It was the year of The Donald, an always surprising, often alarming 12 months into a turbulent, unprecedented presidency riddled with firings and fibs, early morning Twitter storms and the ever looming shadow of Russia.
It was the year that saw the dramatic domino downfall of a long list of powerful men outed for sexual misconduct and the striking ascendancy of female #MeToo power; the anxious year of sabre-rattling from North Korea, and a growing impatience with yet another pretty selfie from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
This undated file photo provided by Eric Paddock shows his brother, Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock. (Courtesy of Eric Paddock via AP, File)
There was horror as an open air country music festival in Las Vegas was turned into a killing field and it was a homegrown white terrorist — motive unknown — who was behind the mass shooting that left 58 people dead and 546 injured.
And still, those Americans refuse to give up their guns.
But we cannot be smug, we suffered our own terrorist attack — six men shot and killed in a Quebec City mosque last January and a Laval student with virulent alt-right views under arrest.
There were triumphs — the defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria — and losses: the struggling Sears Canada was shuttered, throwing 15,000 employees out of work.
It was also a year of lighter fare — a royal engagement and errant wildlife.
Without further ado, a look back at what was hot and what was not in the year that was.
THE HOT LIST:
I am woman hear me roar — Ladies, take a bow. Courageous women came forward this year to accuse powerful men of sexual misconduct and there were too many to hush up with a “Dear, dear, now run along.” The floodgates opened with claims against movie producer Harvey Weinstein and soon, there was a tidal wave of accusations that swept others from their posts: from NBC’s Matt Lauer to Sportsnet analyst Gregg Zaun.
The Joan of Arc of Free Speech — It was a year where many were called on the carpet for daring to offend the politically correct views of the time — Andrew Potter, Jonathan Kay, Steve Ladurantaye to name a few. But it was the ridiculous treatment of Wilfred Laurier teaching assistant Lindsay Shepherd that was truly enraging — she was hauled into an inquisition accusing her of creating a “toxic climate” for trans students by showing a video snippet of a TVO debate involving controversial prof Jordan Peterson. An ensuing investigation by the university found no one had even complained about her.
Lindsay Shepherd speaks during a rally in support of freedom of expression at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo on Friday November 24, 2017.
You go, girl — Still on the ladies who kicked a– this year, we admit to having a serious crush on US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, child of Indian immigrants, who is tough, principled and my personal nominee for first female U.S. president.
Going to the chapel and they’re going to get married — Prince Harry finally put a ring on it. After their big reveal here at the Invictus Games, he and Meghan Markle, honourary Torontonian and star of locally-shot Suits, announce they’ll wed next May. Look for the wedding guest list to include Markle’s close pals Ben and Jessica Mulroney.
In this handout photo provided by Kensington Palace, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for one of two official engagement photos at Frogmore House in December, 2017 in Windsor, United Kingdom. (Alexi Lubomirski via Getty Images)
We are the champions — No, that is not a typo. Toronto sports fans had much to cheer for this year – Toronto FC captured the MLS Cup, the Argos won the Grey Cup, the Leafs’ Auston Matthews was awarded the 2017 Calder Memorial Trophy for top NHL rookie and Richmond Hill’s phenom tennis player, 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov, was named Canada’s male player of the year and the ATP’s most improved player.
Toronto FC at the locker room celebrating their MLS Cup win over the Seattle Sounders at BMO Field in Toronto, Ont. on Saturday December 9, 2017.
Instant hit Millions of Instant Pots were sitting under Christmas trees this year, the Canadian pressure cooker/slow cooker/ yogurt maker? that’s taken the world by storm. Or as cooking magazine Bon Appetit gushes: “And on the seventh day, God threw some chicken and spices in the Instant Pot, smiled at the upbeat electronic trill of the lid locking into place, and that was it. The universe was complete.” If only I could figure out the directions.
Moose on the Loose It was a year of animals behaving badly: a rogue moose eluded a police chase after it was spotted at the Buttonville Airport and dashing through Markham neighbourhoods. Not to be outdone, wayward raccoons nonchalantly wandered onto subway trains and into a drug store.
Monkey see. Monkey sue. Monkey settle — PETA and a nature photographer reached a settlement after years of litigation over the rights to a selfie taken by a seven-year-old crested macaque named Naruto. Under the deal, the owner of the camera used to take the photo agreed to donate 25% of any future revenue from the images to charities dedicated to protecting crested macaques in Indonesia.
And the not list:
A streetcar named 504 King — The new King St. pilot project has turned the thoroughfare into a wasteland for local businesses. Passengers are heralding faster commutes on the transit-only throughfare while car drivers and restaurant owners are cursing.
A police constable directs traffic at Jarvis and King St. during the second day of the King Street Transit Pilot on Monday, November 13, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
Let them eat cake — The honeymoon is definitely over for our PM. While dinging the middle class for income sprinkling, his year ends with the ignominy of becoming the first-ever prime minister found guilty of violating the country’s ethics code when Justin Trudeau and family accepted a free holiday from the Aga Khan on his private island in the Bahamas.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with the Aga Khan on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 17, 2016.
The better picker-upper? — Speaking of clueless, Trump tossed rolls of paper towels at survivors of the devastating Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as the president faced outrage that his government wasn’t doing enough to restore power and water.
President Donald Trump tosses paper towels into a crowd at Calvary Chapel in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 3, 2017. Trump helped sink Puerto Ricans bond prices with talk of wiping out the U.S. territory’s debt but his budget director dismissed the idea of a bailout as the bankrupt island fights to recover from Hurricane Maria.
We barely knew ya — The first year in office for the mercurial Trump saw a revolving door of departures including disgraced national security advisor Michael Flynn, press Secretary Melissa McCarthy — er, Sean Spicer, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, 10-day communications director Anthony Scaramucci and of course, sacked FBI director James Comey. The poor cast of SNL could barely keep up.
It was reported on Friday that White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has resigned over the hiring of Anthony Scaramucci as White House Communications Director. July 2017 file photo.
The plot thickens or rather, the noose tightens? Meanwhile Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and former business associate, Rick Gates, were charged in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. In what sounds like a plea deal, Flynn plead guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations with Russia’s ambassador and in blow to the president, disclosed that he’s cooperating with the special counsel’s office.
Hell hath no fury like Mother Nature — There were no shortages of floods and hurricanes while here at home, British Columbia suffered its worst ever forest fires, leading to the evacuation of more than 50,000 people from their homes.
A woman walks along damaged Grande Case, St. Maarten days after the Caribbean island sustained extensive damage during Hurricane Irma on September 12, 2017.
Crying fowl — Who can forget our giant, six-storey-high yellow rubber duckie that floated in to celebrate our nation’s 150th birthday at a cost of a reported $120,000? No one ever did explain the connection between Daffy and the Dominion.
Creature from the Black Lagoon — May we suggest the green bin? British engineers launched a “sewer war” against Fatberg, a giant fat blob of grease, dirty diapers and wet wipes clogging London’s sewers that was 250 metres long and weighed as much as 11 double-decker buses.
The World’s Largest Rubber Duck, as it’s described, is on display, at HTO Park along the waterfront in downtown Toronto, Ont. on Friday June 30, 2017. It will be a part of the Redpath Waterfront Festival as it will launch the Ontario 150 Tour, a pan-provincial tour celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday. (Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun)
Hair today… Still in the U.K,, a British teenager who had been eating her hair for years died after a hairball infected her stomach. The 16-year-old had planned to start hair and beauty school in the fall.
Know which side of your bread is buttered — Loblaw confesses to price-fixing bread prices for over a decade, offering customers a $25 gift card if they register online before next May.
Extra extra – Journalism had mixed results this year. There was the grim: the shutdown of dozens of small Ontario newspapers and the end of local sports coverage on CTV, and the hopeful: Trump’s constant attack on “fake news” and reporters as the “enemy of the people” reinvigorated publications like the New York Times and the Washington Post, which both claimed a surge of new subscribers.
A man is seen wearing the shirt during a rally for Donald Trump in Minnesota last year.
Still standing, we wish you all a Happy New Year and a better 2018.
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