After his controversies and confrontations with the law in 2014, Justin Bieber can at least say that he won Twitter for the year.
End-of-year statistics released by the social media company showed Mr. Bieber sent the year’s most retweeted tweet from a Canadian’s account, an all-caps message of support to his fans sent the day after his Jan. 23 arrest for an alleged drag-racing incident in Miami. Bieber was initally charged with driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest, but in August he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of careless driving.
YOU ARE ALL WORTHY NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS >> BE STRONG GOD IS WITH US ALL> MY BELIEBERS CHANGED MY LIFE> I WILL FOREVER BE GRATEFUL
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) January 24, 2014With some 57.5 million followers to his name, more than any other Canadian Twitter celebrity, it’s no wonder Mr. Bieber topped the charts for retweets this year. His mother, author and film producer Pattie Malette, had the eighth most-followed Canadian account on Twitter, and Mr. Bieber’s father, Jeremy – who joined the social-media site in January after his son’s DUI arrest – was No. 14.
(Browse Twitter’s full highlights of the top social-media moments of 2014)
Top 10 Canadian Twitter accounts
1. Justin Bieber (@JustinBieber), 57.5 million
2. Drake (@drake), 18.4 million
3. Avril Lavigne (@AvrilLavigne), 17.3 million
4. Jim Carrey (@jimcarrey), 13.3 million
5. Carly Rae Jepsen (@carlyraejepsen), 10.6 million
6. Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson (@TheRock), 7.9 million
7. Nina Dobrev (@ninadobrev), 5.1 million
8. Pattie Mallette (@pattiemallette), 3.3. million
9. Nelly Furtado (@nellyfurtado), 3.3 million
10. deadmau5 (@deadmau5), 3.1 million
Most retweeted Canadian tweets
In addition to Mr. Bieber’s Jan. 23 message, the year’s top 10 tweets included a cheeky map from Canada’s NATO delegation reminding Russian soldiers of the borders of Ukraine, and a message from Bell raising awareness of mental health. Here are Nos. 2 to 9:
Or Nah…?
— Drizzy (@Drake) February 24, 2014Geography can be tough. Here’s a guide for Russian soldiers who keep getting lost & ‘accidentally’ entering #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/RF3H4IXGSp
— Canada at NATO (@CanadaNATO) August 27, 2014It had to be done: pic.twitter.com/EXH2NJI3m9
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) March 22, 2014Today is Bell Let's Talk Day. For every tweet using #BellLetsTalk, we'll donate 5¢ more to #MentalHealth initiatives: https://t.co/gmN6btcEVM
— Bell Let's Talk (@Bell_LetsTalk) January 28, 2014Fanny pack and lean take it to a whole other level.. #90sRock #WTF #BuffLesbian pic.twitter.com/dyqCDCBEZc
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) July 16, 2014Im 16 now basically a grandfather
— Shawn Mendes (@ShawnMendes) August 8, 2014April fools pic.twitter.com/OgQlrXxNXM
— Avril Lavigne (@AvrilLavigne) April 1, 2014.Ok #Subbaniacs it's time to up the ante. If this tweet gets 100k retweets, I'll give away a pair of tickets to Game 5. #nhl15Subban #get'em
— P.K. Subban (@PKSubban1) May 24, 2014Like I said, #teamusa is good but #wearewinter. @BarackObama, I look forward to my two cases of beer. #CANvsUSA #Sochi2014
— Stephen Harper (@pmharper) February 21, 2014The top 10 hashtags
With Toronto choosing a new mayor in October and a federal election looming next year, the old Twitter staples #TOpoli and #cdnpoli ranked high on the list of fastest-rising hashtags in Canada. But the No. 1 spot went to #BB16, for the latest season of the reality-TV series Big Brother.
1. #BB16: Season 16 of Big Brother
2. #WorldCup: The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil
3. #Sochi2014: The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia
4. #GoHabsGo: The Montreal Canadiens
5. #Oilers: The Edmonton Oilers
6. #TOpoli: Toronto city politics
7. #MH370: The code for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared in March
8. #cdnpoli: Canadian national politics
9. #NHLjets: The Winnipeg Jets
10. #Canucks: The Vancouver Canucks