Canadians’ top Google searches for 2016: The Donald, Pokemon Go and Drake

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The Donald, Pokemon Go and Drake: What Canadians Googled in 2016

Kiran Dhillon CTVNews.ca
Published Wednesday, December 14, 2016 2:43PM EST Last Updated Wednesday, December 14, 2016 6:31PM EST

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Google Canada has just released its list of top trending searches for the past year and it shows the U.S. election, Canadian musicians, and the smartphone game Pokémon Go are what Canadians were most curious about in 2016.

Donald Trump tops the list of most-searched topics but Google Canada鈥檚 spokeswoman Alexandra Hunnings said it wasn鈥檛 just Canadians who were interested in the Donald.

Trump was actually the top trending search around the world, Hunnings told CTV News Channel on Wednesday.

鈥淲e knew him in 2015 as a real estate mogul, a character on 鈥淭he Apprentice,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd now we know him as president-elect.鈥�

Another topic that generated global interest this year, she said, was Pokémon Go. The smartphone game was the second most googled topic in Canada.

鈥淭his summer, especially, we saw people throughout cities in Canada, and the world quite frankly, going to Poke Stops, (and) playing the game,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd they were going to Google to search for tips and tricks.鈥�

Coming in third on the most-searched topic list were the Toronto Raptors. It came as no big surprise, she said, as the 2015-2016 season was a milestone for the NBA team as they made the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time.

But it wasn鈥檛 just politics, sports and tech games that interested Canadians this year. Music was also top of mind as the top three most searched Canadians this year were all musicians.

The Tragically Hip鈥檚 Gord Downie and Celine Dion rounded out the top three list but it was Drake who grabbed the top spot.

Hunnings said the interest in Drake was, in part, because he dropped his much anticipated album 鈥淰iews鈥� this year but also because the rapper always finds a way to stay relevant.

鈥淭he man is ambitious to say the least. He is very good at marketing himself,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e is in the news because he鈥檚 either dating or not dating Rihanna. Or he鈥檚 opening up a flagship store in one of the major American cities for his clothing line. This summer, he also went on the 鈥淪ummer Sixteen鈥� tour with Future, the rapper, so he鈥檚 always able to keep himself in the news.鈥�

Meanwhile, while Donald Trump was the most-searched politician in Canada, Canadians were also interested in domestic politicians. In fact, Conservatives were at the top of the list 鈥� including Kellie Leitch.

鈥淧erhaps indicating that Canadians are interested in who may be the leader of the Conservative party,鈥� Hunnings told CTV鈥檚 Power Play.

There were also huge spikes in searches for Rob Ford during April, when the former Toronto mayor died.

Top trending Canadian politicians of 2016

1. Rob Ford (former mayor of Toronto)

2. Kellie Leitch (Conservative MP)

3. Brad Wall (Premier of Saskatchewan)

4. Doug Ford (former city councillor in Toronto)

5. Kathleen Wynne (Premier of Ontario)

6. Michelle Rempel (Conservative MP)

7. Maryam Monsef (Minister of Democratic Institutions)

8. Rona Ambrose (Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose)

9. Jim Watson (Mayor of Ottawa)

10. Christy Clark (Premier of British Columbia)

One notable absence: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. But Google did release the top trending searches related to Canada鈥檚 leader:

1. Elbowgate

2. Sophie Gregoire Trudeau

3. Surfing (Tofino Photobomb)

4. Comments about Fidel Castro

5. 60 Minutes Interview

6. Washington Visit

7. Trudeau appoints cop to Senate

8. Trudeau attends Pride

9. Trudeau in Marvel Comb

10. Trudeau on Buzzfeed

But it wasn鈥檛 just pop culture and politics Canadians were interested in this year. Google鈥檚 Year in Search 2016 data reveals Canadians were also searching the economy, and other big world events including the Olympics, the Orlando shootings and the terrorist attack in Nice.

Here鈥檚 a list of some of the top trending searches in our country for 2016: