GARY BETTMAN AT TOP OF CANADIANS’ NAUGHTY LIST
The Grinch’s heart may be two sizes too small but it appears Canadians see Gary Bettman as altogether heartless.
The NHL commissioner lands at the top of Santa’s Naughty List in a new Ipsos Reid survey that weighs national favour — or lack thereof — for various public figures.
Fully 83 per cent of Canadians put Bettman on 2012’s Naughty List, compared to 75 per cent for the Dr. Seuss villain. Splitting the two cultural whipping boys, at 80 per cent, is NHL Players’ Association executive director, Donald Fehr.
Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Reid, said the message from Canadians is clear: “A pox on both your houses.
“It takes a special effort to get higher than the Grinch,” said Bricker, whose firm conducted the poll on behalf of Postmedia News and Global Television.
“When it comes to the NHL, Canadians really aren’t happy at all. But their response now, rather than anger, is simply ‘Go away’ — which is the saddest thing of all.”
Rob Ford ranks fourth on the Naughty List, with 72 per cent of Canadians suggesting a lump of coal for the Toronto mayor’s stocking, while “your provincial premier” takes the dubious Number 5 spot.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, for instance, was placed on holiday probation by roughly half of Canadians, while the other half awarded him a spot on Santa’s Nice List. Singer Justin Bieber proved similarly divisive, with respondents evenly torn between the Naughty and Nice camps.
“You either love them or you hate them. There aren’t a lot of people who are in between,” Bricker said.
The Nice List is handily topped by Queen Elizabeth (80 per cent), which Bricker said demonstrates the Royal Family’s increasing favour among Canadians. U.S. President Barack Obama follows in second, at 77 per cent, and Green party leader Elizabeth May finishes off the top three at 72 per cent.
“If Obama had run in Canada, he would have won an overwhelming majority government,” Bricker said. “As for May, people think she’s sincere in what she’s doing and they respect her tenacity and conviction. Whether they agree with her policies is another issue.”
Also “nice” are the Toronto Argonauts (62 per cent), departing Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney (63 per cent), Liberal leadership candidates Justin Trudeau (60 per cent) and Marc Garneau (58 per cent and 58 per cent), and NDP leader Thomas Mulcair (57 per cent).
The online poll of 1,021 Canadians was conducted Dec. 7 to 12. It’s considered accurate within 3.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Naughty: Top 5
1. Gary Bettman 2. Donald Fehr 3. The Grinch 4. Rob Ford 5. Your provincial premier
Nice: Top 5
1. Queen Elizabeth 2. Barack Obama 3. The Toronto Argonauts 4. Elizabeth May 5. Mark Carney
— http://o.canada.com/?p=171169