This follow-up is kind of late, but I like closure. Back in April, I was one of the judges of Dave Pollard’s Great Canadian Song Contest. After much computation and discussion, we chose these 15 songs as most Canadian.
| SONG | COMPOSER | PERFORMER |
| 1. Canadian Railroad Trilogy |
Gordon Lightfoot | Gordon Lightfoot |
| 2. A Case of You | Joni Mitchell | Joni Mitchell |
| 3. Northwest Passage |
Stan Rogers | Stan Rogers |
| 4. Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald |
Gordon Lightfoot | Gordon Lightfoot |
| 5. Four Strong Winds |
Ian Tyson | Ian & Sylvia |
| 6. Helpless | Neil Young | Neil Young |
| 7. Barrett’s Privateers |
Stan Rogers | Stan Rogers |
| 8. Acadian Driftwood |
Robbie Robertson | The Band |
| 9. Log Driver’s Waltz |
Wade Hemsworth | McGarrigles |
| 10. It’s Hockey Night in Canada |
Lynn Miles | Lynn Miles |
| 11. The Last Saskatchewan Pirate | Arrogant Worms | Arrogant Worms |
| 12. Wheat Kings | Tragically Hip | Tragically Hip |
| 13. Hillcrest Mine | James Keelaghan | James Keelaghan |
| 14. Far Too Canadian |
Spirit of the West | Spirit of the West |
| 15. A Real Canadian Girl | Stompin’ Tom Connors | Stompin’ Tom Connors |
There was some wringing of hands among the judges regarding the list’s decidedly English-Canadian emphasis (the judges were all English-Canadian men, incidentally). As part of an email thread, I responded with these comments:
Well aren’t these essentially Canadian questions? How do we include the distinct society while still being true to the majority? Is it fair to judge songs from another culture and in another language by the same criteria as we judge our own? Should we include a French Canadian song or two out of a sense of nationalist obligation?
I suppose to properly reflect our nation’s diversity, we should have gotten a broad demographically representative group, based on ethnicity, provincial allegiance, first language, country of origin, etc. For now, though, my safest bet is to simply stick with what I like. I can try, but can’t hope to accurately reflect the entirety of Canada’s cultural experience. For example, there are nearly a million Chinese people in Canada–mostly first or second generation. We can’t hope to represent their choice, so why try with the French? Ironically, given that I grew up in Vancouver, I’m more equipped to comment on Chinese-Canadian song preference than French-Canadian.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
First of all, could your response have been anymroe of a Canadian-esque dialouge. It reeked of “what are we….really”. Only in Canada can it be that when you call something as being quintessential Canadian that you exclude some other genre.
Now, my choices. Agree with “wheat Kings”. Was “50 Misison Cap” considered? How about “The Hockey Song” by Stompin’ Tom. I mean, I stayed up late to watch him perform it on Conan O’Brien. How sickeningly Canadian is that! Glass TIger “My Town”. And who can forget “Maple Leaf Forever” (or was it called Maple Leaf Rag). Aparently a very popular song in the 1800’s.
Mind you as I go on here I realize that this list could continue FOREVER. A tough job indeed!
Yea on the Arrogant Worms. Boo on the Joni Mitchell at #2. =P
Not the order that I would have picked, but all in all a pretty good selection.
Nice job — those choices would make for a fabulous mix tape. A Case of You is my favorite Joni Mitchell song, but because of my prairie roots, I’d have chosen River for the beautifully evocative line “I wish I had a river I could skate away on”. The Toronto basher in me would have chosen Stan Rogers’ Watching The Apples Grow. I’m Chinese-Canadian, by the way. 🙂
Gilles Vigneault’ “Mon Pays” is definitely a candidate, and is contemporary with the Lightfoot you’ve included. I have an English singable (i.e., rhymed version of this).
Also, I have a translation of Rogers’ “Northwest Passage” worked out a few artists who knew/worked with Stan. He was planning to do his next album, after “From Fresh Water,” in French–growing out of his collaboration with the group “Eritage.”