Canada’s List of Most Googled People in 2018 Is… Interesting
Who is William Nylander, and where is Meghan Markle?
Between her star-studded royal wedding, the recent pregnancy announcement, and the seemingly never-ending stream of daddy drama headlines, one might assume that Meghan Markle was 2018’s Most Googled Person. Having diligently reported on her penchant for rule-breaking, her growing baby and every single outfit she’s ever worn, I’d have bet at least $5 per Markle-focused FASHION story that she was. (It feels like we’ve written at least 600, so that bet would have eaten up my entire savings. And then some.)
But apparently—at least according to Google’s 2018 trend stats—Canadians couldn’t care less about the Duchess of Sussex. Markle was the second most searched person in the US this year, she topped the list for most-searched person in the UK, and her lavish wedding to Prince Harry ranked high on the most-searched news list in both countries. But in Canada, her honorary home? Not a single mention.
What’s the point of having limitless information at our fingertips if we aren’t going to use it to read up on princesses? And if we weren’t using the search engine to fuel our royal curiosity, what exactly were we using it for? Apparently, a lot of sports and a healthy dose of scandal. Here are the people Canadians wanted to know more about in 2018. Brace yourselves, it’s shocking:
10. John Tavares
WHO IS THAT? He’s a Canadian hockey player in the NHL. And apparently, a good one.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HIM IN 2018? In July, it was announced that Tavares had signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, his hometown team.
USA List: N/A
9. William Nylander
WHO IS THAT? Another hockey player. This one is a Canadian-born Swede who’s also, apparently, good.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HIM IN 2018? So here’s what I’ve gathered from the web: Nylander’s three-year, entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs expired after the 2017-2018 season, making him a restricted free-agent. After what looks to have been some dramatic back and forth — he reportedly was losing $30,000 per day as he remained unsigned — Nylander agreed to a six-year, $41.77 million contract with the Maple Leafs minutes before the deadline.
American Google Rank: N/A
8. Stormy Daniels
WHO IS THAT? An American adult film actress who allegedly had an affair with President Donald Trump.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HER IN 2018? On January 12, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s personal lawyer paid Daniels $130,000 one month before the 2016 presidential election in exchange for an NDA that prevented her from speaking about the alleged 2016 affair. There was a lawsuit, a 60 Minutes segment, a tell-all book that compares Trump’s penis to a toad, and numerous news stories covering the scandal. Why did Canadians care more about Daniels than Americans did? I couldn’t tell you.
American Google Rank: N/A
7. Tristan Thompson
WHO IS THAT? Khloe Kardashian’s baby daddy. And also, a professional basketball player for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT THEM IN 2018? In April, days before his extremely-pregnant, extremely-famous girlfriend was expected to give birth to their first child, Thompson was accused of cheating. There were photos, videos, and most importantly, there was motor-boating. In less than 24 hours, Thompson became the Internet’s public enemy #1. Long live the savage comments!
American Google Rank: N/A
6. Logan Paul
WHO IS THAT? An American Internet celebrity who came up on Vine, and now creates YouTube videos.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HIM IN 2018? At the end of 2017, Paul stirred outrage when he vlogged his trip to Japan’s Aokigahara forest, known to be a frequent site of suicides. As he headed into the “haunted” forest with his friends, his video camera and his Toy Story hat, he come across a man’s body, and the video was uploaded under the title “We found a dead body in the Japanese Suicide Forest…”
In other 2018 Logan Paul news: the notorious YouTuber participated in an amateur boxing fight with fellow notorious YouTube personality, KSI. The fight was named “the largest event in YouTube history,” and generated a total of 5 million pay-per-view buys worldwide.
The silver-lining to all of this: at least we didn’t care about Logan Paul quite as much as our neighbours to the south. That has to mean something, right?
American Google Rank: #4
5. Kawhi Leonard
WHO IS THAT? An American professional basketball player. And, once again, he’s a guy who’s supposedly good at his sport.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HIM IN 2018? In July, the Toronto Raptors traded their fan-favourite player, DeMar DeRozan, for San Antonio Spurs superstar, Kawhi Leonard. That’s pretty much all I’ve got.
American Google Rank: N/A
4. Tessa Virtue
WHO IS THAT? Canadian ice dancer, Olympian and 1/2 of Canada’s poster child couple Scott and Tessa.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HER IN 2018? At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Virtue, with her ice dancing partner Scott Moir, became the most decorated figure skater in Olympic history. She also gained a significant cult following, became the object of an International shipping effort, and was appointed the Canadian brand ambassador for Nivea.
American Google Rank: N/A
3. Hailey Baldwin
WHO IS THAT? A model and former FASHION cover star.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HER IN 2018? She married Justin Bieber.
American Google Rank: N/A
2. Khloe Kardashian
WHO IS THAT? The youngest of the three Kardashian sisters. Not to be confused with the collective Kardashian-Jenner sisters, of which she is third oldest, and third youngest.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HER IN 2018? She had her first baby. And shortly before that, her Canadian basketball-star boyfriend (see #7) was exposed for cheating on her.
American Google Rank: #5
1. Demi Lovato
WHO IS THAT? American singer, songwriter, actress and former Disney Channel star.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HER IN 2018? In July, Levato was hospitalized for an apparent overdose. She entered rehab, and shortly after, wrote a heartfelt open letter to her supporters.
American Google Rank: #1
But apparently—at least according to Google's 2018 trend stats—Canadians couldn't care less about the Duchess of Sussex. Markle was the second most searched person in the US this year, she topped the list for most-searched person in the UK, and her lavish wedding to Prince Harry ranked high on the most-searched news list in both countries. But in Canada, her honorary home? Not a single mention.
What's the point of having limitless information at our fingertips if we aren't going to use it to read up on princesses? And if we weren't using the search engine to fuel our royal curiosity, what exactly were we using it for? Apparently, a lot of sports and a healthy dose of scandal. Here are the people Canadians wanted to know more about in 2018. Brace yourselves, it's shocking:
10. John Tavares
[caption id="attachment_363750" align="alignnone" width="280"] Photography via Wikimedia Commons[/caption]
WHO IS THAT? He's a Canadian hockey player in the NHL. And apparently, a good one.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HIM IN 2018? In July, it was announced that Tavares had signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, his hometown team.
USA List: N/A
9. William Nylander
[caption id="attachment_363751" align="alignnone" width="280"] Photography by Kostas Lymperopoulos/CSM/REX/Shutterstock[/caption]
WHO IS THAT? Another hockey player. This one is a Canadian-born Swede who's also, apparently, good.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HIM IN 2018? So here's what I've gathered from the web: Nylander's three-year, entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs expired after the 2017-2018 season, making him a restricted free-agent. After what looks to have been some dramatic back and forth — he reportedly was losing $30,000 per day as he remained unsigned — Nylander agreed to a six-year, $41.77 million contract with the Maple Leafs minutes before the deadline.
American Google Rank: N/A
8. Stormy Daniels
[caption id="attachment_363753" align="alignnone" width="280"] Photography by Roger Askew/The Oxford Union/REX/Shutterstock[/caption]
WHO IS THAT? An American adult film actress who allegedly had an affair with President Donald Trump.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HER IN 2018? On January 12, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's personal lawyer paid Daniels $130,000 one month before the 2016 presidential election in exchange for an NDA that prevented her from speaking about the alleged 2016 affair. There was a lawsuit, a 60 Minutes segment, a tell-all book that compares Trump's penis to a toad, and numerous news stories covering the scandal. Why did Canadians care more about Daniels than Americans did? I couldn't tell you.
American Google Rank: N/A
7. Tristan Thompson
[caption id="attachment_363754" align="alignnone" width="280"] Photography by Brian To/Variety/REX/Shutterstock[/caption]
WHO IS THAT? Khloe Kardashian's baby daddy. And also, a professional basketball player for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT THEM IN 2018? In April, days before his extremely-pregnant, extremely-famous girlfriend was expected to give birth to their first child, Thompson was accused of cheating. There were photos, videos, and most importantly, there was motor-boating. In less than 24 hours, Thompson became the Internet's public enemy #1. Long live the savage comments!
American Google Rank: N/A
6. Logan Paul
[caption id="attachment_363755" align="alignnone" width="280"] Photography by Chelsea Lauren/REX/Shutterstock[/caption]
WHO IS THAT? An American Internet celebrity who came up on Vine, and now creates YouTube videos.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HIM IN 2018? At the end of 2017, Paul stirred outrage when he vlogged his trip to Japan's Aokigahara forest, known to be a frequent site of suicides. As he headed into the "haunted" forest with his friends, his video camera and his Toy Story hat, he come across a man's body, and the video was uploaded under the title “We found a dead body in the Japanese Suicide Forest…”
In other 2018 Logan Paul news: the notorious YouTuber participated in an amateur boxing fight with fellow notorious YouTube personality, KSI. The fight was named "the largest event in YouTube history," and generated a total of 5 million pay-per-view buys worldwide.
The silver-lining to all of this: at least we didn't care about Logan Paul quite as much as our neighbours to the south. That has to mean something, right?
American Google Rank: #4
5. Kawhi Leonard
[caption id="attachment_363756" align="alignnone" width="280"] Photography by Imagine China/REX/Shutterstock[/caption]
WHO IS THAT? An American professional basketball player. And, once again, he's a guy who's supposedly good at his sport.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HIM IN 2018? In July, the Toronto Raptors traded their fan-favourite player, DeMar DeRozan, for San Antonio Spurs superstar, Kawhi Leonard. That's pretty much all I've got.
American Google Rank: N/A
4. Tessa Virtue
[caption id="attachment_363768" align="alignnone" width="280"] Photography by Ulrik Pedersen/CSM/REX/Shutterstock[/caption]
WHO IS THAT? Canadian ice dancer, Olympian and 1/2 of Canada's poster child couple Scott and Tessa.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HER IN 2018? At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Virtue, with her ice dancing partner Scott Moir, became the most decorated figure skater in Olympic history. She also gained a significant cult following, became the object of an International shipping effort, and was appointed the Canadian brand ambassador for Nivea.
American Google Rank: N/A
3. Hailey Baldwin
[caption id="attachment_363769" align="alignnone" width="280"] Photography by Matt Baron/REX/Shutterstock[/caption]
WHO IS THAT? A model and former FASHION cover star.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HER IN 2018? She married Justin Bieber.
American Google Rank: N/A
2. Khloe Kardashian
[caption id="attachment_363770" align="alignnone" width="280"] Photography by Marion Curtis/REX/Shutterstock[/caption]
WHO IS THAT? The youngest of the three Kardashian sisters. Not to be confused with the collective Kardashian-Jenner sisters, of which she is third oldest, and third youngest.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HER IN 2018? She had her first baby. And shortly before that, her Canadian basketball-star boyfriend (see #7) was exposed for cheating on her.
American Google Rank: #5
1. Demi Lovato
[caption id="attachment_363772" align="alignnone" width="280"] Photography by Sara Jaye Weiss/REX/Shutterstock[/caption]
WHO IS THAT? American singer, songwriter, actress and former Disney Channel star.
WHY DID CANADIANS CARE ABOUT HER IN 2018? In July, Levato was hospitalized for an apparent overdose. She entered rehab, and shortly after, wrote a heartfelt open letter to her supporters.
American Google Rank: #1){kind=link}