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What Toronto Googled and Tweeted about in 2018

Pop stars, politicians and athletes dominated Torontonians’ online conversations in 2018, data crunched by Twitter and Google Canada shows, while many also raced online for the latest on major news stories.

Major news events dominated on Twitter, while entertainment stories were Googled the most

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NBA Superstar became a Toronto Raptor, police dealt with tragic incidents that focused the world's attention on the city, and, sorry Drake, a K-Pop band's show won the most buzz online in 2018. (The Canadian Press)

Pop stars, politicians and athletes dominated Torontonians' online conversations in 2018, data crunched by Twitter and Google Canada shows, while many also raced online for the latest on major news stories.

Twitter Canada said the deadly van attack in North York was its top trending search of the year. Other major stories including the Danforth shooting and Premier Doug Ford's plan to slash the size of city council also made it into the top 10.

What else made the list? The Raptors' blockbuster deal sending DeMar DeRozan to San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard, the Leafs signing John Tavares and the K-Pop band GOT7 playing at Scotiabank Arena.

In fact, this shout-out to Toronto fans from GOT7 member BamBam was the most-liked Tweet mentioning Toronto in 2018:

Cam Gordon, a Twitter Canada spokesperson, said a huge number of people talking about Toronto on the platform this year were doing so from outside of Canada. He said in an email to CBC Toronto that's largely due to the fact that 2018's stories were so big that they were "news-worthy or conversation-worthy across the planet."

On Google, the World Cup was the most searched topic in Toronto — hardly surprising given how much this city loves the beautiful game.

Months after the Olympics, many are still wondering about Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir's relationship (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The Winter Olympics also made it into the top 10, and according to Google spokesperson Nicole Bell many people quickly dialed-in their search to questions about why NHLers weren't playing and whether or not Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are dating in real life.

The top Googled news stories were the Ontario election and the van attack. The Canada Post strike, cannabis legalization, the Danforth shooting and the ongoing investigation into alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur also made it onto the list of most-Googled national news stories.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been all over the timelines of Toronto Twitter users. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)

Here's Google's list of the top 10 searches in Toronto:

  1. World Cup
  2. Anthony Bourdain
  3. Kate Spade
  4. Winter Olympic Games
  5. Black Panther
  6. Mac Miller​
  7. Avicii
  8. Ontario Election
  9. Toronto Van Attack
  10. Bitcoin

Here's Twitter's list of most Toronto mentions of 2018: 

  1. North York van attack
  2. Toronto Raptors trade DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard​
  3. Danforth shooting
  4. K-Pop band GOT7 plays Scotiabank Arena
  5. Toronto Maple Leafs sign John Tavares
  6. Premier Doug Ford says he'll invoke the 'notwithstanding clause' to shrink Toronto city council
  7. Premier Doug Ford announces intent to shrink Toronto city council
  8. LeBron James dominates Raptors in an NBA playoff game
  9. Harry Styles plays Scotiabank Arena
  10. Shawn Mendes announces Sept 6, 2019 Rogers Centre concert
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