Canadian Newsmaker of The Year - List of Newsmakers of The Year

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 that year as the longest serving prime minister in Commonwealth of Nations history.
1949 Louis St. Laurent Politician who was appointed prime minister after his party won that year's federal election.
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 Appointed as prime minister after his party won an unexpected minority in that year's federal election.
1958 John Diefenbaker Continued as prime minister after his party won the largest majority in Canadian history in that year's federal election.
1959 John Diefenbaker and Joey Smallwood Prime minister and premier of Newfoundland, respectively.
1960 John Diefenbaker
1961 James Coyne Resigned that year as Governor of the Bank of Canada.
1962 Réal Caouette Social Credit politician who helped vote out the Diefenbaker government.
1963 Lester Pearson Was appointed as prime minister after his party won that year's federal election.
1964 Lester Pearson Oversaw as prime minister the debate on Canada's flag.
1965 Lucien Rivard Convicted drug smuggler who escaped from prison for 136 days.
1966 John Diefenbaker Refused to surrender Progressive Conservative Party leadership.
1967 Lester Pearson Oversaw as prime minister the organisation of the festivities for the Canadian Centennial.
1968 Pierre Trudeau Appointed as prime minister after his party won that year's federal 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 Appointed as the first sovereignist premier of Quebec after his party won that year's provincial election.
1977 René Lévesque
1978 Pierre Trudeau
1979 Joe Clark Appointed as prime minister after his party won that year's federal election.
1980 Terry Fox With an artificial leg, averaged 42 km per day 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 the leadership election to head the Progressive Conservative Party.
1984 Brian Mulroney Appointed as prime minister after his party won a record 211 of 282 seats in that year's federal election.
1985 Steve Fonyo Cancer victim who lost a leg and ran a marathon similar to Terry Fox's.
1986 Rick Hansen World-class cross-country wheelchair athlete.
1987 Rick Hansen
1988 Ben Johnson Set a world record in the 100 meter race at the 1988 Summer Olympics, but was subsequently disqualified for steroid use.
1989 Michael Wilson Minister of Finance responsible for the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement.
1990 Elijah Harper Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba who filibustered to stop the Meech Lake Accord.
1991 Brian Mulroney Advised the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax and dealt with the aftermath of the failure of the Meech Lake Accord.
1992 The referendum on the Charlottetown Accord The first selection of a symbol rather than a specific person.
1993 Kim Campbell Briefly served as prime minister, becoming the first woman to do so in Canada.
1994 Jacques Parizeau Appointed as premier of Quebec after his party won that year's provincial election
1995 Lucien Bouchard Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the federal parliament, and a key player in the referendum on Quebec sovereignty.
1996 Donovan Bailey Sprinter who ran 100 meter dash in record 9.84 seconds, winning gold at that year's olympics.
1997 Sheldon Kennedy Child abuse victim who went public in his campaign against abuse.
1998 Jean Chrétien Prime minister who was chosen over the National Post's publisher, Conrad Black, by one vote, for favourable public opinion. Chrétien merely replied that a prime minister is often a newsmaker.
1999 Pierre Trudeau Voted Canadian newsmaker of the 20th century, with no newsmaker named for 1999 itself. The vote also produced a top 10 list of newsmakers, in which Terry Fox came second, followed by René Lévesque, Frederick Banting, Tommy Douglas, William Lyon Mackenzie King, Lester Pearson, Wilfrid Laurier, Billy Bishop, and Brian Mulroney.
2000 Pierre Trudeau Events of the six days that marked his passing and state funeral.
2001 Stockwell Day Canadian Alliance leader challenged by many in his own party. Day received 74 votes, followed by Chrétien 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 designation.
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."
2003 Paul Martin Appointed as prime minister after winning the his party's leadership election that year.
2004 Paul Martin Became the first minority prime minister in 25 years, after his party won that year's federal election, and was linked to the sponsorship scandal.
2005 John Gomery Judge who held the inquiry into the Liberal Party sponsorship scandal.
2006 The Canadian soldier Members of the Canadian Forces engaged in 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."
2007 Royal Canadian Mounted Police National police force besieged by crises and scandals throughout the year. According to an editor: "The RCMP dominated Canadian news this year."
2008 Stephen Harper Prime minister who tabled the apology for the residential schools and instigated that year's parliamentary dispute.
2009 Stephen Harper
2010 Russell Williams Former Royal Canadian Air Force Colonel, found guilty of murdering and raping two women.
2011 Jack Layton Led the New Democratic Party to official opposition, Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the federal parliament, whose state funeral occurred in 2011.

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