A CTV News panel led by Chief Anchor and Senior Editor Lisa LaFlamme has selected the presidency of Donald Trump as the top news story of 2017, with the opioid epidemic at number two and the worldwide refugee crisis in third spot.
Over the final 10 days of the year, beginning on Dec. 23 and ending on New Year's Day, CTV National News will feature in-depth reports on each of these top stories. The top-10 videos will also be available in our player above, at the conclusion of each newscast over the course of the 10 days.
CANADA 150
CTV parliamentary correspondent Kevin Gallagher kicks off the top 10 countdown on Dec. 23, with a report highlighting a year of celebration for Canada -- from the epic C3 expedition across the Arctic to the tens of thousands of revellers who braved grey skies on July 1 for Canada's 150th birthday.
VICTORY OVER ISIS
"Our enemy wanted to kill our civilization, but we have won through our unity and our determination. We have triumped in little time," said Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Dec. 2, three years after a conflict began that displaced over four million people and killed tens of thousands more. CTV Washington Bureau Chief Paul Workman's report on Dec. 24 will address whether the victory declared over ISIS in Iraq and Syria is truly something to celebrate, or if it was a declaration that was premature.
HURRICANE HELL
What's being called the worst hurricane season in history destroyed lives, caused an estimated US$500 billion in damage and dominated the news in the late summer and fall of 2017. On Dec. 25, CTV Atlantic Bureau Chief Todd Battis will look back at a year of devastation that uprooted the lives of so many.
YEAR OF HATE
Across major U.S. cities, hate crimes jumped by nearly 20 per cent throughout 2017, according to police data compiled by California State University.
On Dec. 26, CTV’s Montreal Bureau Chief Genevieve Beauchemin highlights how extremist movements, racist ideologies and right-wing populism were not only emboldened, but flourished as they entered mainstream politics.
MMIWG
The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls has not only exposed a prolonged national crisis, but also the commission in charge of the inquiry to criticism.
On Dec. 27, Manitoba Bureau Chief Jill Macyshon is filing on our number six story of the year -- taking a look back at the emotional hearings that were held across the country, and a look forward as dozens of Canada's chiefs voted to oust the lead commissioner, putting the future of the inquiry in possible jeopardy.
MASS SHOOTINGS
Researchers say while mass shootings haven’t in fact been occurring more frequently than in past decades, they are certainly getting deadlier. In fact, two of the five deadliest mass shootings in the U.S., dating back to 1949, happened in the last few months of 2017.
On Dec. 28, Los Angeles Bureau Chief Tom Walters reports, and reflects, on an especially deadly year of gun violence.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
According to data by UN Women, 35 per cent of women around the world have experienced physical or sexual violence. Since the Harvey Weinstein story broke in Hollywood, a nationwide convervation about sexual harrassment and assault, and the #MeToo campaign it inspired, became a global one.
On Dec. 29, CTV Washington correspondent Richard Madan will report on the movement that exploded in 2017, the brave women who came forward and the consequences for the accused men.
REFUGEES AROUND THE WORLD
News footage of Rohingya men, women and children, holding their hands out for help as they were trapped in a fishing boat in the Bay of Bengal, captured just how dire the situation has become for the people fleeing brutal violence in Myanmar.
CTV London correspondent Daniele Hamamdjian on Dec. 30 will report on our number three story of 2017 -- the plight of the Rohingya Muslims, and other refugees around the world fleeing dire situations in search of safe havens, including Canada.
OPIOIDS
Headlines in Canada in 2017 were often dominated by the word fentanyl -- a drug believed to be linked with hundreds of deaths in Canada this past year. While British Columbia has long been considered the epicentre of Canada's opioid crisis, fentanyl is now claiming lives across the country.
On December 31, B.C. Bureau Chief Melanie Nagy highlights how the drug has ravaged the lives of so many people, and how health agencies are planning and continuing to deal with this troubling epidemic.
DONALD TRUMP
From the Russia investigation and the firing of FBI Director James Comey, to the taunting of North Korean President Kim Jong Un and the backlash over his Mulsim ban, it's been a complicated, whirlwind year for U.S. President Donald Trump. CTV's Washington Bureau Chief Joy Malbon reviews Trump's highs and lows in 2017 on New Year's Day.
