2021 Year in Review: Most-searched topics on Yahoo Canada

Another year of the COVID-19 pandemic may have made 2021 feel even longer than it actually was but as the year comes to an end, we're looking at the most-searched topics and people on Yahoo Canada throughout the year.

These are the most searched topics on Yahoo Canada in 2021

1. Donald Trump

Donald Trump may not be the U.S. President anymore but that certainly did not squash everyone’s interest in him more broadly, even in Canada.

The inauguration of Joe Biden as the President of the United States closely followed the U.S. Capitol riot, with even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pointing the finger at Trump who “incited” the “assault on democracy.” In advance of formally leaving the president’s office, an article of impeachment for “incitement of insurrection” passed 232-197.

But while those events started off the year, Trump is still making headlines as we wrap up 2021, most recently for his attorneys asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block the release of documents related to the Jan. 6 insurrection by his supporters, including presidential diaries, visitor logs, speech drafts, and notes “concerning the events" of Jan. 6 from former chief of staff Mark Meadows’ files.

2. Ontario COVID-19

While people around the world were hoping to step into 2021 and say goodbye to COVID-19, that wasn’t a realistic goal, with several parts of Canada, including Ontario, now seeing the highest number of COVID-19 cases throughout the entire pandemic.

Since Jan. 15, 2020, Ontario reported 676,924 COVID-19 cases and 10,146 deaths. A total of 81 per cent of eligible Ontarians are fully vaccinated, which currently means receiving two doses of vaccine, six per cent are partially vaccinated and 13 per cent are not vaccinated.

3. Meghan Markle

Even a pandemic can’t break down our fascination with the Royals, especially when a jaw-dropping interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry airs around the world.

When explaining the tensions between her and the royal family, Markle revealed that in the "institution” questions around "how dark" Archie's skin would be, her mental health and suicidal thoughts she had, which led many Canadians to wanting this country to drop the monarchy, replaced with an elected head of state.

But to close off the year, the couple shared the first photo of their daughter Lilibet Diana in the family’s holiday card.

4. Melania Trump

When Melania Trump became the former U.S. first lady, with the title transitioning to Jill Biden, the public still compared the two for some time in 2021, particularly in reference to a jacket Trump wore in 2018 to visit to children separated from their parents at the border that read “I really don’t care, do u?" on the back.

Well in June 2021, while U.S. President Joe Biden was meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in England, his wife Jill wore a blazer that had the word “love” on the back, which quickly drew comparisons to Melania’s poorly planned outfit in 2018.

5. Prince Harry

While much of the focus of the famed Oprah Winfrey interview was on Meghan Markle, Prince Harry also opened up about the relationship he has with the rest of his family.

In particular, he spoke about how he did feel a sense of shame about bringing up the topic of his wife’s mental help and the support she needed, while he also criticizing the royals for their lack of support for the racism present in the way Markle was being covered by the media.

Harry ultimately ended up saying he felt “trapped” in the royal family and without his wife, he wouldn’t have been able to leave.

6. Alberta COVID-19

While COVID-19 is present across Canada, all eyes were on Alberta earlier in the year when Premier Jason Kenney was met with criticism for relaxing public health measures earlier than some health experts wanted.

Back in July, Alberta announce public health rules would be changed so close contacts of a COVID-19 case did not need to isolate after exposure and the mandatory masking order would be lifted.

Into September, all eyes were on Alberta when the province began to offer $100 to anyone who received a first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine between Sept. 3 and Oct. 14.

Later that month, health experts in the province pleaded for Kenney to implement a “firebreak” lockdown measure to try to curb the spread of the virus, with the President of the Canadian Medical Association stating that Alberta’s health system was at its “breaking point” with immense pressure on hospital and ICU capacity.

7. Tiger Woods

Back in February, Tiger Woods was in a frightening accident when his car rolled over, resulting in him having to be hospitalized. That led to questions about whether he would ever be able to play golf again, or if he would even possibly lose his leg.

Now we’ve seen the golfer return to the game, but with his 12-year-old son Charlie Woods, at the PNC Championship.

8. Doug Ford

With Ontario being home to the most populous city in Canada, people were closely watching the COVID-19 trajectory in the province.

Doug Ford’s provincial government frequently faced criticism for lifting public health measures too early, not prioritizing in-person learning in school, not implementing a paid sick leave program, and even temporarily giving police the power to question individuals about why they have left their home during a stay-at-home order (which was retracted a day later).

9. Brian Laundrie

This year the world watched the widely followed missing person’s case when influencer Gabby Petito went missing in August while travelling across the U.S. with her fiancé Brian Laundrie.

Laundrie went missing in the middle of September after he return to Florida, without Petito, sparking a widespread search for him in the state.

Petito's remains were found in Wyoming, with her death ruled homicide by manual strangulation.

It was then determined that Laundrie died by suicide by a gunshot wound to the head.

10. Ivanka Trump

With her father no longer the U.S. president, much of the 2021 news around Ivanka Trump were around public feuds.

Most recently, Meghan McCain, on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, said Ivanka and Jared Kushner, shouldn’t have come to her father John McCain’s funeral in 2018, claiming they had “no goddamn business being there.”