The Greatest Canadian

The "Greatest Canadian" was chosen through a two-step voting process. The first phase beginning on April 5, 2004, involved the collection of data (nominees for consideration) through polls conducted by mail, phone and the internet.[5] Of these nominees the bottom 40 of 50 individuals, in order of popularity, were revealed during the first episode in October.

The criteria for eligible as outlined by the CBC was broad:[3]

Born in what is now Canada, or born elsewhere but lived here and made a significant contribution to this country - real (no fictional characters or animals) - an individual (no pairs, or groups).

To prevent bias during the second round of voting; the top ten nominees, also revealed during the first episode, were presented alphabetically rather than by order of first round popularity.[5] This phase was accompanied by a series of hour-long feature documentaries, where 10 Canadian celebrities acting as advocates each presented their case for The Greatest Canadian.[1] Viewers then submitted votes over the next six weeks supporting their favorite finalists.

On October 17, 2004 the top 10 nominees were revealed at the end of the first episode in alphabetical order.[6] The winner and all finalists were announced by popularity on November 28 and 29 in a three hour two part series conclusion.[7][6]

Rank[8]	Image	Name	Notability	Birthplace	Advocate[9]	Aired[6]
10		Wayne Gretzky	Hockey player, holder of numerous NHL records	Brantford, Ontario	Deborah Grey	October 20
9		Alexander Graham Bell	Scientist, inventor, founder of the Bell Telephone Company	Edinburgh, Scotland	Evan Solomon	November 15
8		Sir John A. Macdonald	First Prime Minister of Canada	Glasgow, Scotland	Charlotte Gray	October 27
7		Don Cherry	Hockey coach and commentator	Kingston, Ontario	Bret Hart	October 25
6		Lester B. Pearson	Fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada, United Nations General Assembly President, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate	Toronto, Ontario	Paul Gross	November 10
5		David Suzuki	Environmentalist	Vancouver, British Columbia	Melissa Auf der Maur	November 17
4		Sir Frederick Banting	Medical scientist, co-discoverer of insulin, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine	Alliston, Ontario	Mary Walsh	November 8
3		Pierre Trudeau	Fifteenth Prime Minister of Canada	Montreal, Quebec	Rex Murphy	November 22
2		Terry Fox	Athlete, activist, humanitarian	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Sook-Yin Lee	November 3
1		Tommy Douglas	Father of Medicare, Premier of Saskatchewan	Falkirk, Scotland	George Stroumboulopoulos	October 18

More than 10,000 names were submitted for consideration with the top 100 individuals being revealed online accompanied with a short biography.[10] Of the 100 only the top 50 nominees were featured during the televised broadcast.[2]

At least three* members of the top 50 were nominees as the direct result of an active mass-mailing campaign among that individual's loyal and well-organized followers. Kin Canada founder Harold A. Rogers, DJ Hal Anderson, and Baha'i activist Mary Maxwell all benefitted from a grassroots campaign to get their names included in the nominees list.[11] CBC openly admitted this during the broadcast, recognizing that these three esoteric individuals are probably quite unknown to the general public.[2]

Critics have complained there were only four women and three nonwhites in the top 50, French Canadian participation was very low and that a large number of modern pop culture celebrities made the list like; Bret Hart, Mike Myers, John Candy, Jim Carrey and Avril Lavigne.[2] Contemporary icons chosen may be reflective of a youthful voting demographic, as the production was family oriented, or there was unwillingness or confusion distinguishing modern popularity with national historic significance among the participants of all ages.[2] In particular, Don Cherry's inclusion in the top 10 upset many Canadians, especially considering it forced out figures they believe more worthy like Louis Riel and Jean Vanier.[2]

Other countries have produced similar shows based on the format originated by the BBC. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Alexander Graham Bell were also featured on the 100 Greatest Britons list.[2] A two-hour spin-off series called The Greatest Canadian Invention aired in 2007 with Insulin as the winner.[12]

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