The top 23 moments of 2023

Barbenheimer, Prime Energy and the ‘Everything Shower’ made news

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CBC Kids News has summarized the top 23 moments from 2023.
Our VIP group of KN Insiders helped us choose.
From trends to sports, politics and natural disasters, this was a big year for news.
Check out the list then vote on your top story in our poll! ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

What’s the moment that will stand out for you from 2023?

Is it that time in February when Quebecers realized their weather-predicting marmot had died in the lead up to Groundhog Day? (Rest in peace, Fred la marmotte!)

Or maybe that moment in July when a former U.S. air force officer accused the U.S. government of hiding information about unidentified flying objects, or UFOs? 

Or maybe the 20th anniversary of the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte is the story that really resonated with you this year?

CBC Kids News asked the KN Insiders to choose their top stories from 2023. Then, we used their answers to draft the ultimate list.

(If you don’t know who the KN Insiders are, they’re a group of Canadian kids who share their feedback with us in a weekly survey. Interested in signing up? Click here!)

Scroll down to read about the 23 defining moments of 2023! These are organized in the order that they happened.

1. NFL player Damar Hamlin’s heart stops

On Jan. 2, Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin collapsed during an NFL football game. His heart had stopped pumping blood after he was tackled on the field. Eventually, doctors cleared Hamlin to start playing again. Football fans celebrated when he officially returned to the game on Oct. 1.

(Image credit: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

2. YouTuber MrBeast pays for 1,000 eye surgeries

In a video posted on Jan. 28, YouTuber MrBeast announced that he had paid for 1,000 people to get eye surgery so they could see again. When the video started trending, some people celebrated. Others accused MrBeast of using blind people to get views and make money. MrBeast went on to win creator of the year at the annual Streamy Awards in August.

(Image credit: MrBeast/YouTube)

3. Suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down over the U.S.

On Feb. 4, a U.S. military fighter aircraft shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon. U.S. officials said it was collecting intelligence for China. China said it was simply a weather balloon that had blown off course. After that, three more high-flying objects were shot down over Canada and the U.S.

(Image credit: Chad Fish/The Associated Press)

4. Earthquakes rock Turkey and Syria

Thousands of people died when two deadly earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6. Despite the destruction, there were some hopeful moments in the weeks that followed. A 10-year-old kid in Calgary, Alberta, even ran 100 kilometres to raise money for earthquake victims.

(Image credit: Khalil Hamra/The Canadian Press/The Associated Press)

5. Taylor Swift mania over Eras tickets

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour officially began on March 18 in Glendale, Arizona. On Aug. 3, Swift announced her first tour dates in Canada, in Toronto, Ontario. Some Swifties took extreme measures to try and get tickets. By the time October rolled around, those who couldn’t go in-person were able to watch the concert in movie theatres, instead. By the end of the year, Spotify had declared that Swift was the most-streamed artist of the year.

(Image credit: Michael Tran/AFP/Getty Images)

6. Trump is formally charged with a crime

Donald Trump faced various legal battles in 2023, including becoming the first former U.S. president formally charged with a crime, on March 30. The charges were related to payments made to an adult film actress to remain silent about their alleged relationship. Flash forward to August, when Trump’s mug shot was all over the internet after he was charged with multiple crimes linked to an alleged plot to overturn the 2020 U.S. election results.

(Image credit: Fulton County Sheriff’s Office/Getty Images)

7. NASA chooses a Canadian for moon mission

On April 3, NASA announced that a Canadian would be flying around the moon in 2024. Jeremy Hansen will join three American astronauts on the crew of Artemis II. Their capsule is expected to launch in November 2024. But first, a model figure of a sheep took a spin around the moon during a test flight. It made it back safely, returning to Earth on March 29.

(Image credit: Mark Felix/AFP/Getty Images)

8. Super Mario Bros. on the big screen

The Super Mario Bros. Movie set two new box office records after opening on April 5. It smashed the record for most opening weekend earnings for a video game adaptation. It also set a new record for animated movies. Despite the big ticket sales, the movie wasn’t well received by some critics. Critics had better things to say about Super Mario Bros. Wonder when Nintendo released the new video game on Oct. 20.

(Image credit: Nintendo/Universal Studios/The Associated Press)

9. AI tricks Drake and The Weeknd fans

A new song, called heart on my sleeve, was posted to various streaming platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Spotify on April 15. Many fans thought it was a collaboration between Canadian artists Drake and The Weeknd. Eventually, a creator using the handle Ghostwriter977 took credit, saying they made the song using artificial intelligence (AI). The incident sparked a conversation about the possible impact of AI on the arts, not to mention jobs. 

(Image credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images, Spotify)

10. COVID-19 emergency is over

On May 5, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that COVID-19 was no longer a global health emergency. Health officials first called the coronavirus an international crisis in 2020. The point of the label was to help international leaders work together to try and stop the virus. Although the WHO’s announcement marked a symbolic end to the pandemic, COVID-19 continues to circulate and health officials continue to encourage vaccinations.

(Image credit: NIH/Reuters)

11. Canada’s new King is crowned

Eight months after the death of Queen Elizabeth, her son King Charles was crowned. The elaborate coronation ceremony took place on May 6 in London, England. Crowds of people took part in the festivities. Meanwhile, those who don’t support the monarchy tuned out. No matter what side you’re on, you’d better get used to seeing King Charles. The Royal Canadian Mint revealed the first Canadian coins with his face on them in November. 

(Image credit: Richard Pohle/WPA/Getty Images)

12. Wildfires burn across Canada

In May, a bad wildfire season began with evacuations in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Nova Scotia. The wildfires continued to rage across Canada all summer long and into the fall in places like the Northwest Territories. Kids had to escape with their pets, or temporarily move to other communities. Air quality and smoky skies were an issue for many. In August, attention shifted away from the Canadian wildfires when the town of Lahaina in Maui, Hawaii, was destroyed by wildfire.

(Image credit: Government of Alberta/The Canadian Press)

13. Titanic expedition goes wrong

On June 18, five people died on an expedition to see the Titanic shipwreck in an underwater submersible. A submersible is like a small submarine. The crew went missing in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. Many countries sent ships and other equipment to help with the search. 

(Image credit: OceanGate Expeditions/The Associated Press)

14. Romanian officials charge Andrew Tate

Six months after Andrew Tate was first arrested, Romanian prosecutors officially charged the social media influencer with crimes. On June 20, Tate was charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women. Tate said he’s innocent. There is no trial date yet. Tate, who has millions of followers on X (formerly Twitter), has been banned from sites like TikTok and YouTube for posting videos that discriminate against women.

(Image credit: Vadim Ghirda/The Associated Press)

15. Prime Energy drinks pulled from stores

Prime Energy drinks made headlines after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced on July 11 that it would be pulling some cans from store shelves. The agency said the caffeine content in the drink was over the legal limit in Canada. The Prime brand was launched in 2022 by YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI. Prime said the cans that were recalled were an American version of the drink. They said the company had nothing to do with them ending up in Canadian stores. In August, the CFIA widened its recall to more than 25 brands of energy drinks.

(Image credit: Benny Snyder/The Associated Press)

16. Barbenheimer trends after double movie release

The term “Barbenheimer” was born when two very different movies, Barbie and Oppenheimer, opened on the same night on July 21. Barbie is about the colourful, plastic world of Barbie Land. Oppenheimer is about a man who helped invent the atomic bomb. Audiences had fun with the weird contrast leading up to release day, by sharing memes and mashups.

(Image credit: Warner Bros Pictures/Universal Pictures/The Associated Press)

17. Canadian soccer in the FIFA spotlight

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup took place in cities across Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to Aug. 20. In total, 32 international teams competed, including Team Canada. The Canadians played hard, but were knocked out of the tournament on July 31 after a 4-0 loss to Australia. It was Canadian captain Christine Sinclair’s last World Cup. She played her last game for Canada on Dec. 6. 

(Image credit: James Worsfold/The Canadian Press)

18. Extreme heat delays back to school for some

Extremely hot temperatures added an extra challenge to the back-to-school routine for many Canadian kids this September. Officials closed schools in parts of Quebec. Elsewhere, students had to get creative to beat the heat. One solution? Some experimented with making fans out of Duo-Tangs.

(Image credit: Rowan Kennedy/CBC)

19. School pronoun policies come under fire

Some Canadians spoke out against sexual orientation and gender education in schools during countrywide protests on Sept. 20. The protests come after Saskatchewan and New Brunswick announced new policies that require schools to inform parents if a student under 16 wants their school to use a pronoun that is different from the one assigned to them at birth.

(Image credit: Mia Urquhart/CBC)

20. Tensions simmer between Canadian and Indian governments

Tensions were high between the governments of Canada and India after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being involved in the killing of a man on Canadian soil. On Sept. 18, Trudeau said that Canada was investigating whether India’s government was involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar, who was Sikh, was killed in British Columbia in June. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the accusations “absurd.”

(Image credit: Evan Vucci/AFP/Getty Images)

21. Showers get longer with the ‘Everything Shower’ trend

A TikTok trend called the “Everything Shower” had people spending hours in the shower this fall. The extreme self-care regime had people washing, exfoliating, moisturizing and shaving for two to four hours at a time. By the time the winter weather had set it, TikTokers were finally ready to step out of the shower and start applying their makeup. Robot-inspired makeup, to be precise. The uncanny valley trend saw TikTokers trying to replicate that creepy feeling some people get when they see a robot that’s designed to look like a human.

(Image credit: erynxgreen/TikTok, lifewithhopee/TikTok)

22. The Israel-Hamas war begins

On Oct. 7, a Palestinian militant group called Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking about 240 hostages. In response, the Israeli government declared war on Hamas and started bombing Gaza. At least 18,608 Palestinians living in Gaza have been killed, according to the local Hamas-run health ministry. On Nov. 22, both sides agreed to a temporary ceasefire. Over the course of seven days, they exchanged Israeli hostages for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. That truce is now over and intense fighting has resumed. On Dec. 12, Canada voted in favour of a United Nations resolution that called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire.” 

(Image credit: Reuters, Jamal Awad/Reuters)

23. Hollywood actors reach a deal and end strike

Shows and movies were back in production on Nov. 8 after the union representing American actors ended their strike. SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) had asked for protections against the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and money for streaming, among other things. Film and TV screenwriters also went on strike in 2023. Their job action ended on Sept. 26.

(Image credit: Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

And the news keeps on coming

Of course, some news is so fresh, it’s almost too soon to say whether it belongs in this top 23 list.

Like the fact that world leaders reached a deal on Dec. 12 at the annual United Nations climate summit, COP28.

They agreed to transition away from fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal.

Some called the deal progress. Others said it didn’t go far enough.

We want to know what you think! Share your top story pick by voting in our poll:

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TOP IMAGE CREDIT: Richard Pohle/WPA/Getty Images, Michael Reaves/Getty Images, Michael Tran/AFP/Getty Images, Nintendo/Universal Studios/The Associated Press, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office/Getty Images