CTV News announced the top ten stories of 2007 this morning but pure political stories didn’t do very well this year, as our president Robert Hurst — who once covered Parliament Hill — writes in a piece on our Web site:
Normally a prime minister and his government's achievements or failures are sure bets for inclusion in the top-ten list. But it didn't happen this year even though the Conservatives are governing with a minority Parliament.
The high-flying loonie was the obvious choice as the top Canadian story of 2007. The dramatic rise of Canada's currency affects every single Canadian, which is a key factor in evaluating its inclusion and ranking on the list. Indeed during the autumn, the loonie's climb against the U.S. greenback was the lead story night after night, week after week.
Now, of course, federal politics influenced or was influenced by some of the year’s big stories.
The story of the loonie’s rise continues to be a political flashpoint here in Ottawa, with opposition MPs and business lobby groups pushing the government to do something to help out ailing manufacturers. And Canada’s war in Afghanistan – the number two story of the year — continues to be a significant point of cleavage between the four major political parties.
The use of tasers (number 5) and the deaths of RCMP officers (number 6) had politicians scrambling in reaction.
The only pure political story of the year was our number ten selection – the Mulroney-Schreiber saga.
Check out the complete list at the bottom of this page.