Who is the most iconic Canadian ever? Here's what people really think

Ever wondered who the most iconic Canadian in the country’s history is?

With so many incredible people to have walked the True North, it’s hard to decide. Plus, measuring someone’s status as an icon can be quite arbitrary. But the curious folks on Reddit have quite a few contenders.

The question was posted on r/AskReddit by @mattmagoo23 on Wednesday and garnered over 3,500 responses in less than 17 hours from people all over the world.

Cancer research activist and athlete Terry Fox won by a landslide, getting nearly 4,500 votes and inspiring many non-Canadians, who hadn’t heard his story before.

After one Reddit user shared a link to a YouTube video about his life, many fell down a rabbit hole of Fox’s unbelievable contributions, both, in his life and after his demise. Fox is best known for running a marathon for cancer awareness after he lost a leg to the disease.

Though the athlete died when he was 22 years old, The Terry Fox Foundation has raised over $850 million to aid cancer research since its establishment. He is listed among many other greats nominated to grace the new Canadian $5 bill.

But the contender list for the most iconic Canadian got a lot more diverse after Fox’s mention — species-wise.

The second highest number of votes was bagged by none other than the North American House Hippo which has helped get through to kids with several PSAs.

The fictional animal’s TV ads were aimed at helping kids realize the importance of critical and independent thinking, especially when it comes to what they’re watching on television. He was pretty much Canada’s first anti-misinformation icon.

In third place is Sir Frederick Banting, the Canadian who has helped save millions of lives by inventing insulin for diabetes.

Other entries included Tommy Douglas, Wayne Gretzky, John Candy, and Chris Hadfield.

There appears to be a disappointing lack of female icons in the thread, so we’ll ask you, Daily Hive readers — who do you think is the most iconic woman in Canadian history?

Let us know in the comments.