Tragedy, sports and a hot new iPhone were among the topics that got Canadians googling the most in 2014 according to a year-end list unveiled by Google.
The search giant crunched the numbers on more than two trillion searches conducted over the past year and released the list for Canada Tuesday.
Apparently, we Canucks like our sports. The World Cup and the Winter Olympics both made the top five, placing second and fourth respectively.
It appears the deaths of several well-known stars also pulled at the heartstrings of Canadians, with searches about Joan Rivers and Phillip Seymour Hoffman making the top ten.
The death of beloved comedian and actor Robin Williams topped the list as the most-searched topic in Canada this year.
Canadians also scoured the web in droves for information about the new iPhone 6 (#3), the Ebola crisis (#5) and actress Jennifer Lawrence (#7).
Rounding out the top 10 list of most searched terms in Canada was ALS, a devastating neurodegenerative disorder. The disorder garnered wide attention thanks to the ‘ALS Challenge,’ a viral marketing campaign that saw people around the world dump buckets of ice on their heads and then upload the videos to social media. The campaign also pushed “What is ALS?” to the top trending question of the year.
Canada’s Top Trending Searches for 2014
- Robin Williams
- World cup
- iPhone 6
- Winter Olympics
- Ebola
- Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Joan Rivers
- Jian Ghomeshi
- ALS
Ghomeshi, Ford top trending Canadians
Just one Canadian made the list of top trending searches for the year, earning him a spot atop the list of most googled Canadians of 2014.
Disgraced radio host Jian Ghomeshi beat out Toronto’s scandal-plagued former mayor Rob Ford to win the title, an impressive feat considering Ford was news all year long, while a sex abuse scandal around Ghomeshi emerged with just a little more than two months left in the year.
Former finance minister Jim Flaherty, who suddenly passed away in April, was third on the list.
He was followed by a number of star athletes, including Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard, snowboarder Mark McMorris, freestyle skier Sarah Burke and figure skater Tessa Virtue.
Top Trending Canadians for 2014
- Jian Ghomeshi
- Rob Ford
- Jim Flaherty
- Eugenie Bouchard
- Mark McMorris
- Sarah Burke
- Tessa Virtue
- Nathan Cirillo
- Jonathan Toews
- Jean Beliveau
Other top trending Canadians in 2014 included Corp. Nathan Cirillo, who was fatally shot at a Parliament Hill war memorial on Oct. 22, late hockey legend Jean Beliveau and Chicago Blackhawks star Jonathan Toews.
In terms of events, Canadians sought out news on a mix of topics, both domestic and abroad. The World Cup topped the list followed by the Winter Olympics and the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
The deadly shootings in Ottawa and in Moncton both made the list, as did the Ebola outbreak and the conflict in Ukraine.
Just squeaking by at 10th was Toronto’s marathon election battle that went on for much of the year. Perhaps not surprisingly, there was one standout star from that race. Former mayor Rob Ford, who won back his old seat on council, was the only candidate to make the most googled list.
Top Trending Events for 2014
- World Cup
- Winter Olympics
- Malaysian Airlines Flight 370
- Ebola outbreak
- Ukraine conflict
- Wimbledon
- Ottawa shooting
- Scotland referendum
- Moncton shooting
- Toronto election
Google says it compiles its year-end lists by using data from various sources and filtering out routine queries and spam. The full list of trending topics for 2014 can be viewed here.
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