The Dominion Institute and The Council for Canadian Unity

On Canada Day, 1999, the Dominion Institute and The Council for Canadian Unity announced the results of two internet surveys (one in English; one in French) asking Canadians for their nominations for heroes. More than 28,000 people visited the Web sites and nominated over 1,000 Canadian heroes. L. M. Montgomery placed sixteenth overall and was voted third in the Women Heroes category.

Top 20 Canadian Heroes: 1. Terry Fox 2. Sir Frederick Banting 3. Lester B. Pearson 4. Sir John A. Macdonald 5. Louis Riel 6. Sir Isaac Brock 7. Tommy Douglas 8. Laura Secord 9. Billy Bishop 10. Nellie McClung 11. John Diefenbaker 12. Norman Bethune 13. Tecumseh 14. Sir Sam Steele 15. Alexander Graham Bell 16. Lucy Maud Montgomery 17. René Lévesque 18. General Sir Arthur Currie 19. Joey Smallwood 20. Charles de Salaberry

Women Heroes: 1. Laura Secord 2. Nellie McClung 3. Lucy Maud Montgomery 4. Emily Murphy 5. Margaret Laurence 6. Agnes Macphail 7. E. Pauline Johnson 8. Emily Carr 9. Barbara Frum 10. Susanna Moodie

The Dominion Institute and The Canadian Council for Unity. "Lucy Maud Montgomery." Celebrating and Understanding Our Heroes: Canada's Top 20 Heroes as chosen by Canadians. 1999.
Link: http://www.thememoryproject.com/heros.pdf

See also:

"A fitting tribute to Lucy Maud: L.M. Montgomery gave us not only the irrepressible Anne, but reams of writings that give us insight into our social history." Guardian [Charlottetown, PE] 5 Oct. 1999: A6.

Thibodeau, Wayne. "L. M. Montgomery: Canadian hero." Guardian [Charlottetown, PE] 28 Sept. 1999: A4.

CBC Millennium Poll

On New Year's Eve 1999, CBC viewers were invited to submit their votes in six online surveys to determine the top Canadians and events of the twentieth century. L. M. Montgomery was voted the most influential Canadian writer in the Great Canadian Writers Poll, receiving almost a quarter of the 22,554 votes cast.

Top 5 Great Canadian Writers:

1. Lucy Maud Montgomery
2. Farley Mowat
3. Margaret Laurence
4. Marshall McLuhan
5. Margaret Atwood

Link: http://cbc.ca/millennium/castyourvote/results_writers.html

Maclean's Canadians Who Inspired the World

In 2000, L. M. Montgomery was chosen by Maclean's magazine as one of twenty-five Canadians who inspired the world. The honour list was compiled by historians J. J. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer and based on suggestions by readers who were invited to name notable Canadians who have affected "the way the world lives or plays, works or thinks." Montgomery was chosen because she is the creator of Anne Shirley, whose optimism has inspired people worldwide and has helped them overcome repression. The first four Canadians who inspired the world are Sir William Osler, Marshall McLuhan, Lucy Maud Montgomery, and Sir Frederick Banting.

Granatstein, J. J. and Norman Hillmer. "The Lonely Diarist: Lucy Maud Montgomery." Maclean's 4 Sept. 2000: 30-31.

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Preview The Bend in the Road CD-ROM on the L.M. Montgomery Institute website.