Canadian Newsmaker of the Year

[Acey]

Thought Global's poll was a particularly interesting one this year.

Kevin Vickers – The 58-year-old Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons was hailed a hero after he shot and killed Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the man who stormed Parliament Hill after killing unarmed reservist Nathan Cirillo at the National War Memorial in Ottawa.

Jim Flaherty – On April 10, Canada lost a long-serving politician. The Former Finance Minister died after suffering an apparent heart attack in his Ottawa home. The 64-year-old was remembered by colleagues, political foes and friends for his sense of humour and his devotion to the country and to his family.

Justin Bourque – The 24-year-old was sentenced to 75 years in prison for the June 4 shooting rampage that killed three RCMP officers and left two others injured in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Jian Ghomeshi – The disgraced former CBC radio host was charged with four counts of sexual assault and one count of choking after a number of women came forward accusing the 47-year-old of sexual violence. He has denied the allegations and maintained all his interactions were consensual.

Alison Redford – The former Alberta premier stepped down in March after “mistakes were made” by misusing taxpayers’ money. After her resignation the auditor general released a scathing report outlining the improper spending, which included a plan to convert space in a public building into personal living space, referred to as the “sky palace.”

Christy Clark – After losing her seat in 2013 elections, the B.C. premier bounced back to form new relationships with labour unions, First Nations and neighbouring Alberta. A six-year deal with B.C. teachers, union agreements with government and health workers, and settlement of a strike at the Port of Vancouver were all part of an eventful labour year in the province.

Justin Bieber – The Canadian pop star dominated entertainment headlines this year, mostly for his bad behaviour. In January, the 20-year-old was charged with careless driving and resisting arrest in Miami Beach and then charged with assault in Toronto (the charge was later dropped). He also pleaded guilty to a vandalism charge after egging his neighbour’s house. In September, Bieber was charged with dangerous driving and assault stemming from an altercation with two Toronto-based paparazzi.

Rob Ford: The scandal-ridden former mayor of Toronto (now councillor) dropped his bid for re-election after doctors discovered a rare and aggressive form of cancer in the 45-year-old’s abdomen.

Canadian Olympic Team – Canada sent its largest team ever to a Winter Olympics in 2014, capturing 25 medals in the process, including double-gold in hockey. Canada brought home nine medals in freestyle skiing and Alex Bilodeau successfully defended his gold medal, becoming the first Canadian man to do so in an individual event.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1719089/po...776f7273ab105c

[burn_this_city]

Rightly or wrongly its probably Rob Ford.

[Erick Estrada]

Talk about a contrasting list of applauded vs disgraced individuals.

[Ducay]

Only person anyone outside of Canada might have heard about is Rob Ford. He made the most news, thus, is the newsmaker.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Only person anyone outside of Canada might have heard about is Rob Ford. He made the most news, thus, is the newsmaker.

Bieber is likely better known internationally than Ford.

[V]

Rob made a lot of news last year, but I don't think this year nearly as much, unless my years are all blurring together. Vickers is my favourite story, but I would say Bieber made the most news.

[undercoverbrother]

Mr Vickers.


Everyone else on the list, except the Olympic team and Mr Flarerty and Ms Clark, don't derserve any further coverage.


Vickers has ball and for that he deserves the award.

[Barbecue]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

Bieber is likely better known internationally than Ford.

this.

Bieber is an international star that made news

Ford made news that made him an international star

Because the popularity was already there, Bieber wins

[Acey]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Only person anyone outside of Canada might have heard about is Rob Ford. He made the most news, thus, is the newsmaker.

On this list, Bieber is the most widely known worldwide and it's not even remotely close.

That said, the BBC had extensive coverage of the respective Vickers and Bourque incidents as well so those two names are definitely known.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Acey

On this list, Bieber is the most widely known worldwide and it's not even remotely close.

That said, the BBC had extensive coverage of the respective Vickers and Bourque incidents as well so those two names are definitely known.

Yeah I belong to another board that is very international, and there is a good knowledge of Vickers (at least on that board).

[Temporary_User]

Bieber probably made the most news, but most of that was insignificant TMZ style news. Only a few of his news stories made headlines that reached the average person outside of his target audience and celebrity gossip readers. Then too, most of that wasn't really tied back to him being Canadian.

Rob Ford definitely made the most news headlines and is tied back to being Canadian. He is my top choice for Canadian Newsmaker of the year

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by V

Rob made a lot of news last year, but I don't think this year nearly as much, unless my years are all blurring together. Vickers is my favourite story, but I would say Bieber made the most news.

Yeah - the Rob Ford stuff all blew up in 2013. This year, while still a travesty, pales in comparison.

[Ducay]

No idea who this Beirber character is or how he could have made more news that Rob Ford, the guy was on the news virtually every day.

[troutman]

Time will tell, but Ghomeshi's case might have the biggest impact. It could change the climate for victims of sexual abuse in Canada. The CBC may never be the same.

His court appearance may have been the biggest media scrum in Canadian history?

[mrkajz44]

If I wanted to pick the most positive newsmaker, then I go with Vickers. Unfortunately, I'm going with Ghomeshi. The importance of why he was a newsmaker is what made it for me.

I guess I looked at this from a Canadian standpoint (most important to Canada), rather than the international coverage any one of these people might have got.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by V

Rob made a lot of news last year, but I don't think this year nearly as much

I was originally going to vote Ford, but you're right. He's soooo 2013.

Originally Posted by Ducay

Only person anyone outside of Canada might have heard about is Rob Ford.

I don't know. I read about Gomeshi on a fair number of US sites.

[Resolute 14]

Bieber doesn't even belong on this list. There is nothing special about an immature manchild singer behaving mildly badly - it's been done many times in the past - and we are not so pitiful as a nation that this could or should be considered one of the top news stories of the year.

The Canadian Olympic Team is a meh option. Too easy, and as a team, it wasn't even a record setting Olympics.

Bourque I would disqualify simply because we should not be glorifying such crimes. But that makes it hard to consider Ghomeshi even though his is unquestionably one of the largest news stories of the year. I might instead vote for the women who came forward.

Redford and Clark - far too local. Neither really has a national presence and I don't think either did enough to overcome that. Flaherty, with all due respect, merely died. Great man, good politician, not an outstanding story.

So it's Ford or Vickers. I choose the latter.