Greatest Canadian on CBC

[Netminder32 32]

Did anyone else watch the Greatest Canadian debate on CBC last night? AND... Was anyone else wishing that someone would just give Melissa Auf Der Maur a shot in the head?

Melissa Auf Der Maur

How can anyone be so blatantly Anti-Canadian and be one of the Advocates in this show. She basically dismissed Don Cherry (my personal choice) and Wayne Gretzky and all of their supporters.... Because they couldn't possibly be in the same league as David Suzuki when in comes to being a Great Canadian. Man, she got my blood boiling...

Just wondering if anyone else saw the show and what you thought.

[lee92 2]

i wanted to smack her as well. i would not say don cherry is the greatest canadian, but he is certainly one of the most passionate and patriotic people this country has. i couldn't believe how she could shut down hockey, as well as the canadian flag. she didn't even care to listen to other viewpoints. i missed the last part of the show...did they say the winner?

[mack 44]

The day I put an athlete as the greatest person of my nationality is the day I eat crap and die.

[Dave 1]

Auf Der Maur is actually a German name. "Auf" means "on", "der" means "the", "Maur" or "Mauer" means "Wall". So her name means "on the wall".

Melissa On The Wall... how bad can it get?!

[kosydar 0]

The day I put an athlete as the greatest person of my nationality is the day I eat crap and die.

Agreed, although I'm not Canadian. I'm not too well versed on Canadian history, but I remember reading short bios on some of the candidates on the CBC website, and there were much more qualified people on there than Gretz and Don, although I like them both a lot.

[lee92 2]

i don't beleive either cherry or gretzky should win. in fact, i don't even think gretzky should be on the list! but i do believe cherry is one of the most passionate ppl about canada, and speaks for the little guy and brings up touching subjects, and teaches ppl how to act with dignity and class. if you consider that great, so be it.

i'm hoping terry fox takes it personally

[Dan_The_Man_16 0]

I can't believe Cherry or Wayner are in the top 10 (should be in the top 100 for sure). Tommy Douglas or Pierre Elliot Trudeau should win, IMHO.

[Netminder32 32]

i missed the last part of the show...did they say the winner?

Tommy Douglas was the final winner.... Just announced it tonight.

Tommy Douglas

[dietzie27 0]

what about bryan adams?

[Eazy_b97 1]

My vote would've went for Trudeau as well, I like Cherry for certain things, but he too much of an idiot to be on the list in my opinion. Bashing other nations doesn't make yours better. Terry Fox would be up there for me too.

[crosskore 0]

I would have thought the greatest canadian would at least be someone everyone knows. I mean, if hes so great, wouldnt everyone at least have heard of him? I have no idea who this tommy douglas guy is. I dont think its a good pick.

[WINGS 0]

The people of Canada called/emailed their votes to the CBC, so the order was based on how many votes they received.

[crosskore 0]

Oh ok, So I guess alot of people do know who he is.

[Dan_The_Man_16 0]

He was the person that implemented free health care into todays Canada. Great idea, although not entirely his own. I probably would have put Trudeau before him though.

[mseguin 0]

Don Cherry is not a great Canadian. He's patriotic, and passionate, but he represents everything that isn't Canadian. He's racist, loud-mouthed, rude, and thinks way too much of himself. As for Gretz, scoring more gaols than anyone else makes you a great athlete, not a great person. Not saying he isn't a good person, but there are far more deserving candidates then him.

[J-Shera 0]

Douglas also started the Pention plan to I belive, and was the saskatchewan premier in i think the 60's.

[beaucoup_fish 0]

I think the whole idea behind the show was kinda dumb. I agree that Don Cherry is a very patriotic and passionate individual, but like many feel, he is also a racist loudmouth.

It's virtually impossible to conceive of any one individual embodying the essence of an entire country. While many of the people on the list were great individuals, none of them were infallible and I don't think, can truly represent the human embodiment of a nation.

[WINGS 0]

Douglas also started the Pention plan to I belive, and was the saskatchewan premier in i think the 60's.

Actually I think it was Mackenzie King that introduced Old Age Pension.

[GekigangarIII 0]

I was kinda shocked to see Douglas as the top... a socialist to end all socialists (granted many canadians would choose a socialist just because it's far away from american culture), a guy that's responsible for Canada's current "health care system". Of all the Canadians I know (family included) NONE of them even remotely like the Canadian health care system. Heck, most come down to the states when it's something serious.

But I guess enough people thought highly of him... I admire his intent, but not his methods.

[Eazy_b97 1]

I think alot of it has to do with the recent outcry of the notion to privatize health care. I'm surprised to hear you say alot of people complain about it Geki, most pople really like it, but everyone gets frustrated when they are waiting. I don't see a problem either way. I think there were better choices than him though.