Canadians vote Socialist politician as "Greatest Canadian"

[tedly]

This is what some religious fundamentalists look like up here.Great Canadian Competition on CBC TV (http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/)

It has something to do with the way the water goes down the toilet as you get further north, or the light from the Aurora.

[Michael Redman]

Gretzky is a socialist?

[CBL4]

I assume that this list is a ridiculous popularity contest not a true representation. After doing quick internet searches, it seems that most of these people are barely great or great only in unimportant field (e.g. hockey) or not even Canadian (Bell). Surely there must be some truly great Canadians.

CBL

[KelvinG]

I can pretty much guarantee you that most people who voted for Douglas did so for one reason: He is considered the forefather of Medicare. I'd be very surprised if they were familar with anything else he stood for politically.

Of course, it would also be terribly unfair to totally dismiss Douglas just because he was a socialist. He did great things for the province of Saskatchewan when he was leader. At the time, he was heartily embraced by the people there and is remembered fondly (Being from Saskatchewan I've discussed this with the old timers there).
He was elected to five terms in Sask., so you can mock him if you will, but the people at the time seemed to think he was doing something right.

But is he the greatest ever Canadian? Well, not in my book.
That honour would go to James Randi!!

[Lisa Simpson]

The fact that Celine Dion ranked higher than William Shatner makes it...obvious...how...ridiculous...this...poll...is .

[KelvinG]

Originally posted by CBL4
I assume that this list is a ridiculous popularity contest not a true representation. After doing quick internet searches, it seems that most of these people are barely great or great only in unimportant field (e.g. hockey) or not even Canadian (Bell). Surely there must be some truly great Canadians.

CBL

Yah, it's partly a popularity contest. If you go through the list of the top 100 you will find lot's of great people. You will also find lots of duds.

[Batman Jr.]

They also wrongfully attribute the invention of the telephone to Alexander Graham Bell. It has been known for the past few years already that it was the Italian inventor Antonio Meucci to whom we really owe our reverence to.

[TruthSeeker]

It was a silly contest for many of the reasons listed. That Don Cherry but not a single woman, including Nellie McClung or Margaret Atwood, made the top ten says it all. Foolish.

[TriangleMan]

In other words the contest was really the Ten Most Popular Canadians in Vague Terms of Achievement.

That said, I do think that Douglas is a great Canadian for his role in Canada's health care system. Don Cherry? No comment.

[Bearguin]

Originally posted by TruthSeeker
It was a silly contest for many of the reasons listed. That Don Cherry but not a single woman, including Nellie McClung or Margaret Atwood, made the top ten says it all. Foolish.

While I agree with the sentiment, Margaret Atwood is only good for insomnia ;)

At least Don Cherry keeps me awake (trying to find the remote to get the idiot off the screen).

[Kilted_Canuck]

I know TC Douglas was a baptist minister and fundie, but he turned Saskatchewan from a poor, backwards province into a poor, backwards province where all citizens could have proper healthcare despite their wealth. Because of him we are still one of the farthest left leaning places in north america outside of Cuba. I'm 2 blocks away from the nearest TC Douglas building here and anyone over 60 fondly remembers him.

(BTW, I love his Cats and Mice speech)

Though my vote for Greatest Canadian went towards Dr. David Suzuki, who ended up in 5th place.

[UserGoogol]

Alexander Graham Bell lived in Canada for some part of his life, including I believe the end, which is good enough.

[da bear]

I think that the motivation for people voting for TD probably has more to do with him being recognized as the person who people feel is most responsible for gelling some basic ideas about social responsibility in the collective mind of a majority of Canadians at the time. Those ideals are still important to so many of us.

It's something that most of us a very proud of I think.

I know that's a simplistic statement, but I don't want to sound all long winded and pompous.

[TruthSeeker]

Visit this thread (http://www.randi.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=49430) to nominate your choice for the Worst Canadian.

:)

[tedly]

Originally posted by Kilted_Canuck
I know TC Douglas was a baptist minister and fundie,

(BTW, I love his Cats and Mice speech)



I believe he was also a Golden Gloves lightweight boxer.

And, yes, he was a powerful and delightful speaker.

So if we can't have Bell, let's substiute Reginald Fessenden.

[Lavie Enrose]

My very cynical take on Douglas winning is: we Canadians are always looking for something to separate ourselves from Americans.

"Free" health care is one thing Canadians have always pointed to and bragged about that somehow makes us a "better" society than our neighbour to the south that does not have "free" health care.

Also, health care is exclusively a provincial responsibility, not federal, as so many Canadians seem to think.

[headscratcher4]

The fact that Neal Young isn't on that list shows that it is a sad fraud perpetraited by small minded people who have no national pride and live in too cold a climate. After all, you are, like a hurricane, there's clam in your eyes. And I'm getting blown away..."

(should replace O'Canada NOW).

[Lavie Enrose]

When I first saw the CBC poll, I found it very strange. A national poll on who is the greatest Canadian in a country that hardly teaches its children history in its schools?

I guess that is why Alexander Graham Bell made the list, and not Charles Best. And why so many men made the list, and so very few women.