Canucks can't ID top Cdn. icons
Published Wednesday July 1st, 2009
TORONTO - Canadians are fumbling for answers when it comes to recognizing the country's most famous faces.
An Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Dominion Institute suggests many Canadians have trouble identifying our most famous sons and daughters.
Only four in 10 Canadians recognized a picture of Sir John A. Macdonald even though his face is on the $10 bill, while Tommy Douglas, the father of universal health care, was identified by just 19 per cent of respondents.
"To a lot of Canadians these key figures in our past were strangers," said Marc Chalifoux, executive director of the Dominion Institute.
The online survey asked more than 1,000 Canadians to view pictures of 10 iconic figures before identifying them unaided.
Only four faces were familiar to the majority of respondents.
Humanitarian Terry Fox and popular songstress Celine Dion were identified by almost 90 per cent of respondents, while hockey legend Wayne Gretzky was recognized by 77 per cent of those surveyed.
Seventy-three per cent of respondents were able to name a picture of former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
Fading furthest from memory was Sir Frederick Banting, winner of the Nobel Prize for the discovery of insulin, who was recognized by fewer than one in ten Canadians.
Also scoring low was Metis leader Louis Riel, who was named by 27 per cent of those surveyed.
"We're not passing along this historical memory of some of the great figures of our past and if they're not recognized it shows we're doing a bad job of telling Canadian stories," Chalifoux said. "We can do better."
At the midway mark was Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean, who was recognized by just half of those surveyed.
Top Canadian icons & no Gordon Lightfoot ??? 
Happy Canada Day !!!
