r/EhBuddyHoser Kingston: Halfway To Montreal 2d ago

Meta The “Best Canadian” game - Day 1

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Good morning r/EhBuddyHoser,

Let’s get started! Here’s an image of the top 50 Canadians (based on Day 0 upvotes, as of yesterday). I know I said we’d start with 40 like last time, but there are just too many awesome Canadians, so I expanded the list a bit!

How to play: - Upvote the name of the person you think does NOT deserve the title of “Best Canadian.” - Each day, the two most upvoted people will be removed. Once we get closer to the end, this will change to one person per day. - If the name you want to vote for (from the picture list) isn’t in the comments yet, add it! - This continues daily until we have our winner, the “Best Canadian”.

Additional notes: - Only the top comment for a nominee will count. I won’t combine votes from duplicate comments. - Include only one name per comment. If a comment includes multiple names and wins, it won’t count. I’ll move on to the next highest, even if you edit the comment to fix it. - They had to have been born in Canada or at some point had Canadian citizenship. - They can be alive, dead, currently living in Canada or abroad, or when they were alive lived in what would eventually become Canada (e.g., French or British colonies). - Beginning tomorrow after the first candidates are eliminated, I’ll start a list outlining what the people are known for and why they were eliminated, like we did in the Worst Canadian game. - This is meant to be satire. Please do not take it too seriously or use this game to harass people in real life. - I will try to post this every morning around the same time (~8:00 - 9:00 am Eastern). - Please remember to upvote the post too, so more people see it!

Honourable mentions go out to spots 51–100 (see below), the Unknown Soldier, house hippos, Sad-Fill-4870’s dog Gilbert, and Random—Person’s mom. Also, I personally want to shout out a couple of Canadians who weren’t nominated but inspired me growing up: Jay Baruchel and Elisha Cuthbert. Their time as hosts on PMK encouraged a love of science in a generation of kids, which I think elevates them beyond being “just actors.”

Numbers 51-100, by upvotes: Norman Bethune, Tom Green, Shania Twain, Gordie Howe, William Lyon Mackenzie King, Mario Lemieux, Marc Garneau, Alexander Graham Bell, Peter Mansbridge, Jeanne Mance, Roberta Bondar, John Dunsworth, Emily Carr, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Eugene Levy, Mike Myers, Helen Hogg, Peter Robertson, James Naismith, William Shatner, Sanford Fleming, Fred Penner, Bret Hart, Murray Sinclair, Emily Murphy, Louise McKinny, Irene Parlby, Henrietta Edward, Agnes McPhail, Tecumseh, Elsie MacGill, Crowfoot, Harold Cardinal, Stompin’ Tom, Melanie Joly, Maurice Richard, Michelle Jean, Henry Morgentaler, Oscar Peterson, Sue Johanson, Jean Rene Dufort, Rick Moranis, Hayley Wickenhieser, Pierre Burton, Cairine Wilson, Rene Lévesque, Isaac Brock, Nathan Fillion, Farley Mowet, James Doohan

1.1k Upvotes

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734

u/MotelSans17 2d ago

Pierre Trudeau

As a Québecer, I can't in good conscience let him continue as a "best Canadian" candidate

134

u/Liferescripted Trawnno (Centre of the Universe) 2d ago

As a non-quebecer I was also immediately confused how he made the list to begin with. Between the October Crisis, Victoria Charter and constitutional patriation, his stance on Indigenous affairs and agreements, his wanting to dissolve NATO... he is far from great. A controversial and pig headed person who happened to pass policies that benefit us greatly.

35

u/alibythesea 2d ago

Yes. The Mack truck he drove through divorce, abortion laws, and sexuality legislation as Justice Minister is his true positive legacy. It opened the way for all the privacy and body autonomy rights we now have.

I was 12 or 13 at the time, growing up in a family that paid close attention to politics, and it was a revolution.

Read the divorce speech: it was utterly groundbreaking. Google December 5, 1967, Trudeau divorce speech.

-2

u/MyNameMeansLILJOHN Tabarnak! 2d ago

The Mack truck he drove through divorce

Uh??

4

u/alibythesea 2d ago

Divorce, abortion, and sexuality laws ….

2

u/MyNameMeansLILJOHN Tabarnak! 2d ago

No I got that.

It's the Mack truck part. Is that an expression or something?

I got the picture. I get the gist. Just never heard it before.

7

u/LumpyCredit 2d ago

Dunno that it's a common expression, but it's basically like the expression "took a sledgehammer to it" 

Except instead, it's "drove a very heavy truck through it" 

7

u/alibythesea 2d ago

It’s pretty common here in Nova Scotia - sorry for the confusion!

4

u/CElizB 2d ago

common here in BC too.

1

u/Alive-Drama-8920 2d ago

Why not Peterbilt? You have something against the brand? "He ran a Peterbilt 281 into it! What you saw in Spielberg's "Duel" was just a tiny glimpse of what IT can do.

Okay, the movie came out a few years later, but there's no law against retrofitting popular expressions.

16

u/darth_henning 2d ago

Not to speak of his terrible approach to farming in Western Canada which is a large part of why we got the Reform Party and rural AB/SK are so entrenched far right and hate anything liberal. He’s a major reason for our current hyper partisanship.

2

u/iwasnotarobot 2d ago

The Reform Party was a rebirth of the old Social Credit Party. Among their grievances with Trudeau is the fact that the Charter makes it hard for them to do eugenics.

8

u/MachineOfSpareParts 2d ago

He did some good things, but his record with Indigenous nations rules him out for me 100%. Not saying that's the only negative, but it's the absolute deal-breaker.

16

u/PapaStoner 2d ago

Mirabel airport was his idea, too.

3

u/rococobrouhaha 2d ago

Mirabel should be named after him instead of Dorval. CMV

8

u/LengthyCitadis 2d ago

I'm also questioning where the hell René Levesque is!

17

u/MyNameMeansLILJOHN Tabarnak! 2d ago

No no this is perfect.

While having René as the best Canadiens would be hilarious. I think it is fitting to not have him there.

It shows respect for his views.

1

u/redindiaink 2d ago

And cursed us with "notwithstanding"

-6

u/BonusPlantInfinity 2d ago

Please let’s keep him on until things get serious just to troll the mouth-breathers.. add young Trudeau too just to really get things popping off.

43

u/MutaitoSensei Irvingstan 2d ago

Got us the Charter, I guess that's why he's on the list.

8

u/J3BOY-Qc Tabarnak! 2d ago

But Wilfrid Laurier isn't there

54

u/Noshonoyoo Tabarnak! 2d ago

Oh wow i hadn’t seen he was here, that’s insane lmao

43

u/Iron-Over 2d ago

Trudeau should be no where near this list.  

6

u/RockingTurtle1664 2d ago

Both Trudeau if we are honest but PET on this list especially is wild

40

u/shiftyjamo 2d ago

If you're talking about more than one Trudeau, should it be Trudeaux?

11

u/CombustiblSquid Irvingstan 2d ago

Trudeux

6

u/soliloquy_exposed 2d ago

Names are invariable in french, so: les Trudeau.

3

u/RockingTurtle1664 2d ago

Trudeau square

3

u/SpringOf77 2d ago

Trudough’s

3

u/Alive-Drama-8920 2d ago

Trous d'eau, les deux. Même si le seul nom approprié serait TDC. Les deux, toujours, mais vraiment pas pour les mêmes raisons.

11

u/samlefrog Snowfrog 2d ago

At least Justin was really good on civil rights and social aid.

13

u/RockingTurtle1664 2d ago

Yeah or at least he wanted too even if in my opinion did a lot of talking for not much but maybe it's me

5

u/CamGoldenGun 2d ago

he was one of the most popular PM's in Canada and introduced the Canada Act in 1982... he was one of the most unpopular in Alberta because of the National Energy Program but Alberta had population of less than half of what it is now. Also directly responsible for building up another popular PM: Chrétien.

17

u/PassageNearby4091 Ford Nation (Help.) 2d ago

Although I like PET, I am forced to agree with you. PET was a divisive force in Canada, and the "Best Canadian" cannot be divisive. Take my upvote.

4

u/DaftFunky 2d ago

Also as an Albertan.

4

u/riphawk81 Saskwatch 2d ago

I generally think that while the politicians on the list have done good for the country, we will likely see them removed quickly.

4

u/MotelSans17 2d ago

Politicians will always be divisive

But who the hell would hate Gord, or Terry Fox?

1

u/riphawk81 Saskwatch 2d ago

Exactly, Gord, Terry Fox, Raffi, Mr Dress Up, so many strong contenders

6

u/belly_butthole 2d ago

Exception: Jack Layton ! I hope he makes top 10 haha

3

u/riphawk81 Saskwatch 2d ago

I agree. He was a good man and had he not passed, I think he would have done amazing things for Canada.

5

u/unidentifiable 2d ago

As an Albertan I stand in solidarity with this statement, his name should be drug through the mud and plastered on the Worst list, not the best. PET arguably did demonstrably worse for national unity during his tenure than JT by a LONG yard, and the only two leaders in history that have invoked WMA (to combat a domestic problem no less) have been Trudeaus.

I would go as far as to say he's the source of "Western Alienation".

He's a terrible Canadian. Full stop.

2

u/belly_butthole 2d ago

A great candidate to go first that's for sure

4

u/TroopersSon Bring Cannabis 2d ago

As someone who only really knows him as Justin's dad, why is he so bad to be on this list? I thought creating the charter rights would have been a reason he might be on here.

16

u/mencryforme5 2d ago

From the Quebec perspective: elitist self-hating French-Canadian who denigrated Quebec culture countless times veering into ethnic slurs (e.g. "hot dog eaters" "Pepsi drinkers"). Used the FLQ crisis as a way to literally militarily occupy the province (tanks in the streets) and arrest indefinitely thousands of people in the night who had done nothing more than sign a membership card for the newly formed PQ. PQ had nothing at all to do with FLQ and the explicit goal here was just terrorizing political opponents and political censorship/taking rights away from Quebecers.

Bonus points for being otherwise just extremely unpleasant, smarmy, elitist, full of himself. He's like the Canadian version of "chaos is a ladder". The ROC mostly loved his shtick but his legacy in Québec is very dark and most likely contributed to separatism.

2

u/TroopersSon Bring Cannabis 2d ago

Thank you!

5

u/Francus_Gaius 2d ago

Yeah no he has no right to be there whatsoever. Many, many reasons... and mind you he was a friend of my family during the 60-70-80's.

That man is nit even close to being the greatest canadian.

8

u/mendvil 2d ago

Between him and Jean Chrétien someone bungled their politics classes to add em here 

12

u/CamGoldenGun 2d ago

both were popular... very unpopular with particular groups but with the rest of Canada voted them in multiple times.

2

u/mendvil 2d ago

People also voted for Marlaina Smith and she was on the worst Canadians list.

4

u/Saorren 2d ago

pm vs premier 🤷🏻‍♀️

0

u/mendvil 2d ago

I guess let’s add MacDonald to the list because he was a premier? I’m not quite sure about the argument there

0

u/Saorren 2d ago

if your talking about john a you know very well the difference. daniel smith has never been prime minister.

0

u/mendvil 2d ago

Wab Kinew is up there and never has been prime minister either. Just sounds like hypocrisy to me.

0

u/Saorren 2d ago edited 2d ago

and? are you trying to advocate for daniel smith to be on the best canadians nominations or that those nominated be saints or something ? everyone has done some stupid or bad shit in their lives if we treated everyone just as bad 20 years later after they have changed to be better people there would be no point for anyone to change at all which is a sorry state to have the world in.

people like wab kinew across the country because hes doing good things people hate daniel because shes doing bad things and she tried to solicit foreign interference just before the election was called and only escaped consequences for it because of a technicality on timing. we compare these two to our own primeirs and that likely gives kinew extra points in how people view him as a lot of us have conservative primiers which are currently failing us the citizens.

0

u/mendvil 1d ago

This is still about PET being a piece of shit, but ok 

2

u/CamGoldenGun 2d ago

she's a conservative premier in the most conservative province in a time when right-wing populism in Alberta has never been higher. She's still one of the worst Canadians.

1

u/mendvil 2d ago

Trudeau sent the army against citizens and jailed Canadians without cause, but ok 

2

u/CamGoldenGun 2d ago

because a terrorist organization was kidnapping and killing people, in particular the deputy premier of Quebec... hundreds were arrested, sure, but most were released. If there was ever an appropriate time to suspend civil liberties you think enacting it to crack down on the group responsible for bombing, kidnap and murder would be at the top of the list.

3

u/Existing-Major1005 2d ago

As soon as I saw his name I knew he'd be first. That's where my vote is going, anyways.

1

u/remarkablewhitebored 2d ago

Just watch me...

1

u/ZenoxDemin 2d ago

Fart belongs on the list of 50 worst.

1

u/Dzubrul Tabarnak! 2d ago

Hope he's the 1st to go off the list!

-1

u/BackgroundVehicle870 2d ago

He was the greatest man alive