OTTAWA — The death of longtime NDP leader Jack Layton was the top Canadian news story in 2011, an Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for Postmedia News and Global News has revealed.

Thirty-seven per cent of survey respondents across the country cited Layton's death as the top national story, followed by the royal visit of Prince William and Kate (13 per cent), the Vancouver hockey riots (nine per cent), the federal election (eight per cent) and the Occupy protests rounding out the top five Canadian news stories at seven per cent.

"The tragic loss of the likable Jack Layton to cancer came only months after he led the NDP to its best showing in electoral history, firmly securing its position as the official Opposition," according to a statement by Ipsos Reid accompanying the poll.

"The outpouring of grief and support from Canadians, culminating in a touching celebration of his life at Roy Thompson Hall, culminate to make this event the top news story of 2011 in Canada," Ipsos Reid said.

The survey also found some regional connections in how respondents voted.

Fifty per cent of residents surveyed in Quebec, where the NDP's "orange wave" displaced the Bloc Quebecois in the May federal election, said Layton's death was the biggest news story .

The federal election ushered in a Conservative majority and relegated the Liberal party to third-place status.

Other regionalized results included: B.C. respondents voting for the Vancouver hockey riots (29 per cent) and Albertans voting for the fire in Slave Lake (18 per cent).

The massive Slave Lake fire occurred on May 16, destroying one-third of the town, located north of Edmonton.

Meanwhile, Canada's withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol was another top story for Quebecers at 13 per cent, far ahead of B.C. where only two per cent of respondents felt it was the top story, and also topping Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba (four per cent), and the Atlantic provinces (six per cent).

The Quebec government has launched a vigorous environmental campaign supporting Kyoto, including its own cap-and-trade system to fight climate change, which it announced three days after the federal government's announcement of Canada's withdrawal on Dec. 12.

Meanwhile, the Ipsos Reid survey also noted a gender anomaly in the second-most popular news story, that of Prince William and Kate's summer visit to Canada, following their wedding in April.

More than double the number of women (18 per cent compared to eight per cent) voted for the royal visit as a top story.

The poll was conducted between Dec. 14 and 19 and included 1,021 adults, with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

National choices for top news story of 2011:

- The death of NDP leader Jack Layton — 37 per cent

- Prince William and Kate's visit to Canada — 13 per cent

- Vancouver hockey riots — nine per cent

- Federal election — eight per cent

- Occupy protests — seven per cent

- Canada's withdrawal from combat role in Afghanistan — six per cent