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A recent poll conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Historica Canada found "the majority of Canadians couldn't name the achievements" of Lucy Maud Montgomery.

The poll found that only a measly 27 percent of Canadians could identify the accomplishments of Lucy Maud Montgomery and were unfamiliar that the author penned the literary classic "Anne of Green Gables."

This is not the first time Canadians have disrespected Montgomery.

In 2004, CBC aired 'The Greatest Canadian' television series revealing the greatest Canadians of all time. The results were determined by viewers in a two-step voting process.

Shockingly, Montgomery appears way down the list at #57! The author is upstaged by Baywatch star Pamela Anderson (#51), singer Avril Lavigne (#40), Pro Wrestler Bret "The Hitman" Hart (#39), and comedian Mike Meyers (#20).

As an insult to injury, the final results were aired November 29--the eve of Montgomery's birthday!

In 2014, Montgomery finally shows up again on a ranking list -- Dead last! Engineers from the Massachusetts Institue of Technology (MIT) pulled data from Wikipedia and calculated rankings of the most popular Canadians. Montgomery ranked last (#25) behind Ryan Reynolds (#18), Nelly Furtado (#10), Pamela Anderson (#5), Justin Bieber (#3), and Avril Lavigne (#1).

By 2016, Montgomery fell off the radar again.

In honor of Canada Day 2016, Insider ranked the 26 best Canadians of all time, boasting that "Canada has given the world some of its best comedians, writers, athletes, and scientists." Apparently, this list does not include author Lucy Maud Montgomery.

It does however, include a plethora of celebrities including Avril Lavigne (#26), Jim Carrey (#24), and Celine Dion (#2). The article author indicates that the list includes "25 greatest Canadians of all time." Curiously, there are actually 26 Canadians listed!

Sadly, Canadians continue to disrespect their literary heritage and the contributions of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Let me know what you think in the comment section below. Do you think Montgomery is being disrespected?

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Timothy

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Ryan B.
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To be honest most of these polls are poorly conducted. The Greatest Canadian poll was particularly poor with a significant lack of diversity. Very little representation from women (Shania Twain was highest on the list at #18), people of colour, and even French Canadians (the poll wasn't conducted in French). Not to mention that quite a few of the people in the list who ranked above Montgomery would not generally be considered Canadians by the rest of the world. Alexander Graham Bell comes to mind. Also British General Issac Brock and Native American warrior Tecumseh from the War of 1812 are included even though neither are Canadian though they are Canadian heroes. There needs to be more education on Canada's real history makers among the general population so we don't keep ending up with polls like this that keep having current celebrities (most of whom don't reside in Canada anymore) ranking high in the polls and people like Montgomery, Margaret Atwood, Tom Thomson, James Naismith etc being either forgotten or so low in the polls to matter. That being said, Lucy Maud Montgomery has been honored quite a bit in other capacities. Just recently Historica put out a well made heritage minute on her life and there was even talk to feature her on the Canadian ten dollar bill (though it eventually went to civil rights activist Viola Desmond).

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Timothy
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Those are great points Ryan. Interesting that many of these individuals were not Canadian.

about 6 years ago http://maps.google.com/maps?z=15&q=,

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