O Canada
Our Haiti Relief Song is Better Than Yours
Published March 14, 2010 @ 10:50 in O Canada
 American musicians re-recorded We Are The World to raise money for Haiti and now we have a Canadian response. The collective is called Young Artists for Haiti and they've recorded K'naan's Wavin' Flag.
Here are the soloists:
- K'naan
- Nelly Furtado
- Sam Roberts
- Avril Lavigne
- Pierre Bouvier
- Tyler Connolly
- Kardinal Offishall
- Jully Black
- LIGHTS
- Deryck Whibley
- Serena Ryder
- Jacob Hoggard
- Emily Haines
- Hawksley Workman
- Drake
- Chin Injeti
- Ima
- Pierre Lapointe
- Elisapie Isaac
- Esthero
- Corb Lund
- Fefe Dobson
- Nikki Yanofsky
- Matt Mays
- Justin Nozuka
- Justin Bieber
In the chorus my eagle eye caught old friends Jim Cuddy, Tom Cochrane, Colin James and Jim Creeggan.
Buy it here. All proceeds go to designated charities World Vision, Free The Children and War Child.
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Canada Owns Podium in Vancouver
Published March 1, 2010 @ 15:25 in O Canada, Olympics
 It's hard to believe it was less than a week ago that I wrote Own The Podium Should Have Under Promised and Over Delivered. It had become apparent that our total medal count was going to be much lower than the United States' and we were going to fall short on our pledge to "Own the Podium".
I felt our athletes were being unfairly blamed for under delivering on Own the Podium's overly ambitious promise to "place first in the total medal count at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games".
That was six days ago. Everything's different now. Canada finished so strong, delivering the most desired of medals when Crosby scored the golden goal. That was gold medal #14, the gold medal that set a winter Olympics medal and sent this nation into a delightful frenzy.
Let's take a look at the final medal count for the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver.
As mentioned, that 14 gold medals Canada won is the all-time record for a single nation at any winter Olympics. Of course, that also means we smashed the record for a host nation, despite never winning a gold medal during our previous two Olympics in 1976 and 1988. That 14 gold medals is 4 more than the 2nd place country, Germany, and 5 more than the country with the most total medals, the USA.
14 gold medals is, without a doubt in my heart and mind, evidence of podium ownership. Top rung, baby. OTP can define it however they like, I'm taking what's rightfully ours, on behalf of this awesome country.
The last two weeks was one hell of a ride. I'm sorry to see it end, but if you're going out, you might as well go out with a bang.
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Tom Brokaw Explains Canada to Americans
Published February 21, 2010 @ 10:20 in O Canada
I'm willing to bet the vast majority of people reading this entry will be watching Canada face the United States tonight in Olympic hockey action. The puck drops at 7:35pm ET and I can't wait.
In this clip from NBC, Tom Brokaw explains the relationship between Canada and the USA, in a pre-recorded short film that aired prior to the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Americans should watch this before their pummeling tonight, so it hurts just a little less.
[via @pmcphedran]
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Canada's Last WWI Veteran Dies
Published February 19, 2010 @ 09:31 in O Canada
John Babcock, Canada’s last known First World War veteran, has died. John Babcock was 109 years old.
John Babcock was ready to fight in the Great War so we can live in a country where the great national stress is a shootout victory over Switzerland in Olympic men's hockey.
Thanks, John, for being one of the 650,000 men and women Canada recruited to serve in the “war to end all wars.”
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Canada for Haiti
Published January 21, 2010 @ 16:48 in O Canada
On Friday night at 7pm, CBC, CTV and Global Television will air "Canada for Haiti", a fundraiser to support earthquake relief for Haiti. The one-hour, commercial-free event will also be streamed online at the networks' websites and broadcast on CBC Radio Two.
Joining hosts Cheryl Hickey, Ben Mulroney and George Stroumboulopoulos are the following super duper Canadian peeps:
- Celine Dion
- James Cameron
- Michael J. Fox
- The Tragically Hip
- Jason Reitman
- Ryan Reynolds
- William Shatner
- Rachelle Lefevre
- Joshua Jackson
- Eugene Levy
- Norman Jewison
- Tom Jackson
- Will Arnett
- Brent Butt
- Hugh Dillon
- Mike Holmes
- Rick Mercer
- Alex Trebek
- Sandra Oh
- Pamela Anderson
- Justin Bieber
- Nelly Furtado
- Sarah McLachlan
- Barenaked Ladies
- Simple Plan
- David Foster
- Chantal Kreviazuk
- Raine Maida
- Measha Brueggergosman
- K'naan
- Craig Kielburger
- Wayne Gretzky
- Steve Nash
- Stephen Harper
- Michaelle Jean
Donations collected during the broadcast will go to a number of non-profit organizations including the Canadian Red Cross Society, Care Canada, Free the Children, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam Quebec, Plan Canada, Save the Children Canada, UNICEF Canada and World Vision Canada.
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Canada Kills Pepsi Cheer - We Win!
Published January 6, 2010 @ 18:26 in O Canada, Press Recognition, That Damn Pepsi Cheer
 What was Pepsi thinking? That's what I want to know.
I work in marketing. I'm shocked Pepsi's "Cheer Nation" campaign got off the drawing board. I totally understand why Pepsi would want to associate their beverage with our national game, that's just smart business sense, but asking us to abandon “Go Canada Go” and “Ca-Na-Da” in favour of their awful and insulting chant of “Eh Oh Canada Go” is a horrible, horrible idea. They literally trampled ungraciously and obnoxiously on sacred ground.
Since I wrote Cheer Nation? I'm Not Chanting "Eh! O' Canada Go!" For Pepsi I've been using every ounce of my Google prowess and social media might to defend my nation, our game and our collective intelligence by rallying against PepsiCo and this campaign. I've managed to get interviewed by one major newspaper and an article I wrote got into the hands of the entertainment editor at The Star. Sadly, that article never got printed, but this one in the Vancouver Sun ran today.
'Eh Oh Canada Go' junior hockey chant falls flat
VANCOUVER — While Team Canada's attempt to achieve a sixth straight World Junior Championship gold medal fell to the wayside in overtime against Team USA last night in Saskatoon, at least one sigh of relief was exhaled by hockey fans across Canada as a corporate attempt to hijack a cultural tradition fell flat in its face.
Pepsi's attempt to eliminate the traditional Canadian hockey chants of “Go Canada Go” and “Ca-Na-Da” and re-brand them with the dubious chant of “Eh Oh Canada Go” was received with little fanfare before the tournament and by the gold medal game, the corporate takeover was stopped in its tracks as 13,000-plus loud, passionate fans kept to the traditional “Go Canada Go” chant.
Pepsi is a sponsor of Hockey Canada but not the Olympics and decided to get in on the pre-Olympic hockey buzz by creating a marketing campaign asking Canadians to create a new hockey chant.
The hockey gods cringed, as did fans across Canada.
The corporation's bid to get one million people to sign up for “Cheer Nation” has only garnered 93,876, many of whom were enticed to sign up because Pepsi said it would temporarily display a list of their names in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Pepsi's Facebook page has 133,000 fans, although that may be deceiving since most of the latest messages on the page seem to reinforce what many are calling a marketing disaster.
"I became a [Facebook] fan of this just to say how stupid it is. No company is going to tell me how to cheer. I don't need a sports cheer marketed," wrote Facebook member Jeff.
Meanwhile, the recently created "Eh! Oh! Canada Go! chant is a national embarrassment" Facebook page has 30,000 members.
And on Canucks.com, one fan created a forum discussion demanding the Pepsi chant be boycotted.
While Pepsi said the chant had "landed in Saskatoon" it was barely heard, if not for the parachuted Pepsi employees who tried (and failed) to launch the chant inside the arena.
During one commercial break in a previous game the chant's creator Joan Buma was introduced while a small group of "fans" chanted the cheer and a Pepsi cheerleader waved a Pepsi flag up and down the aisles. To Pepsi's credit one boy (presumed not to be paid by Pepsi) did stand up and bravely cheer the Pepsi chant for the camera.
Fans posting messages on online hockey discussion forums, such as NHL team websites and HFBoards.com, condemned the chant, with all due respect to Buma.
"I trust the Pepsi chant will die the early and inglorious death it deserves," said one member on HFBoards.com.
Bloggers also derided the corporate gimmick.
“Toronto Mike” said on his popular blog that the premise that Team Canada fans needed to be united was "faulty," and that fans are not corporate "sheep."
By the gold medal game there was seemingly nothing left of the chant other than the continuous bombardment of Pepsi commercials on television. The cheer wasn't necessarily boycotted, rather it was simply ignored and died an inglorious death.
I'm claiming victory. This campaign will go down in history as one of the greatest miscalculations in Canadian marketing history. We Canadians are a tolerant bunch, polite and passive at times, but when you come in our backyard and tell us how to cheer for our national hockey team, we get pissed. And you don't want to see a Canadian pissed.
That damn cheer has indeed died an inglorious death. We won!
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Remembrance
Published November 11, 2009 @ 11:00 in O Canada
 On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Canadians are asked to pause and remember the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom and democracy during the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Afghanistan conflict and during peacekeeping missions.
I've scoured my site for relevant entries. Here are some you may want to revisit today.
Here are some entries about Alfred Finley, a veteran and familiar face in Bloor West Village for many years.
And to those who served, or are serving this great country right now, I have one word: Thanks.
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Buy Canadian
Published September 29, 2009 @ 19:32 in O Canada
For the life of me, I can't remember who sent me the "Buy Canadian" email this morning. I think it was Mike from Lowville, please correct me if I'm wrong... I got the instant message while balancing four burning issues.
I thought it was a valid point and worthy of repeating here, so here's Mike from Lowville's "Buy Canadian" message to us all. I'll admit, I haven't been reading labels, but maybe I should start. What do you guys think?
BUY CANADIAN ! ! !
You may want to check those labels when you do the grocery shopping, you will be shocked at were some of the items are coming from, I was for sure....spend more time shopping and it may help our fellow CANADIANS KEEP THEIR JOBS.
Check this out. I can verify this because I was in Lowe's the other day for some reason and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose attachments . They were all made in China . The next day I was in Home Hardware and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in Canada. Start looking.
In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else - even their job. So, after reading this email, I think this lady is on the right track . Let's get behind her!
My grandson likes Hershey's candy . I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now. I do not buy it any more . My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico now. I have switched to Crest .. You have to read the labels on everything.
This past weekend I was at Wal-mart . I needed 60W light bulbs . I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off brand labeled, "Everyday Value." I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this -in Canada in a company in Ontario.
So throw out the myth that you can not find products you use every day that are made right here .
My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in Canada - the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!
If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying Canadian, one light bulb at a time! Stop buying from overseas companies!
(We should have awakened a decade ago . . . . . . )
Let's get with the program . . . . help our fellow Canadians keep their jobs and create more jobs here in Canada.
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Daniel Nestor and Canada's Male Singles Tennis Failure
Published July 4, 2009 @ 19:32 in O Canada, Sports
 As a teen, I played a lot of tennis. I used to follow tennis pretty closely, rooting for John McEnroe then Boris Becker. I always held out hope Canada could develop a top notch mens singles player. We never did.
Canada's inability to produce a single excellent men's singles tennis player is mind boggling. There have been a few decent female players, and at least a couple of excellent doubles players, but not one male player who could even upset their way into a semi-final match. The highest ranking Canadian male in singles play was Andrew Sznajder who somehow got ranked #46 in September 1989. You're forgiven if you've forgotten about Andrew Sznajder.
We've done okay with doubles, however. Grant Connell reached #1 back in 1995 and Daniel Nestor won Wimbledon earlier today with Nenad Zimonjić. Nestor has had a great career, winning 5 Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal. Still, a decent singles competitor eludes us, although we came close...
I seem to recall a young Montreal-born player with promise. His name was Greg Rusedski, as I recall, but in 1995 he decided he could make more money as a Brit. He actually got to the US Open final in 1997, but he was wearing the wrong flag on his backpack.
Will there ever be an elite male singles tennis player from this country?
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I Am Canadian
Published July 1, 2009 @ 16:49 in O Canada
In 2000, a certain beer company launched an ad entitled "The Rant". You may have seen it. It starred Jeff Douglas as Joe, a proud Canadian with something to say. Here's the ad.
On July 1, 2000, I was at Molson Park for an Edgefest when Jeff Douglas actually delivered this rant live. That's how popular this ad was.
It didn't inspire me to buy beer, but nine years later, it's still a great ad. I am Canadian.
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