No one can call 2011 uneventful. We saw a riot, a nuclear crisis, a natural disaster, a massive arson and scores of violent protests. Canada saw
historic election results and the U.S.
killed Osama bin Laden. Japan’s horrific earthquake, tsunami and reactor meltdown will also be remembered for years to come.
Both in Canada and abroad, civilians demanded changes this year. The Arab Spring
started a powerful movement that toppled several regimes and inspired Palestine to make a
bold bid for UN membership. Riding the liberation wave, Libyan rebels took over the country and Egyptians put their ex-leader on trial.
The year found enough Canadians ready to protest and strike too.
Canada Post and
Air Canada workers became major strike pushers while the global Occupy movement hit Canadian cities, creating tent settlements and
headaches for city officials. Canada’s federal election also brought in massive changes; the NDP, for the first time, is Canada’s Official Opposition. Even the Conservatives had a new outcome: a majority government.
2011 also saw its share of ugliness. One of Canada’s costliest disasters destroyed most of the community of Slave Lake in May. The entire country was shocked to discover that arsonists started the fire that displaced so many. Further west, in Vancouver, human destruction also left a big mark. Thousands torched and pillaged the city during a Stanley Cup riot this June. "Canada: Where the people aren't nice anymore," joked an American television host following the rampage.
We may no longer be nice, but we still feel pretty lucky, as Canada mainly avoided the year’s other latest disaster. Hurricane Irene, which
devastated the east coast, wreaked considerably less havoc in Canada. Let’s hope some of this luck finds us again in 2012.
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