The Most Talked About Moments in Canada This Year on Facebook
International Women’s Day was the top most talked about moment in 2017, both globally and in Canada.
Celebrated in 190 countries on March 8, more than 165 million people generated over 430 million interactions worldwide—doubling the volume of conversation compared to 2016.
The deaths of famed and beloved musicians Gord Downie, Tom Petty, Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington were widely reacted to and talked about by Canadians on the social platform, while tragic events like shootings in Las Vegas and Quebec City garnered both messages of concern and an outpouring of support.
Here are the top 10 events that Canadians were talking about on Facebook this year:
- International Women’s Day, celebrated with global rallies and marches: March 8
- Gordon Downie’s death, the Tragically Hip frontman passed away from brain cancer: October 17
- Las Vegas violence, a gunman killed 58 people at an outdoor music festival: October 1
- Alyssa Langille, a missing 15-year-old girl from Missisauga was found safe: January 16
- Tom Petty’s death, one of the best-selling American musicians of all time: October 2
- Chris Cornell’s death, the lead vocalist for Soundgarden and Audioslave: May 18
- Chester Bennington’s death, the lead singer of Linkin Park: July 20
- United Airlines incident, a viral video of a passenger forcibly taken off a flight: April 9
- Meryl Streep’s Golden Globes speech, the Oscar-winning actress called out then-Republican elect Donald Trump: January 8
- Quebec City violence, a gunman killed six worshippers at a local mosque: January 29
Around the world, Facebook found the top most talked about moments included Super Bowl 51, natural disasters including Hurricane Harvey and the devastating September earthquake in Mexico, and the total solar eclipse in August—no indication how many of those posts were about defective glasses or problems seeing.