Mersereau surveyed 600 music journalists, retailers, musicians and disc jockeys of all ages, from all parts of Canada, who each submitted a list of 10 favourite Canadian albums released between 1957 and 2007.
Criticism
Mersereau acknowledged that the list would cause debate among music fans across the country. "The important part is to talk about Canadian music and enjoy it," he said. "I'd be shocked if there wasn't complaints and arguments and debates."[citation needed]
Montreal Gazette identifies a bias against Quebec artists, particularly francophone. He notes that only 8% of the artists on the list are from Quebec, a province with over 23% of the population of Canada, and that only 2% of the artists are francophone artists from Quebec, a group that comprises 80% of the population of Quebec and close to 19% of the population of Canada. Rodriquez examined Mersereau's list of contributing experts and found that only 10% of them were from Quebec, and 5% were francophones from Quebec. Rodriquez questioned the people excluded from Mersereau's list of experts: “Alain Brunet of La Presse – and dean of local French-language music critics – was not asked for his opinions. Indeed, La Presse, Le Journal de Montréal and The Gazette were shut out. Major observers of "la scène locale" like Patrick Baillargeon and Olivier Robillard Laveaux of Voir aren't there.” Rodriquez concludes that “Mersereau's inability to face all the music created in Canada in a cogent critical manner is disturbing.”[2]
