The Happy Camper: Is Celine Dion a Happy Camper?
A recent survey indicates that most Canadians have a desire to go camping with Celine Dion or Stephen Harper. That’s just a little odd.
Canadian Tire released this survey and the data was collected by Ipsos Canada. More than 2,000 Canadians were asked a series of camping-related questions, including “what item of camp gear would you most likely forget at home?” (toilet paper was the number-one answer). When it came to ask, “which famous Canadian you would rather share time in the wilderness with?” some interesting facts were discovered. Most of them, I found somewhat disturbing.
Canadian entertainers (singers, actors, comedians, etc.) topped the list of celebrities survey respondents claimed they’d like to go camping with, adding up to 39 per cent of the total. Only nine per cent chose a Canadian politician, and a mere six per cent went for a Canadian athlete.
Who ranked the highest is the disturbing part. For entertainers it was Celine Dion, Shania Twain and Jim Carrey. Okay, sharing time in the wilderness with Jim Carrey might be interesting, and pitching a tent with Shania could be… memorable. But what happened to Canadians like Gordon Lightfoot, Gord Downie or Bruce Cockburn? I’d rather paddle a canoe with them any day. At least Jan Arden and Neil Young were on the list. So were Chris Hadfield and William Shatner. None of them beat Justin Bieber, though. Even Pamela Anderson won over Les Stroud (a.k.a. Survivorman). That’s just wrong. And where’s Red Green? What kind of Canadians answered this survey anyway?
Wayne Gretzky won for top athlete, with Bobby Orr coming in third. Olympic athletes were somewhere in between. That seems fair, I guess. Most popular activist was David Suzuki. I wouldn’t mind sipping some single-malt around the fire with him. The conversation would definitely not be dull. Pierre Berton was the only author mentioned. He’s a perfect fit. Berton wrote that a true Canadian is one who “makes love in a canoe.” I love that quote.
Rick Mercer was also on the list. I’d definitely camp with him. But the top politician was Stephen Harper. Not sure I’d share a canoe with him, and definitely not some single-malt around a campfire. Justin Trudeau, absolutely. Heck, I’d even give that Scottish guy on Canadian Tire money first dibs before camping with Stephen Harper — or Celine Dion, for that matter.
So, who would be your ideal celebrity camping buddy?
