Canadian Newsmaker of the Year
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- This article is about the honour awarded by the Canadian Press. For the honour awarded by Time, see Canadian Newsmaker of the Year (Time).
The Canadian Newsmaker of the Year is an award voted every year since 1946 by the Canadian Press. It is an opinion on which Canadian has done the most to influence the news.[1] Since Broadcast News was formed in 1954, it has joined the Canadian Press in selecting a newsmaker.[1]
Canadian historian Chad Gaffield has approved of the practice by saying it is a return to studying how one person can influence history, rather than studying obscure people.[1] The award often goes to politicians,[2] as evidenced[3] by Pierre Trudeau's record 10th award in 2000 breaking a tie with Lester B. Pearson's nine wins. The media have also noted that the title is often positive, but not always.[4]
In 1999 a Newsmaker of the Century was chosen, rather than a Newsmaker of the Year. This occurred during a time when many lists were produced inspired by the turn of the millennium.[1] The standard was "lasting significance," and the voters gave a mix of compliments and criticisms to the selected Newsmaker, Trudeau, though Trudeau replied that he was "at once surprised and quite pleased with the information."[5]
[edit] List of Newsmakers of the Year
| Year | Awardee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Igor Gouzenko | embassy clerk who exposed Soviet espionage |
| 1947 | Barbara Ann Scott | first North American to win World Figure Skating Championship |
| 1948 | William Lyon Mackenzie King | retired as the longest reigning Prime Minister in the Commonwealth |
| 1949 | Louis St. Laurent | popular politician who won election as Prime Minister |
| 1950 | Lester Pearson | diplomat |
| 1951 | Lester Pearson | |
| 1952 | Lester Pearson | |
| 1953 | Lester Pearson | |
| 1954 | Marilyn Bell | marathon swimmer |
| 1955 | Lester Pearson | |
| 1956 | Lester Pearson | |
| 1957 | John Diefenbaker | won unexpected minority government in election |
| 1958 | John Diefenbaker | won largest majority government in Canadian history in the 1958 election |
| 1959 | John Diefenbaker and Joey Smallwood | Prime Minister and Premier of Newfoundland |
| 1960 | John Diefenbaker | |
| 1961 | James Coyne | resigned as governor of the Bank of Canada |
| 1962 | Réal Caouette | Social Credit politician who helped vote out Diefenbaker government |
| 1963 | Lester Pearson | became Prime Minister after winning the 1963 election |
| 1964 | Lester Pearson | oversaw Flag Debate as Prime Minister |
| 1965 | Lucien Rivard | convicted drug smuggler who escaped from prison for 136 days |
| 1966 | John Diefenbaker | refused to surrender PC leadership |
| 1967 | Lester Pearson | oversaw Canadian Centennial festivities as Prime Minister |
| 1968 | Pierre Trudeau | became Prime Minister after winning the 1968 election |
| 1969 | Pierre Trudeau | |
| 1970 | Pierre Trudeau | |
| 1971 | Pierre Trudeau | |
| 1972 | Pierre Trudeau | |
| 1973 | Pierre Trudeau | |
| 1974 | Pierre Trudeau | |
| 1975 | Pierre Trudeau | |
| 1976 | René Lévesque | won 1976 provincial election to become Quebec's first sovereignist premier |
| 1977 | René Lévesque | killed a homeless man, and his mistress was exposed, leading to his divorce |
| 1978 | Pierre Trudeau | |
| 1979 | Joe Clark | became Prime Minister after winning the 1979 election |
| 1980 | Terry Fox | averaged 42 km a day on an artificial leg during his Marathon of Hope |
| 1981 | Terry Fox | died at age 22 |
| 1982 | Wayne Gretzky | hockey player nicknamed "The Great One", scored a record 92 goals in a single season |
| 1983 | Brian Mulroney | won leadership convention to lead PC Party |
| 1984 | Brian Mulroney | became Prime Minister after winning a record 211 of 282 seats in the 1984 election |
| 1985 | Steve Fonyo | cancer victim who lost a leg and ran a marathon similar to Terry Fox |
| 1986 | Rick Hansen | world-class cross-country wheelchair athlete |
| 1987 | Rick Hansen | |
| 1988 | Ben Johnson | set world record in the 100 meter at the 1988 Summer Olympics, but was subsequently disqualified for steroid use |
| 1989 | Michael Wilson | Minister of Finance responsible for the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement |
| 1990 | Elijah Harper | Manitoba MLA who filibustered to stop the Meech Lake Accord |
| 1991 | Brian Mulroney | implemented the Goods and Services Tax and dealt with the aftermath of Meech's failure |
| 1992 | The referendum on the Charlottetown Accord | CBC.ca claimed that this was the first time that the "country's newsrooms have selected a symbol instead of a specific person," which would be done again in 2006.[6] |
| 1993 | Kim Campbell | short-lived Prime Minister who was the first woman to hold that office |
| 1994 | Jacques Parizeau | became Premier of Quebec in the 1994 Quebec election |
| 1995 | Lucien Bouchard | Leader of the Opposition and key player in the referendum on sovereignty |
| 1996 | Donovan Bailey | sprinter ran 100 meter dash in record 9.84 seconds, winning Olympic gold |
| 1997 | Sheldon Kennedy | child abuse victim who went public in his campaign against abuse |
| 1998 | Jean Chrétien | Prime Minister. Chretien was chosen over the National Post's publisher Conrad Black by one vote, for favourable public opinion. Chretien merely replied that a prime minister is often a newsmaker.[7] |
| 1999 | Pierre Trudeau | voted Canadian Newsmaker of the 20th century (no newsmaker named for 1999 itself). The vote also produced a top 10 list of newsmakers, in which Terry Fox came second, followed by Levesque, Frederick Banting, Tommy Douglas, William Lyon Mackenzie King, Pearson, Wilfrid Laurier, Billy Bishop and Mulroney.[5] |
| 2000 | Pierre Trudeau | events of the 6 days that marked his passing and state funeral |
| 2001 | Stockwell Day | Canadian Alliance leader was challenged by many in his own party. Day received 74 votes, and the second choice was Chretien with 12 votes. It was argued that while the Newsmaker of the Year title is often a positive title, Day was selected for perceived ineptness and probably did not want the title.[4] |
| 2002 | Jean Chrétien | Editor Don McCurdy explained, "While not everything he has done has met with a positive reaction, like the gun registry fiasco, much of it has been notable."[3] |
| 2003 | Paul Martin | became Prime Minister after winning the Liberal Party of Canada leadership convention, 2003 |
| 2004 | Paul Martin | won Canada's first minority government in 25 years in the 2004 election, and was linked to the sponsorship scandal |
| 2005 | John Gomery | judge who held the inquiry into the Liberal sponsorship scandal |
| 2006 | The Canadian Soldier | due to the war in Afghanistan; editor Gary MacDougall said that "The issue of Canada's involvement in Afghanistan has been on the lips, and in the hearts, of Canadians all year."[8] |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d "Poll to select century's events," Moose Jaw Times Herald, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan: September 27, 1999, pg. 7.
- ^ "Most CP survey winners politicians," Trail Times. Trail, B.C.: December 30, 2002. pg. 8.
- ^ a b Canadian Press, "Canadian Press names Chretien newsmaker of 2002," December 31, 2002, URL accessed 20 February 2007.
- ^ a b "A worthy winner," Expositor. Brantford, Ontario: December 28, 2001. pg. A.8.
- ^ a b Scott White, "Trudeau named Canadian newsmaker of the century," Canadian Press, December 6, 1999, URL accessed 23 August 2000
- ^ CBC.ca, "'Canadian Soldier' voted 2006 Newsmaker," Yahoo! Canada News, December 25, 2006, URL accessed 4 January 2007.
- ^ CBC.ca, "Chretien top newsmaker of 1998," URL accessed 20 February 2007.
- ^ Bill Graveland, "Canadian Soldier chosen as Newsmaker of 2006," Canadian Press, December 25, 2006, URL accessed 2 January 2007.
