<!--this is CBC's version, they don't hold a monopoly on that term-->
The Greatest Canadian is a 2004 television series consisting of 13 episodes produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to identify one greatest Canadian of all time, according to those who watched and participated in the program.
The series two-hour debut on 17 October 2004 garnered more than one million viewers, with approximately 500,000 to 700,000 viewers per episode thereafter. The initial nomination phase received more than 10,000 names submitted for consideration.
Selection process
The "Greatest Canadian" was chosen through a two-step voting process. The first phase beginning on 5 April 2004, involved the collection of data (nominees for consideration) through polls conducted by mail, phone and the internet.
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. 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.
!Image
!Name
!Date of birth
!Date of death
!Notability
!Birthplace
!Advocate
!Aired
|-
|10
|75px
|
|1961
|
|Hockey player, holder of numerous NHL records
|Brantford, Ontario
|
|20 October
|-
|9
|75px
|
|1847
|1922
|Scientist, inventor,<br /> founder of the Bell Telephone Company
|Edinburgh, Scotland
|
| 15 November
|-
|8
|75px
|
|1815
|1891
|First Prime Minister of Canada
|Glasgow, Scotland
|
|27 October
|-
|7
|75px
|
|1934
|
|Hockey Commentator
|Kingston, Ontario
|
| 25 October
|-
|6
|75px
|
|1897
|1972
|Fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada,<br /> United Nations General Assembly President,<br /> Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
|Toronto, Ontario
|
|10 November
|-
|5
|75px
|
|1936
|
|Environmentalist
|Vancouver, British Columbia
|
|17 November
|-
|4
|75px
|
|1891
|1941
|Medical scientist, co-discoverer of insulin, <br />winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
|Alliston, Ontario
|
|8 November
|-
|3
|75px
|
|1919
|2000
|Fifteenth Prime Minister of Canada
|Montreal, Quebec
|
|22 November
|-
|2
|75px
|
|1958
|1981
|Athlete, activist, humanitarian
|Winnipeg, Manitoba
|
|3 November
|-
|1
|75px
|
|1904
|1986
|Father of Medicare, Premier of Saskatchewan
|Falkirk, Scotland
|
|18 October
|}
Top 50
More than 10,000 names were submitted for consideration with the top 100 individuals being revealed online accompanied with a short biography. Of the 100 only the top 50 nominees were featured during the televised broadcast.
At least three* members of the 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 Baháʼí activist Mary Maxwell all benefitted from a grassroots campaign to get their names included in the nominees list. CBC openly admitted this during the broadcast, recognizing that these three esoteric individuals are probably quite unknown to the general public.
Critics have complained there were only four women and three nonwhites in the top 50, that 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.
See also
- Canada: A People's History
- Canadian Newsmaker of the Year
- Heritage Minutes
- List of Canadian awards
- List of Canadian Victoria Cross recipients
- List of companions of the Order of Canada
- List of inductees of Canada's Walk of Fame
- Persons of National Historic Significance
- Historical rankings of prime ministers of Canada