WINNIPEG - The Beaver: Canada's History Magazine is inviting Canadians to name what they consider to be the "worst Canadian" in the country's past.
It's all part of an online promotion launched this week by the magazine, the flagship publication of the National History Society, for its August-September issue, according to a release.
In the issue, 10 prominent Canadian writers and historians will state their case for their choice of the worst character from the seamier side of Canadian life.
But the magazine also wants readers and the general public to register their own votes at www.thebeaver.ca so it can check "expert analysis" against public opinion.
The full results will be published in the magazine, available on newsstands Aug. 2.
Deborah Morrison, history society president and CEO, said in the release that "We've seen and heard a lot about who are the greatest Canadians of all time."
But, she said, "everyone knows the best stories often come from the seamier sides of our history."
"We thought it would be fun to take a more defiant look at our historical figures and the lessons we've learned from them."
Doug Whiteway, editor of The Beaver, says: "We felt we needed to come up with a Canadian list that didn't include winter and mosquitoes at the top of it."
And based on early voting results, he said, "it seems no list is going to shake Canadians' obsession with hockey - some of the worst Canadians seem to be tied to our national sport."
The National History Society is a Winnipeg-based charitable organization devoted to popularizing Canadian history, mainly through its publishing program.
