Cherry supported Sir John A. Macdonald as the Greatest Canadian).

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A few members of the list were not "Canadians" in the sense we think of the term today, but rather figures who were associated with some period of early Canadian history, before Canada was a nation. These include the American Indian leader Tecumseh, who never resided in Canada, and Laura Secord and Sir Isaac Brock, who were both British figures associated with the 1812 War (before Canadian Confederation).

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Eight of the top 50 could be considered French Canadians, ignoring the percentage of Francophones included as the Unknown Soldier. Tecumseh, Suzuki, Donovan Bailey, and Louis Riel were the only non-Caucasians on the list.

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Many of the top 50 Greatest Canadians' careers have actually been spent with the CBC. David Suzuki and Don Cherry are current on-air personalities, Rick Mercer currently hosts a comedy series, Ernie Coombs was Mr. Dressup for decades on the network, while comedians like John Candy (guest on King of Kensington, lead on Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins and a regular on SCTV) Michael J. Fox (guest on The Magic Lie, star of Leo and Me), and Mike Myers (guest on King of Kensington) all made their first credited TV appearances on the CBC.

Related Topics:
Mr. Dressup - King of Kensington - Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins - SCTV - The Magic Lie - Leo and Me

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Alexander Graham Bell was also on the 100 Great Britons and would be on the subsequent 100 Greatest American lists, and is the only nominee to appear on more than one Greatest shortlist. While the Unknown Soldier was also one of the top 100 Great Britons, this is technically not the same person in the two contests.

Related Topics:
Great Britons - Greatest American

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SRC, the French equivalent of CBC, wasn't involved in "The Greatest Canadian" project. As a result, the Greatest Canadians were selected with little French-Canadian input causing the French-Canadian minority to be under-represented in the results.

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