Canadians’ reactions to Canada Reads 2021 panellists

Throughout the 2021 debate, we followed the discourse in the Facebook group to see how Canadians responded to this year’s panellists. 

A trend that emerged was a tendency to compare the debating skill and decorum of this year’s panellists with the panellists from the 2020 debate. For example, Zha Zha Fouillard suggested that this year’s debate would be a “real” literature debate where, presumably, the panellists would not strategically vote off the best book to increase their chances of winning—the implication here being that in previous years, the panellists were more interested in winning than in serious discussion about the books.

Several of the Facebook group members posted comments agreeing with Zha Zha’s post. These comments mirror many of the objections posted in the Facebook group regarding the 2020 debate: listeners want the panellists to focus on finding the best book (instead of trying to win the competition). They also want the panellists to have some kind of literary authority or ability to discuss the craft of writing.

The tone of the 2021 season was received positively by some listeners. Reflecting on the debates, Brenda Polegi commented that she wished politicians would debate as eloquently and respectfully as the Canada Reads panellists.

There were several comments responding to Brenda’s post that agreed with Brenda or contrasted this year’s panellists favourably with the 2020 panel.

Lou Allison’s and Elayne Harris’s comments regarding interruptions, and Harris’s comments regarding “male domination,” are presumably in reference to the heated debates between 2020 panellists Amanda Brugel and Akil Augustine. 

Lara Margaret Marjerrison described this year’s debates as “passionate and heartfelt and just a beautiful discussion about the stories that move and shape us.”

Several of the Facebook group members agreed with Lara’s post and commented how much they appreciated this year’s “intelligent, thoughtful” debate and the panellists for building a sense of community.

In response to Lara’s post, Sandra Loughton commented that she is proud to live in a country that values literature, extrapolating out from the panellists to the show and what it represents more broadly. Karen Dodd commented that the panellists were respectful to each other, classy, and eloquent and that she was proud to be a Canadian as a result. These comments indicate that the Facebook group members perceive certain values and characteristics (appreciation of literature, class, respect) as being connected to concepts of nationhood or national pride—and as being embodied by Canada Reads.

That said, although most members of the Facebook group appreciated the 2021 panel, some members still had critiques of the panellists. Among other things, some commented that the panellists were unfocused in their answers or didn’t answer the question being asked.

Whether the panellists lack of engagement with the questions was a flaw or a tactic, however, Sarah Marie Shears suggested that not answering the question is a debate tactic that the panellists might be employing.

Despite some concerns regarding the panellists’ tangential answers to questions, the discourse in the Facebook group suggests that listeners prefer when the panellists conduct themselves according to certain “Canadian” values or decorum and focus on amiably discussing literature over winning the competition. 

These comments are mirrored in those reflecting on the discourse from the 2020 debate, in which several of the Facebook group members expressed dissatisfaction with the panellists and Survivor-style format of the program. Combined, the comments from both years suggest that members of the Facebook group prioritize engaging discussions about literature over the competitive nature of the show.