Official Google Canada Blog: 2016: Canada’s #YearInSearch

A teenage swimming sensation that had Canadians cheering Go Penny Go! Donald Trump’s US Election win. Andre De Grasse’s blistering race against the World’s Fastest Man. A nation-wide Canadian goodbye to The Tragically Hip. The search for who, in fact, really is Becky With The Good Hair. And, a devastating fire that brought the country together to support one community. The 16th Annual Year in Search is here! It's a look back at the moments, newsmakers, athletes, musicians, toys, politicians (and more!) that sent Canadians searching in 2016.

The Year in Search is Google’s annual analysis of trillions of searches performed globally throughout the year. View all of Canada’s Trending Searches here. Here’s a peek at five trending topics that caught our attention in 2016.

Canadians: We sang along with Drake, Downie and Dion. We cheered for Penny, Andre and Sid. We had a chuckle thanks to Samantha Bee. And we remembered a poet named Leonard. These are the Canadians who defined 2016 according to Google Search.

The Tragically Hip: News of Gord Downie’s cancer diagnosis and The Tragically Hip’s summer tour generated an enormous amount of interest online. The final concert from Kingston, Ontario was the largest livestream of Canadian content in YouTube history as fans from across the country and 188 countries around the world tuned in to watch The Hip one last time.

Pokémon Go: Canadians sought to catch ‘em all in 2016! The card game from the ‘90s made a big return this year as location-based augmented reality app Pokémon Go, and was one of the top trending searches of the year.

Beyoncé: Becky With The Good Hair: Five words set Searches ablaze when Beyoncé dropped her sixth studio album Lemonade and Canadians turned to Google to ask “Who is Becky with the good hair?”. The mystery remains... Do you know who Becky with the Good Hair is? We sure don’t, but it’s #6 on our top trending “Who is?” list!

Hatchimals! Two years ago, a few toy developers at the Canadian-based Spin Master chatted about the popularity of YouTube “unboxing” videos. Fast-forward to 2016 and Hatchimals, furry bird-like creatures that require a cuddle before hatching from an egg, are one of the top-searched toys of the year.

The Year in Search offers a unique reflection of who we were as a country in 2016. So before heading into a fresh new year, take a moment to look back and reflect on the year that was at google.ca/2016.
Happy 2016 and we can’t wait to see what 2017 has in store!
Posted by Alexandra Hunnings, Public Affairs, Google Canada

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