As the decade comes to a close, it's time to reflect on some of the biggest moments of the past ten years. Our collective search history as Canadians is a great barometer to tell us what we, as a country, cared about most - and here to break that down with us is Google Canada's
Alex Hunnings Klein. Taking us through the top ten most searched moments of the decade, we take a look at the artists, sport moments and tragedies that Canada wanted to learn more about.
10. VANCOUVER 2010 OLYMPICS
Canada arrives on the world stage like never before!
9. FORT McMURRAY FIRE
Canada celebrated the heroes who fought the blaze in April 2016.
8. JUSTIN BIEBER
Currently the most subscribed to artist on YouTube with over 20 billion views, trending searches for Bieber peaked in 2011 when Never Say Never debuted.
7. COLONEL CHRIS HADFIELD
During his third mission to space, Colonel Chris Hadfield became the first Canadian Commander of the ISS, making him the first Canadian in history to command a spaceship.
6. SYRIAN REFUGEES
Canada meets its target to resettle 25,000 Syrian Refugees.
5. THE TRAGICALLY HIP'S FINAL CONCERT
On August 20
th 2016, the K-Rock Centre in Kingston played host to a poignant sendoff for its hometown heroes – The Tragically Hip. The band had announced they would go on a 15-stop “Man Made Machine Poem” tour after frontman Gord Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in May of 2016.The band never called it their farewell tour, originally believing Downie’s health would sustain long enough for them to tour again – but it would end up being the last show the band played. CBC broadcast the concert live on TV and online, and an estimated 11.7 million people tuned in. Downie died on October 17
th, 2017.
4. THE HUMBOLDT BRONCOS BUS CRASH
On April 6
th 2018, a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) to a game collided with a semi-trailer truck at the intersection of Highways 35 and 335 in rural Saskatchewan. Sixteen people on the bus were killed, including 10 Broncos players. The crash was international news, as press from everywhere descended on the small town.The vigil was attended by people like Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Don Cherry, and a GoFundMe page was launched to help raise money for the victims and their families – raising $1 million within the first 24 hours and $4 million by the next day. On April 18
th, the GoFundMe closed at $15,185,502 –making it Canada's largest GoFundMe campaign and the second largest in the history of the site. The crash also spawned the #PutYourSticksOut campaign.In March of 2019, 29-year-old Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, the driver of the semi-trailer, plead guilty to 16 counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and 13 counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily injury. He received a sentence of eight years for each fatality and five years for each person injured, to be served concurrently.
3. DRAKE
Drake had a decade for the ages - he had six #1 hits on Billboard over the decade: “Work”, “One Dance”, “God’s Plan”, “Nice for What”, “In My Feelings” and “What’s My Name?” He had 35 Top 10 hits over the decade as well.After
Scorpion came out in June 2018, Drake surpassed the Beatles' record for most songs simultaneously in the Billboard Hot 100's Top 10 (seven, to the Beatles’ five). By October of 2018, he had gotten 12 Top 10 tracks in a single year, beating the Beatles' record of 11 set in 1964. His awards over the past ten years include: four American Music Awards, 29 BET Awards, 27 Billboard Music Awards, four Grammys, 18 Much Music Video Awards, 11 iHeartRadio Music Awards, six Juno Awards and three Teen Choice Awards.
2. BIANCA ANDREESCU
Forget the decade - Bianca Andreescu had a meteoric rise over the last year alone. Andreescu beat Serena Williams to win two huge finals in 2019. She first beat Williams in early August at the Canadian Open, though she won only after Williams had to retire due to injury. But at the US Open in early September, Andreescu defeated Williams in straight sets to become the first Canadian to ever win a Grand Slam singles title. She also won another singles title at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March, and became the highest ranked Canadian women’s tennis player of all time.Andreescu became the highest ranked Canadian women’s tennis player ever in October, when she attained a WTA ranking of #4 - she is currently sitting at #5. The 19-year old made more than $8.5 million CAD in prize money this year, and was just named the first tennis player to ever win the Lou Marsh Trophy, given to Canada’s top athlete each year.
1. THE RAPTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
The Toronto Raptors became the first non-American team to win the NBA Championship in 2019, when they defeated the Golden State Warriors in six games. In the previous offseason, the Raptors gambled when they traded longtime star DeMar DeRozan to rent league superstar Kawhi Leonard for the year. The move paid off: Kawhi averaged 26 points a game and was named a starting NBA All Star.Pascal Siakam emerged as a rising star, averaging 16.9 points per game and being named the NBA’s Most Improved Player. The Raptors finished the regular season at the top of the Eastern Conference, and then defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in a thrilling seven game series before going on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks and the Warriors in six games each. The ensuing championship parade saw more than a million people flood the streets of Toronto.[video_embed id='1708148']Our hosts react to the historic Raptors win[/video_embed]