Sorry Bryan Adams, no one has a ‘favourite’ Canadian artist anymore

The idea of having a favourite Canadian artist is becoming a quaint anachronism, according to the head of the Association for Canadian Studies.

Even when pressed to name their favourite Canadian musical artist, about half say they do not have one, and those who do are all over the place. Bryan Adams tops the list at five per cent, followed by Drake, Shania Twain and Michael Bublé at three per cent, then Céline Dion, Justin Bieber, the Tragically Hip and Gordon Lightfoot at two per cent.

In visual art, more than three quarters could not even name a Canadian painter, let alone their favourite one. Those who did opted in similarly low numbers for Jean-Paul Riopelle, Emily Carr and the Group of Seven, with Robert Bateman and Tom Thomson also registering at two per cent.

For a country that has historically taken such pains to emphasize the Canadianness of its homegrown artists who get rich in America and overseas, this might seem cause for even more cultural anxiety. But in the poll taken last month, Jack Jedwab sees evidence that younger Canadians especially see the modern surplus of online platforms as more of an opportunity than a threat to Canadian culture.