tion. Indeed, she made a point to keep her private
life and her relationship with actress Anne Heche
separate from her career. Her stand-up act was popu-
lar. She appeared onThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny
Carsonearly in her career, and she felt she could
achieve stardom with her skills.
DeGeneres launched her own sitcom calledThese
Friends of Minein 1994. The show underwent a few
casting and plot changes before emerging asEllen
later that year. Its ratings were always decent, but
never huge, and producers suggested giving the title
character a puppy to attract viewers. However, the
star had other ideas. As the 1990’s neared an end,
DeGeneres decided that allowing an element of her
private life to go public would be more honest.
When her character came out, she did it in a big way,
in 1997, allowing the title character onEllento dis-
cover that she was a lesbian in an hour-long episode
featuring numerous guest stars. The episode was
dubbed “The Puppy Episode” in joking reference to
the producers’ idea for spicing up the show. Besides
attracting the program’s highest ratings ever, the ep-
isode won one of the five Emmy Awards for which it
was nominated (Best Comedy Writing), as well as a
Peabody Award.
Many people praisedEllenand its creator for
courage. However, not all feedback was positive.
Many people, particularly those among the Reli-
gious Right, were unhappy when the following sea-
son was used to explore Ellen’s lesbian identity. Rat-
ings slumped during the 1997-1998 season, and
Ellenwas canceled in April of 1998. DeGeneres be-
lieved that homophobia caused the show’s cancella-
tion, though the American Broadcasting Company
(ABC) argued it was due to the ratings slump.
Impact The character’s coming out was viewed as a
success by gay and lesbian rights activists. However,
the Religious Right objected strenuously to a prime-
time television program with a lesbian lead charac-
ter. Moreover, even before its cancellation, ABC
placed parental warnings before episodes contain-
ing lesbian kisses or other gay/lesbian-themed mate-
rial it deemed potentially offensive. However, the
show’s cancellation did not end its title star’s career.
She returned in 2003 with a popular talk show on
daytime television.
Further Reading
DeGeneres, Betty.Love, Ellen: A Mother-Daughter Jour-
ney. New York: Rob Weisbach Books, 1999.
Tracy, Kathleen.Ellen: The Real Stor y of Ellen De-
Generes.Secaucus, N.J.: Carol, 1999.
Jessie Bishop PowellSee also Censorship; Comedians; Domestic part-
nerships; Etheridge, Melissa; Homosexuality and
gay rights; Lang, K. D.; Television;Will and Grace. Demographics of Canada
Definition The size, composition, and
distribution of the population of Canada
The population of Canada represented about 26 million at
the beginning of the 1990’s and about 31 million at the end
of 1999. In the 1990’s, Canada’s population also shifted
significantly from rural areas to urban ones.
Canada surveys its population every five years. Dur-
ing the 1990’s, censuses were conducted in 1991 and- Therefore, population in years other than
1991 and 1996 is estimated. During the 1990’s, the
population of Canada increased by about 10 per-
cent. Population may increase naturally, when births
exceed deaths, or because of migration, when immi-
gration exceeds emigration.
In the ten provinces and two territories of Can-
ada, population growth was widely varied in the
1990’s. Newfoundland saw its population decrease
between the two censuses. Saskatchewan, Nova Sco-
tia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Manitoba
were growing at rates below the national average of
5.7 percent, while Ontario, British Columbia, and
the Yukon and Northwest Territories were growing
at rates exceeding the national average. British Co-
lumbia and the two territories were growing at rates
greater than twice Canada’s average.
Newfoundland, the only province of Canada to
have observed a decline in population, is located at
the extreme east of the North American continent,
far from the major metropolitan areas. The province
suffered from the economic collapse of fisheries in
the early 1990’s, which led to the emigration of fish-
ermen and their families toward urban areas offer-
ing better prospects of employment.
Ontario and Quebec in the eastern part of Can-
ada make up more than 60 percent of Canada’s pop-
ulation. Their population is highly concentrated in
the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Montreal, and
Ottawa. About 40 percent of the population of On-
248 Demographics of Canada The Nineties in America