Front-line workers have been named the newsmaker of the year in a survey conducted by The Canadian Press.
In the survey of news editors across the country, front-line workers overwhelmingly won the vote that has historically recognized a politician or an athlete.
The runners up this year were three public health leaders: Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer; Horacio Arruda, Quebec's director of public health; and Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia's provincial health officer.
The pandemic highlighted not only the essential role of front-line workers but also some of the gaps in support for them _ leading to calls for things like national sick pay and child-care programs.
Chris Carter, the parliamentary bureau chief for CBC news in Ottawa, says the workers personified the human sacrifice, impact, inequality and resiliency revealed by COVID-19.
Douglas Cudmore, a senior editor for the Toronto Star, wrote on his ballot that the country would not have survived this year without their selflessness.