Police move in to clear downtown Ottawa near Parliament hill of protesters after weeks of demonstrations on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. The group of "Freedom Convoy" protesters who took over the streets around Parliament Hill and blockaded border crossings to demand an end to COVID-19 restrictions has been named The Canadian Press Newsmaker of the Year for 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
OTTAWA – The group of “Freedom Convoy” protesters who took over the streets around Parliament Hill and blockaded border crossings to demand an end to COVID-19 restrictions has been named The Canadian Press Newsmaker of the Year for 2022.
Here is a list of who’s had the title in the past, as chosen in an annual poll of newsrooms across the country:
2021: The children who did not come home from residential schools
2020: Front-line workers during COVID-19
2019: Jody Wilson-Raybould, politician
2018: Humboldt Broncos hockey team
2017: Gord Downie, musician
2016: Gord Downie, musician
2015: Justin Trudeau, politician
2014: Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, slain soldiers
2013: Rob Ford, politician
2012: Luka Rocco Magnotta, killer
2011: Jack Layton, politician
2010: Russell Williams, sex killer
2009: Stephen Harper, politician
2008: Stephen Harper, politician
2007: The Mounties
2006: The Canadian soldier
2005: John Gomery, Quebec judge
2004: Paul Martin, politician
2003: Paul Martin, politician
2002: Jean Chrétien, politician
2001: Stockwell Day, politician
2000: Pierre Trudeau, politician
1999: Pierre Trudeau, politician (named Canadian Newsmaker of the 20th Century)
1998: Jean Chrétien, politician
1997: Sheldon Kennedy, hockey player and advocate for sexual-assault victims
1996: Donovan Bailey, sprinter
1995: Lucien Bouchard, politician
1994: Jacques Parizeau, politician
1993: Kim Campbell, politician
1992: The Canadian Constitution
1991: Brian Mulroney, politician
1990: Elijah Harper, politician
1989: Michael Wilson, politician
1988: Ben Johnson, sprinter
1987: Rick Hansen, cross-country wheelchair athlete
1986: Rick Hansen, cross-country wheelchair athlete
1985: Steve Fonyo, cross-country runner
1984: Brian Mulroney, politician
1983: Brian Mulroney, politician
1982: Wayne Gretzky, hockey player
1981: Terry Fox, cross-country runner
1980: Terry Fox, cross-country runner
1979: Joe Clark, politician
1978: Pierre Trudeau, politician
1977: René Lévesque, politician
1976: René Lévesque, politician
1975: Pierre Trudeau, politician
1974: Pierre Trudeau, politician
1973: Pierre Trudeau, politician
1972: Pierre Trudeau, politician
1971: Pierre Trudeau, politician
1970: Pierre Trudeau, politician
1969: Pierre Trudeau, politician
1968: Pierre Trudeau, politician
1967: Lester Pearson, politician
1966: John Diefenbaker, politician
1965: Lucien Rivard, drug smuggler
1964: Lester Pearson, politician
1963: Lester Pearson, politician
1962: Réal Caouette, politician
1961: James Coyne, Bank of Canada governor
1960: John Diefenbaker, politician
1959: John Diefenbaker, Joey Smallwood; politicians
1958: John Diefenbaker, politician
1957: John Diefenbaker, politician
1956: Lester Pearson, diplomat
1955: Lester Pearson, diplomat
1954: Marilyn Bell, marathon swimmer
1953: Lester Pearson, diplomat
1952: Lester Pearson, diplomat
1951: Lester Pearson, diplomat
1950: Lester Pearson, diplomat
1949: Louis St-Laurent, politician
1948: Mackenzie King, politician
1947: Barbara Ann Scott, figure skater
1946: Igor Gouzenko, Soviet embassy cipher clerk
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2022.
