What are people searching for on Google in Canada in 2024?

If there is one event that mobilized crowds on the Internet in Canada, it was the solar eclipse of April 8. This rare astronomical phenomenon, which crossed Ontario and Quebec, was among the most searched subjects in the country in 2024.

People asked Google what a solar eclipse was, what time it took place and why it could be dangerous. They also explored how to look at it, how to make an eclipse box, and how to know if their glasses were effective for viewing the phenomenon.

This is not the only rare fact to have aroused the interest of Internet users. Southern Quebec has experienced several episodes of the Northern Lights, earning it 10th position for news queries on Google in the province.

Natural disasters such as Hurricane Milton in Florida, the fires in Jasper and the floods in southern Quebec also have their place in this provincial ranking.

Across Canada, there are strikes at Canada Post, Air Canada and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) which scrolled through many topical search results in 2024.

The United States infiltrates research

The Canadian population was glued to the screens to follow the American elections in 2024, according to Google. Queries on the search engine related to the presidential election occupy third place in Quebec, and second in Canada.

Politicians from the United States also dominate search trends for people in Canada, with seven of the 10 most searched people having a connection to the topic. While Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Jill Stein, Joe Biden, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tim Walz and JD Vance occupy a place in the Canadian list, in Quebec, only Donald Trump, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden appear there.

The collapse of the Baltimore bridge in the United States also made an impact in Canada, with the event also appearing in Google’s current trends this year.

Soccer is popular

Canada’s national sport may be hockey, but it’s soccer that steals the spotlight in Google news searches, putting Euro 2024 at the top of the trending list. Another soccer event, the Copa América, ranks second in Quebec, and third in the country.

Hockey fans in the province still remained loyal to the Montreal Canadiens, with numerous queries on Patrik Laine and Lane Hutson in athlete searches.

The year 2024 was also an Olympic year, allowing the Games to rise to fifth place in search trends in Quebec. The world event is, however, absent from the pan-Canadian rankings.

Controversy over Olympic boxer Imane Khelif’s gender earned her top spot in athlete searches. Young swimming prodigy Summer McIntosh is also in the rankings, both in Quebec and across Canada.

Cinema, TV series and video games

The movie Dune : second partby Denis Villeneuve, stole the show, with many people searching for this title on Google.

In Quebec, Noovo Info has two of the most sought-after shows of the year, reality TV OF Mexico et Big Brother. Video games are also popular in this category, with Falloutan adaptation of the game of the same name.

Otherwise, the most searched video games are Connectionsfrom the American daily The New York Timesbut also Palworldwhich piqued curiosity with its Pokémon-like offering, but with guns. The Pokemon Company has also filed a lawsuit against the studio.

As for research on personalities in Quebec, we find Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge at the top of the requests. The director, host and actor caused a lot of ink to flow this year with a controversy over the n-word.

Normand Brathwaite, at the heart of a fraudulent advertising campaign on Meta platforms, also appears in this Quebec list, as does actress Julie Perreault.

In music, the conflict between the artists Kendrick Lamar and Drake, who insulted each other with songs (diss tracks) in the spring, kept millions of Internet users in suspense. The tracks Meet the Grahams, Not Like Us et Euphoria by the American rapper are among the most sought after in 2024, both in Quebec and in Canada.