The Greatest Canadian

[striker14]

I think that's 10, Keeper. All worthy candidates, but the Don Cherry one is a joke. Cherry has never represented all Canadians and his bigotry for everything non-Canadian (i.e. European) isn't very Canadian at all. Maybe top 10 Klansmen.

My top 3
Graham-Bell
Fox
Pearson

I agree 100%...and I also agree with all 3 of your choices...hey, we're finally in agreeance with something

I must say Fox would be 1st on my list...Gretzky gets a nod, but only because he is the greatest Canadian Hockey Player ever!!

striker14

 

[girth]

For me Terry Fox is going #1 easily. This guy still gives chills up my spine when I watch the video along with the odd tear. Gretzky gets the #2 spot for simply being amazing and showing you what being a canadian along with a great leader is all about.#3 has to go with Graham Bell although never getting a chance to meet him I was wondering if REGS could enlighten us with his personal contact with this Bell character?

 

[suburbanator]

Tough Call.

I choose Terry Fox because of his great inspiration and the fact that he led many Canadians (and others worldwide) without being a public figure or politician to begin with.

I also recogize the efforts of people like David Suzuki.

One interesting note about Dr. Banting is he ensured that the insulin and related drugs were available to the public without having it commercialized and he recieved no profits from it.


Here is my list.

FOX
PEARSON
DOUGLAS
SUZUKI
BANTING
TRUDEAU
Gretzky
MACDONALD
BELL

Notice I missed someone? Cherry is a "popular" Canadian not a greatest Canadian. What has he offered? He is an entertainer.

I think he's awesome at what he does, and I enjoy his views but thats were it ends. I Cannot believe he was included in this list...it is almost insulting to people that saved lives, and built our country.


Nice topic thanks for the chance to vote.

 

[One Dart]

Alexander Graham Bell wasn't born in Canada, the fact that the first telephone call was made in Canada is the only reason he is on the list. He actually didn't spend all too much time in Canada.

For Terry Fox I think the fact that he died is the only reason he is in the top ten. Let's say that history changed and he was able to complete the marathon of hope but Rick Hansen, who made the top 50, died while undertaking the wheels in motion tour, would their spots be reversed?

If Don Cherry does not get persecuted by the CBC then he does not make the top 10. The amount of media coverage devoted to him and the constant outcries on said media coverage regarding his treatment by the CBC make him a prime choice for hockey starved fans to select.

My pick, as is reflected, is Sir John A. MacDonald. Even though the man was a boozehound, nothing at all wrong with that, he could sell ice to an eskimo as is evidenced by the fact he was able to build the consensus between parties with very different demands and regional differences. And he was a boozehound.

 

[Dial 9-1-1]

One interesting note about Dr. Banting is he ensured that the insulin and related drugs were available to the public without having it commercialized and he recieved no profits from it.
Here is my list.

FOX
PEARSON
DOUGLAS
SUZUKI
BANTING
TRUDEAU
Gretzky
MACDONALD
BELL

Burbs...I can't believe that you've got Bell at the bottom.

"His interest in teaching the deaf led indirectly to his invention of the telephone, an event that transformed the way the world communicates. A tireless inventor with a philanthropic bent, Bell funded the Aerial Experiment Association in Nova Scotia."

Like Banting and scientists of that time, the hope to cure disease and/or invent was for the betterment of the world as a whole, and not to obtain patent rights solely for profit. Bell also helped fund other experiments. A true philanthropist to boot.

Pearson is just a blip in the history of Canada's PM's, but on a global scale, he is the one who is directly responsible for Canada being acknowledged as a peace keeping nation.

Trudeau...I've always admired him and he is probably the most famous Cdn PM of all time, but he alienated the west too much to be recognized as someone who represented all of Canada.

For those keeping score at home...If I had to vote again...
Pearson
Fox
Bell
Banting
Douglas
Macdonald
Trudeau
Suzuki
Gretzky
Cherry
Celine Dion

 

[simon]

of course, Dion! im an idiot...he was a damn good Right Winger

 

[Dial 9-1-1]

Alexander Graham Bell wasn't born in Canada, the fact that the first telephone call was made in Canada is the only reason he is on the list. He actually didn't spend all too much time in Canada.

For Terry Fox I think the fact that he died is the only reason he is in the top ten. Let's say that history changed and he was able to complete the marathon of hope but Rick Hansen, who made the top 50, died while undertaking the wheels in motion tour, would their spots be reversed

Excellent points OD. I wish I knew that prior to voting and then defending him. Also an excellent point with Fox. It's a cynical way to look at the situation, but absolutely dead on. Then again...would Hansen have even considered such a venture if not for the impact that Fox had? And where does Steve Fonyo fit into all this?

 

[Regs]

Steve Fonyo was a boozehound also so I would surmise OD would have him right up there with Sir. John

 

[knvb]

Rick Hansen wheels in motion were all over the road. Wasn't he charged twice for DUI?

 

[Dude]

Where did Hansen fall on the list? For me, he'd be right up there too.

I voted Fox for his legacy. I was pretty young during his run (I'm guessing 5 or 6), but I remember it in great detail, and his passing. Of course, over the years we've all run a bunch of Terry Fox 5 KM runs. Then there was my son, who came home from kindergarten to tell me all about Terry Fox, and how his class did a little run that day. I don't think our schools do enough to teach history and re-enforce Canadian pride at school, but clearly they do give attention to Terry Fox.

 

[suburbanator]

Burbs...I can't believe that you've got Bell at the bottom.

Blah Blah Blah... Its not the WORLDS GREATEST PEOPLE... It's Canadians. I am sure someone else will point out, or HAS pointed out that he's being claimed by multiple countries as their own.

Kind of Like BRETT HULL??? Whose list is he on

Goto www.hotbot.com and do a search for ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL... he is listed as a SCOTTISH INVENTOR.

And i quote: "Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3, 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Bell is best known for his invention of the telephone. Many inventors had been working on the idea of sending human speech by wire, but Bell was the first to succeed."

and I add: "Alexander Graham Bell died in Baddek, Nova Scotia, on August 2, 1922."

 

[Dude]

Does Captain Shamrock make the list? Seems most of the nominees are dead. He's dead, isn't he?

 

[girth]

Dude what about Chuck?he's a great piece of ass or I mean Canadian. Sorry just had to say it.

 

[Regs]

Does Captain Shamrock make the list? Seems most of the nominees are dead. He's dead, isn't he?

Like Dazza & Alexander Graham Bell, he wasn't born in Canada either so that's a moot point.

Fasty though, that's a different story...

Where did Louis Riel finish up?



~Regs.

 

[Dude]

But Fasty has an accent!? Surely, he must have been a true pompous British ass, no? I know because I had a conversation or two with him myself, didn't I?

Regardless, it's not kind to speak of the dead this way.

No comment on Sr. Charles Keeling. He's a good man, and all your rumor mongering of him being a pillow biter are ruining his bid to be the first Mayor of Cloverdale.

 

[STD]

1 MACDONALD
2 DOUGLAS
3 PEARSON
4 BANTING
5 TRUDEAU
6 SUZUKI
7 FOX

I took Greztky off the list but I would have him #1 on a list of Greatest Canadian athletes.To put him on a list with people who help to make Canada the Country it is and Canadians who are responsible for saving lives is a bit insulting.

I noticed there are no women on the list were there any in the top 20?

 

[Dial 9-1-1]

Rick Hansen wheels in motion were all over the road. Wasn't he charged twice for DUI?

No, you've got it all wrong. That was Fonyo you're thinking of. He used to hang out at the Tim Horton's at 2am with other TTPers and blab about how they wished they could use both their feet.

If I'm not mistaken, Hansen was the wife beater.

 

[Keeper]

Since you asked:

Louis Reil was #11 -- just out of contention. Shocking that he was beat out by Cherry.

The top female was Shania Twain (#18). Shocking that she was beat out by Nellie McClung (#25) who was the first to fight for women's sufferage. As was mentioned last night: It takes a lot of work, but is having a flat stomach what it takes to be a Great Canadian?

As for Bell, he was born in 1847, but the CBC led viewers to believe that Brantford, Ontario was "home". However the CBC website states that his family only immigrated to Canada in 1870 (which would make him at least 22 years old and possibly 23). Then it goes on to say:

At the age of 23, Alexander relocated to Boston, Massachusetts where he worked to publicize his father's Visible Speech system. In 1872, Bell founded his own school for deaf-mutes and shortly thereafter, he was appointed Professor of Vocal Physiology at Boston University. During this productive period, the highly sensitive Alexander suffered from intense headaches brought on by stress and overwork, and he would often retreat to his family's Brantford estate to rest in the quiet, peaceful surroundings.

So he worked in Boston, but retreated to Brantford. But how often? How Canadian was he? Simon, could you tell us?

I simply didn't rank him (or Banting for that matter) very high because he was simply an inventor. A great mind, yes, but ultimately an inventor and a scientist.

Terry Fox, on the other hand was dealt a cripling blow, but strove to help others in spite of his own pain and handicap. Don't forget that his disease continued to spread during his Marathon of Hope and was hospitalized just past the half-way point. His determination, persistence and honesty are what make him the Greatest Canadian above others.

Rick Hansen, I agree should be in the top 10. In fact, I predicted that he would be but was surprised to see that he wasn't (I missed the first 20 minutes thinking it started at 9pm). It turns out he was #30. I suppose it was due to the fact that apart from his handicap, he was/is in perfect health. In addition, his Man in Motion tour came after Steve Fonyo's run (and subsequent embarrasment), so perhaps his tour around the world wasn't seen as quite the ground-breaking and unique endeavour that Terry's was.

 

[Keeper]

. . . with other TTPers and blab about how they wished they could use both their feet.

Is it wrong to laugh at that?

Absolute classic.

 

[Keeper]

Fyi:

Here's 11-100:

11 Louis Riel
12 Jean Vanier
13 Stompin' Tom Connors
14 Neil Young
15 Peter Gzowski
16 Romeo Dallaire
17 Stephen Lewis
18 Shania Twain
19 Bobby Orr
20 Mike Myers
21 Unknown Solider
22 Harold A. Rogers
23 Maurice “Rocket” Richard
24 Sir Arthur Currie
25 Nellie McClung
26 Dr. Norman Bethune
27 Celine Dion
28 Sir Isaac Brock
29 Jim Carrey
30 Rick Hansen
31 Pierre Berton
32 Michael J. Fox
33 Gordon Lightfoot
34 Hal Anderson
35 Laura Secord
36 Ernie Coombs
37 Tecumseh
38 Mario Lemieux
39 Bret “Hitman” Hart
40 Avril Lavigne
41 John Candy
42 Sir Sanford Fleming
43 Sir Wilfrid Laurier
44 Mary Maxwell
45 Jean Chrétien
46 Leonard Cohen
47 John Diefenbaker
48 Billy Bishop
49 William Lyon Mackenzie King
50 Rick Mercer
51 Pamela Anderson
52 Craig Kielburger
53 Gordie Howe
54 William Stephenson
55 Glenn Gould
56 William Shatner
57 Lucy Maud Montgomery
58 Paul Henderson
59 Tim Horton
60 Stan Rogers
61 Sir William Edmond Logan
62 Marshall Mcluhan
63 Roberta Bondar
64 Brian Mulroney
65 Burton Cummings
66 Sheila Fraser
67 Patrick Roy
68 Jean Beliveau
69 René Lévesque
70 James Naismith
71 Margaret Atwood
72 Sen. Anne Cools
73 David Thompson
74 Emily Murphy
75 Sarah McLachlan
76 John McCrae
77 Dr. Charles Best
78 Robert Munsch
79 Ed Belfour
80 Chief Dan George
81 Sandra Schmirler
82 Dan Aykroyd
83 Elijah Harper
84 Kurt Browning
85 Emily Carr
86 Mike Weir
87 Dr. Henry Morgantaler
88 Farley Mowat
89 Donovan Bailey
90 Bryan Adams
91 Preston Manning
92 John Molson
93 Joni Mitchell
94 Anne Murray
95 Lord Stanley
96 Geddy Lee
97 Louise Arbour
98 Mordecai Richler
99 Sam Steele
100 J.S. Woodsworth

Some interesting observations:

• Sheila Fraser (#66) beats out Patty Roy (#67).
• Ed Belfour (#79) beats Chief Dan George(#80)....Chief Dan George!
• Happy to to see Shatner (#56) in there somewhere. Ahead of Tim Horton, even (#59)
• The Unknown Soldier (#21). Very good nomination, but not surprised more people didn't think of it. Would have been a far better top-10 than Cherry.
• #39: Bret “Hitman” Hart. Are you kidding me?
• #51: Pamela Anderson. Were they nominating her or her surgeons?
• #45: Jean Chrétien. I wonder if that ranking will plumet as more info comes out on Ad-Scam.