The Guardian’s Newsmaker of the Year for 2014 is the year itself.
Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference was a year-long event that filled the province with music, record tourism spending and a host of legacies, including public art, heritage projects and interpretive trails.
Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, treated royal watchers on P.E.I. to a whirlwind visit in May.
Music fans were given a royal treat like never before with a steady staging of great performers during a number of festivals that included superstar Shania Twain, who wowed tens of thousands of fans at an outdoor concert in Charlottetown.
The Celebration Zone provided 70 straight days of free music with the likes of Canadian icons Burton Cummings and Buffy Sainte-Marie drawing large crowds to the site at Confederation Landing on the capital city’s waterfront — a daily gathering spot that offered a smorgasbord of food, theatre, music, culture and arts and crafts.
Upbeat Islanders and tourists in numbers quite pleasing to local business operators seemed to fill the streets on a regular basis, particularly throughout the summer months, thanks to the ongoing celebrations.
Earlier this month, the province released tourism numbers showing a nearly four per cent spike in the number of visitors to the Island in 2014 over 2013. Direct spending at $401 million in 2014 was up 5.1 per cent from 2013. Both the amount of spending and the number of visitors parting with money were the highest since a new methodology was developed to determine each figure in 2005.
The wide-ranging celebrations were credited with bolstering the healthy jump in visitors.
The strong numbers may have also helped in curbing some of the criticism over the hefty $29-million price tag spent to mark the milestone that has earned Charlottetown the oft-repeated tag as Birthplace of Confederation.
Penny Walsh McGuire, executive director of P.E.I. 2014, is thrilled with how well the celebrations were received. She is also glad the special year got the nod as Newsmaker of the Year.
“Well, I think it’s very exciting,’’ she says.
McGuire attributes the success of the 12-month celebration coming largely from the spirited manner in which Islanders embraced all that the year had to offer, as well as what it represented.
“I think we really hope that the celebrations this year build an increased sense of pride about who we are as Islanders,’’ says McGuire.
The Guardian editorial team whittled down to three the top contenders for Newsmaker of the Year, which is generally a person but can be an organization or event depending on how much of a unique status it takes on.
Guardian Managing Editor Gary MacDougall says the year 2014 indeed took on a personality of its own.
“The hype over P.E.I.’s 150th anniversary year began in 2013 and quickly picked up steam once this year got off to a bang with celebrations and fireworks,’’ he says.
“The year featured festivals big and small across the province and a multitude of special visitors ... if 2014 did indeed take on a personality, it was one that radiated our pride in our province and its place in Canadian history.’’
Two P.E.I. natives — Heather Moyse and Mike Duffy — were also in the running for Newsmaker of the Year, the first for her exceptional accomplishment, the later for his headline-grabbing fall from grace.
Moyse achieved a rare feat by winning gold medals in consecutive Olympic Games. She won her second straight Olympic bobsleigh title with pilot Kaillie Humphries early this year in Sochi.
P.E.I. Premier Robert Ghiz also made headlines by jumping the gun in naming Moyse as a recipient of the Order of Prince Edward Island during a rally in March for the local sports hero. Ghiz made the announcement well before the award had closed, drawing a slew of criticism, including backlash from the chair of the Order of P.E.I. Advisory Council.
Duffy, the disgraced suspended senator, also got plenty of ink in 2014 in earning consideration for Newsmaker of the Year.
Duffy faces 31 charges, including fraud, breach of trust and bribery with a trial set to begin April 7. The last charge deals with a $90,000 cheque Duffy got from Nigel Wright, Harper’s one-time chief of staff, to reimburse the Senate for challenged expense claims.
The Guardian’s Newsmaker of the Year for 2014 is the year itself.
Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference was a year-long event that filled the province with music, record tourism spending and a host of legacies, including public art, heritage projects and interpretive trails.
Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, treated royal watchers on P.E.I. to a whirlwind visit in May.
Music fans were given a royal treat like never before with a steady staging of great performers during a number of festivals that included superstar Shania Twain, who wowed tens of thousands of fans at an outdoor concert in Charlottetown.
The Celebration Zone provided 70 straight days of free music with the likes of Canadian icons Burton Cummings and Buffy Sainte-Marie drawing large crowds to the site at Confederation Landing on the capital city’s waterfront — a daily gathering spot that offered a smorgasbord of food, theatre, music, culture and arts and crafts.
Upbeat Islanders and tourists in numbers quite pleasing to local business operators seemed to fill the streets on a regular basis, particularly throughout the summer months, thanks to the ongoing celebrations.
Earlier this month, the province released tourism numbers showing a nearly four per cent spike in the number of visitors to the Island in 2014 over 2013. Direct spending at $401 million in 2014 was up 5.1 per cent from 2013. Both the amount of spending and the number of visitors parting with money were the highest since a new methodology was developed to determine each figure in 2005.
The wide-ranging celebrations were credited with bolstering the healthy jump in visitors.
The strong numbers may have also helped in curbing some of the criticism over the hefty $29-million price tag spent to mark the milestone that has earned Charlottetown the oft-repeated tag as Birthplace of Confederation.
Penny Walsh McGuire, executive director of P.E.I. 2014, is thrilled with how well the celebrations were received. She is also glad the special year got the nod as Newsmaker of the Year.
“Well, I think it’s very exciting,’’ she says.
McGuire attributes the success of the 12-month celebration coming largely from the spirited manner in which Islanders embraced all that the year had to offer, as well as what it represented.
“I think we really hope that the celebrations this year build an increased sense of pride about who we are as Islanders,’’ says McGuire.
The Guardian editorial team whittled down to three the top contenders for Newsmaker of the Year, which is generally a person but can be an organization or event depending on how much of a unique status it takes on.
Guardian Managing Editor Gary MacDougall says the year 2014 indeed took on a personality of its own.
“The hype over P.E.I.’s 150th anniversary year began in 2013 and quickly picked up steam once this year got off to a bang with celebrations and fireworks,’’ he says.
“The year featured festivals big and small across the province and a multitude of special visitors ... if 2014 did indeed take on a personality, it was one that radiated our pride in our province and its place in Canadian history.’’
Two P.E.I. natives — Heather Moyse and Mike Duffy — were also in the running for Newsmaker of the Year, the first for her exceptional accomplishment, the later for his headline-grabbing fall from grace.
Moyse achieved a rare feat by winning gold medals in consecutive Olympic Games. She won her second straight Olympic bobsleigh title with pilot Kaillie Humphries early this year in Sochi.
P.E.I. Premier Robert Ghiz also made headlines by jumping the gun in naming Moyse as a recipient of the Order of Prince Edward Island during a rally in March for the local sports hero. Ghiz made the announcement well before the award had closed, drawing a slew of criticism, including backlash from the chair of the Order of P.E.I. Advisory Council.
Duffy, the disgraced suspended senator, also got plenty of ink in 2014 in earning consideration for Newsmaker of the Year.
Duffy faces 31 charges, including fraud, breach of trust and bribery with a trial set to begin April 7. The last charge deals with a $90,000 cheque Duffy got from Nigel Wright, Harper’s one-time chief of staff, to reimburse the Senate for challenged expense claims.
• 1993: Premier Catherine Callbeck*;
• 1994: Provincial government's 7 1/2 per cent public sector wage rollback*;
• 1995: Bombing of P.E.I. Legislature*;
• 1996: Charlottetown Mayor Ian Tex MacDonald;
• 1997: Confederation Bridge;
• 1998: Summerside police officer David Griffin;
• 1999: Lorie Kane;
• 2000: Lorie Kane;
• 2001: Blair Ross, workers' compensation protest;
• 2002: Lucille Poulin;
• 2003: Robert Ghiz;
• 2004: Brad Richards;
• 2005: Jared Connaughton and Mark MacDonald, tie;
• 2006: Premier Pat Binns;
• 2007: Premier Robert Ghiz;
• 2008: Lucy Maud Montgomery;
• 2009: Baby Lillian;
• 2010: Heather Moyse (Olympic gold medal);
• 2011: Royal visit by Prince William and Kate;
• 2012: The Impaired Driver.
• 2013: Senator Mike Duffy.
• 2014: The year 2014 (150th anniversary of Charlottetown Conference).
* Editor's note: For the years 1993, 1994 and 1995, The Guardian only selected a Newsmaker of the Year. In 1996, to comply with The Canadian Press selection method, The Guardian began selecting both a Newsmaker of the Year (usually a person) and a News Story of the Year (usually an event or series of events).
