The Greatest Canadian

[Annessa]

THE NOMINEES ARE IN!!!

Hello everyone,


Although I missed the show *kicking herself* I am happy to say the 10 nominees are in and of course I am SOOOO HAPPY to see Terry Fox in the list (not that I thought for a moment that he wouldn't be) If I'm not mistaken he has made the list every year since they began this and I know he has won before but I don't know how many times. I think it's time for a little research.


Here they are... the 2004 Greatest Canadian Nominees:


Frederick Banting
Alexander Graham Bell
Don Cherry
Tommy Douglas
Terry Fox
Wayne Gretzky
Sir John A. Macdonald
Lester B. Pearson
David Suzuki
Pierre Elliott Trudeau


Voting begins/opens after tonights broadcast Monday October 18, 2004 at 8:00PM

Come on guys and gals, it's time register to Vote! Vote! Vote! *hugs*

http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/




Your Cheetah Girl,
Annessa
XOXO

 

[Annessa]

WHO ARE YOU VOTING FOR?

Hello,



Since it will be some time until we find out who won The Greatest Canadian award I would and I'm sure others would like to know who you voted for.

I'll give you all 1 guess as to whom I will be voting for.

My vote (of course) goes to Terry Fox




Annessa
XOXO

 

[Annessa]

THE PROGRAMS SCHEDULE

Howdy,


Here is the program schedule:
http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/schedule/


Sunday, October 17
8 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Top 50 Great Canadians Countdown (As nominated by you, the public.)


Monday, October 18
8:00 p.m.
The Great Tommy Douglas

10:00 p.m.
Top 50 Great Canadians Countdown (As nominated by you, the public.) re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Tuesday, October 19
8:00 p.m. ET , 11:00 p.m. ET , 2:00 a.m. ET and 5:00 a.m. ET (Wednesday)
The Great Tommy Douglas re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Wednesday, October 20
8:00 p.m.
The Great Wayne Gretzky

Thursday, October 21
8:00 p.m. ET , 11:00 p.m. ET , 2:00 a.m. ET and 5:00 a.m. ET (Friday)
The Great Wayne Gretzky re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Saturday, October 23
7:00 p.m. ET , 8:00 p.m. ET
The Great Tommy Douglas and The Great Wayne Gretzky re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Monday, October 25
8:00 p.m.
The Great Don Cherry

Tuesday, October 26
8:00 p.m. ET , 11:00 p.m. ET , 2:00 a.m. ET and 5:00 a.m. ET (Wednesday)
The Great Don Cherry re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Wednesday, October 27
8:00 p.m.
The Great Sir John A. Macdonald

Thursday, October 28
8:00 p.m. ET , 11:00 p.m. ET , 2:00 a.m. ET and 5:00 a.m. ET (Friday)
The Great Sir John A. Macdonald re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Saturday, October 30
7:00 p.m. ET , 8:00 p.m. ET
The Great Don Cherry and The Great Sir John A. Macdonald re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Note: NO broadcast on Monday November 1

Wednesday, November 3
8:00 p.m.
The Great Terry Fox

Thursday, November 4
8:00 p.m. ET , 11:00 p.m. ET , 2:00 a.m. ET on 5:00 a.m. ET (Friday)
The Great Terry Fox re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Saturday, November 6
7:00 p.m. ET
The Great Terry Fox re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Monday, November 8
8:00 p.m.
The Great Frederick Banting

Tuesday, November 9
8:00 p.m. ET , 11:00 p.m. ET , 2:00 a.m. ET and 5:00 a.m. ET (Wednesday)
The Great Frederick Banting re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Wednesday, November 10
8:00 p.m.
The Great Lester Pearson

Thursday, November 11
8:00 p.m. ET , 11:00 p.m. ET , 2:00 a.m. ET and 5:00 a.m. ET (Friday)
The Great Lester Pearson re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Saturday, November 13
7 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. ET
The Great Frederick Banting and The Great Lester Pearson re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Monday, November 15
8:00 p.m.
The Great Alexander Graham Bell

Tuesday, November 16
8:00 p.m. ET , 11:00 p.m. ET , 2:00 a.m. ET and 5:00 a.m. ET (Wednesday)
The Great Alexander Graham Bell re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Wednesday, November 17
8:00 p.m.
The Great David Suzuki

Thursday, November 18
8 p.m. ET , 11 p.m. ET , 2 a.m. ET and 5 a.m. ET (Friday)
The Great David Suzuki re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Saturday, November 20
7:00 p.m. ET, 8:00 p.m. ET
The Great Alexander Graham Bell and The Great David Suzuki re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Monday, November 22
8:00 p.m.
The Great Pierre Trudeau

Tuesday, November 23
8:00 p.m. ET , 11:00 p.m. ET , 2:00 a.m. ET and 5:00 a.m. ET (Wednesday)
The Great Pierre Trudeau re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Saturday, November 27
8:00 p.m. ET
The Great Pierre Trudeau re-broadcast on CBC Newsworld

Sunday, November 28
8:00 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Your Final Say: Part I of the series finale

Monday, November 29
8:00 p.m.
The Greatest Canadian of Them All


Don't forget to cast your vote after each episode featuring one of the Top Ten Great Canadians! All the votes will be tallied at the end of the series to reveal whom Canadians have named as The Greatest Canadian of them all !




Annessa
XOXO

 

[The Shake]

The fact that a television personality is included in the top 10 pretty much underlines the stupidity of the whole poll, doesn't it?

 

[Warm Hands]

Was I the only one who hadn't considered Tommy Douglas before watching the show last night? I'm still leaning towards Terry Fox but I think they made a pretty compelling argument for Douglas.

WH

 

[Annessa]

TERRY FOX

THE GREATEST CANADIAN - TERRY FOX



In the fall of 1979, 21-year-old Terry Fox began his quest to run across Canada. He had lost most of his right leg to cancer two years before. Fox sent letters to various companies soliciting their sponsorship. The final sentence of his letter was: "…I'm not saying that this will initiate any kind of definitive answer or cure to cancer, but I believe in miracles. I have to."

With that dogged spirit, Fox would begin his dream --- one that would take him half way across Canada and touch hundreds of thousands of lives at home and abroad.

Terrance Stanley Fox was born July 28, 1958 in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Rolly and Betty Fox. He already had an older brother, Fred. Another brother, Darrell, would be born four years later and sister Judith in 1964. In 1966, the family moved to Surrey, B.C. and then to their last destination, Port Coquitlam, two years later.

Fox's parents remember him as a determined little boy who never liked to miss a day of school. Fox blossomed into an athlete during junior high school, the same time he met his friend Doug Alward. The boys played baseball, rugby and basketball. By grade 12, Fox and Alward would share the Athlete of the Year Award. Fox graduated from Port Coquitlam High School with distinction.

Fox wanted to be a physical education teacher and enrolled in Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver. There, he tried out for the SFU basketball team. Player Mike McNeill said Fox outshone players who were more talented because he showed more drive.

Discovery Of Cancer

Terry Fox's bright future turned a corner in March 1977. He came home complaining of a searing pain in his right knee after running around the track. His mother took him to the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. X-rays confirmed he had osteogenic sarcoma, a cancerous tumour that makes the bone go soft. With his family at his side, doctors gave him the news. As his family wept, Fox said: "I'm not ready to leave this world."

To stop the spread of cancer, doctors amputated his leg - six inches (15 cm) above the knee. Fox learned how to use an artificial leg, and three weeks after surgery, he was walking. Soon after, he played pitch-and-putt golf with his dad. Always a competitor, Fox kept raising the bar. He said he felt fortunate to have beaten cancer. What he didn't know at the time, was that stray sarcoma cells often end up in the lungs and don't show up on scans for some time.

In July 1977, Fox joined the basketball team of the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association, and met Rick Hansen, who ran the program. Hansen was impressed by Fox's energy, not knowing at the time that he was undergoing chemotherapy. Fox would go on to play in three national championship victories with the team.

Fox never forgot an article he read the night before his surgery. It was a feature about amputee Dick Traum, who had run the New York City Marathon. At the start of 1979, he devised a training schedule. His prosthetist developed a better running leg using a pogo stick with a motorcycle shock absorber. Even with an improved artificial leg, his stump would be covered in cysts and bleeding sores after every run. In August, his friend Doug Alward, also a runner, took him to a marathon in Prince George. Fox finished last, 10 minutes behind the last two-legged runner. The other runners watched him, crying and clapping as he crossed the finish line.


*continued in next thread*

 

[Annessa]

TERRY FOX

The Marathon of Hope Begins

That fall, Terry Fox hatched a plan to raise money for cancer research by running across Canada. His goal: $1 for every Canadian. Betty called it a crazy idea but knew her son could not be stopped. The Canadian Cancer Society said they would help him but only if he had corporate sponsors. Fox sent out letters describing his dream. Ford donated a camper van, Adidas provided the shoes, Imperial Oil the gas and Safeway, food vouchers and cash. Fox's plan was to start in St. John's, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 and to finish on the west coast of Vancouver Island on September 10. With more than 3,000 miles (5,000 km) of running under his belt, he was ready.

On the morning of April 12, as a cold mist hugged St. John's, Fox dipped his artificial leg in the Atlantic and began his Marathon of Hope. As Fox reached the outskirts of the city, Mayor Dorothy Wyatt decided to join him, outfitted in a polka-dot pantsuit and her robes of office. Doug Alward would drive the van one mile (1.6 km) ahead and stop to wait for Fox, giving him some water when he passed by.

The people of Newfoundland were welcoming and generous. Fox and Alward were treated to many meals at people's homes. The town of Port aux Basques, with a population of 10,000, raised $10,000. Unfortunately, Alward and Fox started to fight and sometimes, spent a day without talking. Fox wanted Alward to set up media interviews; however, Alward was reluctant.

In early May, Fox arrived in Nova Scotia and few people greeted him. In one harrowing incident, a freight truck hit a CBC vehicle with a film crew inside, forcing it off the road. Fox was just running ahead of the truck. One of the crew fell out of the truck and was seriously injured.

Around the middle of May, Fox and Alward were not getting along. Fox called his parents, who flew out to Halifax. Betty said it was better to yell at each other than to stop talking altogether. It helped a lot. In his May 29 diary entry, Fox referred to a speech he made in Dartmouth: "I couldn't help but cry when I said how Doug had to have courage to put up with and understand me when I'm tired and irritable."

At the end of May, Darrell joined his big brother in Saint John, New Brunswick. He was a prankster and helped to lighten up the mood of the Marathon of Hope. Around June 7, Fox would hit his all-time high of 30 miles (48 km) a day.

Breakdown in Quebec

Crossing into Quebec on June 10, Fox was charmed by the pretty little towns along the St. Lawrence. But none of the boys could speak French. They had no idea how to ask for a shower and went five days without a wash. In mid-June, as he neared Quebec City, Fox hit bottom. Drivers ignored him, speeding past. In his journal entry, he would vent: "… people are continually forcing me off the road. I was actually honked off once … It is wearisome. Mental Breakdown." Things improved considerably when he arrived in Montreal. The boys stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel courtesy of company president Isadore Sharp, who had lost his teenage son to cancer. The boys relished the luxury; Fox took an hour-long shower. On June 23, after 73 days of running, Fox would have his first day off. The Ontario wing of the Cancer Society told him to hold off on his entry into Ontario; they were preparing big things.

On the last Saturday in June, Fox entered Ontario at the town of Hawkesbury on the Ottawa River. It would be the start of a fundraising avalanche. The town held a welcoming party with a brass band and thousands of balloons. In early July, he arrived in Ottawa. He met Governor General Ed Schreyer. He enjoyed a standing ovation from fans at the CFL game between Ottawa and Saskatchewan, kicking the opening ball. On July 4, Fox had a date with then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Unfortunately, no one had prepped Trudeau, who was just back from an Italian trip; the meeting was awkward. Fox asked him to run a ½ mile (0.8 km) with him, but Trudeau declined.

As Fox headed to Toronto, momentum soared. A singer had crafted a song -- "Run, Terry, Run" -- and donated all proceeds to cancer research. Crowds lined the streets and roadways. NBC's "Real People" TV program did a piece on him. At a mall in Oshawa, girls screamed as he walked past. As Fox ran towards Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto, he was joined by Darryl Sittler, the former Toronto Maple Leaf hockey captain. A crowd of 10,000 was waiting. Actor Al Waxman introduced Fox and Sittler presented him with his 1980 all-star NHL sweater: "I've been around athletes a long time and I've never seen any with his courage and stamina." The Cancer Society estimated it collected $100,000 that day.



*continued in next thread*

 

[Annessa]

TERRY FOX

Fox made his way through southern Ontario hitting Oakville, Hamilton, London, Kitchener and Guelph. Despite the 38-degree temperature, he kept to his 26 mile (42 km) a day pace. During his southern Ontario stretch, he was kissed by British actress Maggie Smith at Stratford; a musician gave him his $500 guitar; and Bobby Orr presented him with $25,000 from Planter's Peanuts. Fox said the Orr meeting was the highlight of his trip.

Fox celebrated his 22nd birthday on July 28 in Gravenhurst, two hours drive north of Toronto. After his brother Darrell presented him with a cake, Fox started throwing handfuls of it at him and began a food fight. The people of Gravenhurst (pop. 8,000) raised $14,000.

Darkness On The Horizon

As Fox headed towards Georgian Bay, his health changed. He would wake up tired, sometimes asking for time alone in the van just to cry. In Parry Sound, Bobby Orr's father gave him his son's Canada Cup sweater. He passed the half-way point of his journey just before Sudbury. By August 12, Fox had raised $11.4 million.

On August 31, before running into Thunder Bay, Fox said he felt as if he'd caught a cold. The next day, he started to cough more and felt pains in his chest and neck but he kept running because people were out cheering him on. Eighteen miles out of the city, he stopped. Fox went to a hospital, and after examination, doctors told him that the cancer had invaded his lungs. His parents came out to Thunder Bay the next day. Fox, holding his mother Betty's hand, held a news conference and told reporters he had to go home. He had run 3,339 miles (5,376 km).

"How many people do something they really believe in?" said Fox at the news conference. "I just wish people would realize that anything's possible if you try. Dreams are made if people try."

Fox flew back to B.C. and to the Royal Columbian Hospital, where his cancer fight has started in 1977. Darryl Sittler and the Maple Leafs offered to finish the run for him, butFox declined. He wanted to finish it himself.

He wore his Marathon of Hope t-shirt for the first few weeks in hospital. The tumours had spread; one was the size of his fist. He had a 10 per cent chance of beating the cancer. The country rallied. A fundraiser was broadcast with such celebrities as John Denver, Elton John and Anne Murray. This broadcast put another $10.5 million into the Fox Fund. All over the country, people raised money through walk-a-thons, stitch-a-thons - even Ontario strippers donated a day's proceeds.

As he endured chemotherapy, Fox would be given many honours. Governor General Ed Schreyer flew to B.C. to make him the youngest Companion of the Order of Canada. B.C. Premier Bill Bennett also granted him the province's highest honour: the Order of the Dogwood. Canada's sports editors gave him the Lou Marsh trophy for outstanding athletic achievement. Fox also appeared in educational films for the Cancer Society.

By the new year, Fox's health worsened. The tumours had spread to his abdomen. Thousands of letters and telegrams from Canada and around the world flowed in to his hospital room. By February 1981, Fox had raised $24.17 million, equaling Canada's population of 24.1 million at the time.

Looking back at his run, Fox would reflect: "People thought I was going through hell. Maybe I was partly, but still I was doing what I wanted and a dream was coming true."

Terry Fox died, with his family beside him, on June 28, 1981. That September, the first Terry Fox Run was held in Canada and around the world. More than 300,000 people participated, raising $3.5 million. Terry Fox Runs are held yearly in 60 countries now and hundreds of millions have been raised for cancer research. His legacy lives on.




Annessa
XOXO

 

[Dabbler]

The fact that a television personality is included in the top 10 pretty much underlines the stupidity of the whole poll, doesn't it?

I couldn't agree more and an obnoxious CBC television personality at that! Cheers for now, Dabbler

 

[HafDun]

David Suzuki for president of the World

When Avril Lavigne made the top 50 list I switched to Swordfish (Halle Berry should be Canadian)
Of course my curiosity got the best of me so I switched back for the Top Ten... Then Don "I try to dress to look as obnoxious as I talk" Cherry made the Top Ten!!! Now really folks; he's fun to watch but A GREAT CANADIAN??? WTF

OK that's my rant. I vote for David Suzuki. Terry Fox is certainly a story of strength & tragedy and huge $$s have been raised in his name but compared to what we are doing to our planet cancer is like a mild case of diahrea. Suzuki has spent his adult life trying to educate the world about our self abuse (not to be confused with Trebite self abuse)
Annessa you're one hot cat but I gotta disgree on this one!

 

[The Shake]

Re: David Suzuki for president of the World

When Avril Lavigne made the top 50 list

Better still, Lavigne, Shania Twain, and Celine Dion finished ahead of Nellie McClung!

Are we Canadians really that pathetic?

 

[Cardinal Fang]

That was rhetorical right?

 

[HafDun]

Re: Re: David Suzuki for president of the World

Better still, Lavigne, Shania Twain, and Celine Dion finished ahead of Nellie McClung!

At least Shania and Celine have made internationally significant accomplishments in the entertainment industry (but then they have both moved out of Canada haven't they???)

Are we Canadians really that pathetic?

"We" Canadians aren't Pathetic. Only those that would include entertainers as our top 50 citizens without having made a single significant contribution outside their chosen field (perhaps hockey could be the exception to this rule because it does seem to define our existance north of the 49th)

 

[papasmerf]

Dudly Doright has my vote

 

[softhands]

The Greatest Canadian.

I applaud CBC for making the effort. And while some of the choices are ridiculous, (Avril Lavigne in the top 50 and Don Cherry & David Suzuki in the top 10), this is what happens when you make it a public popularity test.

I also thought there were some inspired choices in the top 50 like:
Tecumseh -even though he is Shawnee/American, and
Arthur Currie the WWI general who succeeded in offensives on the western front were the British & French Generals couldn’t.

Others I thought should be in the top 50 are:
Cunnard -of the shipping line
CD Howe -who set Canada on the path to becoming a serious industrial power during WWII and thereby put us in a position for post war prosperity
-Balwin & LaFontaine - who long before confederation, joined together separate British colonies (what are today Ontario & Quebec) to peacefully oppose British unilateral rule by establishing democratic, parliamentary and multicultural traditions in this country.
-Tom Thompson – the painter who inspired the Group of 7
-I thought that there should have been an on air personality from the National, I’ll nominate Barbara Frum.

Re the top 10 & the ultimate winner:
I think that Terry Fox will win the popularity contest. I love his story and the impact that he has had around the world, he proves that folk hero’s really do exist. While he is a very worthwhile top 10, even top 5 pick, I wouldn’t vote for him as the Greatest Canadian of all time.

Bell should win except for the feeling that he really isn’t Canadian, my feeling is he’s identified as more American and/or Scottish than Canadian.

If it’s not Fox then I think TRUDEAU will win. Although the Trudeau I remember is the arrogant Trudeau, the wage & price controls Trudeau, that is mostly a result of my age when I became politically aware. He was singularly responsible for blowing fresh air and fresh thoughts into a country bound up by a pretty stogy British colonial past and in leading Canadians into the multicultural multi-ethnic society we have today. And he managed to repatriate the constitution and create a Charter of Rights & Freedoms when it seemed impossible to get the necessary provincial agreements.

While I applaud CBC for undertaking this process, I was very disappointed by the group of Advocates they selected to campaign for each nominee. I’m afraid that it will end up being a series of silly kitschy programs intended solely for mindless mass entertainment. With a little more thought this could have been a landmark series that might have been replayed for generations.
(I’ll be watching & hoping for the best, but not expecting too much).

 

[softhands]

originally posted by yychobbyist
While I agree that the National was a groundbreaking development in Canadian television and news I don't agree with Barbara Frum being a nominee. I just can't forgive her for giving birth to David.

Glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks that the National was for many years one of the most important social institutions in Canada.

Who should the nominee be then? lloyd Blanderson?

 

[Annessa]

Re: David Suzuki for president of the World

Terry Fox is certainly a story of strength & tragedy and huge $$s have been raised in his name but compared to what we are doing to our planet cancer is like a mild case of diahrea.

(IMHO)

How can you say that about cancer? There is not 1 person that I have met in my life that has not lost a loved one to cancer. I've lost my grandfather, my grandmother, my aunt (breast cancer at 32) my uncle (at 42), my cousin (at 28). Yes, I'm not happy at all with what we are doing to the planet but people 20 years ago had a 10-15% chance of surviving cancer and today 55-70% of people diagnosed with cancer have a chance of surviving cancer and this is all because of 1 man, Terry Fox.

_____________________________________________

General Cancer Stats


An estimated 145,500 new cases of cancer and 68,300 deaths will occur in Canada in 2004.

On average, 2,798 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer every week.
On average, 1,313 Canadians will die of cancer every week.

An estimated 70,700 Canadian women will be diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and an estimated 32,100 women will die.

On average, 1,359 women will be diagnosed with cancer every week.
On average, 617 women will die of cancer every week.

An estimated 74,800 Canadian men will be diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and an estimated 36,200 men will die of cancer.

On average, 1,438 men will be diagnosed with cancer every week.
On average, 696 men will die of cancer every week.


Based on current incidence rates, 38% of women will develop cancer during their lifetimes. Among men, 43% will develop cancer during their lifetimes.

Cancer is the leading cause of premature death - or early death - in Canada: 954,000 potential years were lost in 2000 as a result of cancer. This represents 31% of the potential years of life lost resulting from all causes of death.

Cancer is primarily a disease of older Canadians, particularly for men. Among men, 75% of new cancer cases and 82% of deaths due to cancer occur among those who are 60 years of age and older. Among women, 63% of new cases and 78% of cancer deaths occur among those who are 60 years of age and older.

_____________________________________________


Yes I believe that what we are doing to our planet is wrong and it needs to stop but how can you compare that to people dying daily of a horrific disease.

Terry Fox will always be in my heart and soul the greatest canadian ever.




Annessa
XOXO

 

[Annessa]

The Time Has Come

The polls are now open and people can vote for their opinon on who The Greatest Canadian is. *hugs*



Annessa
xoxo

 

[The Baroness]

Terry Fox for sure........he was just incredible.

 

[Annessa]

Boosty! Boosty!



Annessa
XOXO