A maple leaf sticker is seen on a window looking out onto the Parliament buildings in Ottawa in 2006. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

It appears on the country's flag, some NHL sweaters and in giant piles on the sides of Canadian lawns every autumn.

And, according to a new national survey, the humble maple leaf is the one thing that best defines Canada.

In a faceoff against Canada's national sporting obsession, the contest wasn't even close. The maple leaf received more than twice as much support as hockey — the runner-up in the survey — and was the No. 1 selection in all regions of the country.

The Canadian flag — which, some may note, contains a maple leaf — was the third highest-scoring icon mentioned in the survey, which was conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of the Dominion Institute and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

The beaver and the robotic Canadarm from the space shuttle rounded put the top five.

The Dominion Institute's website, www.101things.ca, has the full list, as well as a discussion forum and the ability to vote for a Canadian icon you think is missing.

Landmarks, sports, history

Many of Canada's most recognizable locations were included in the top 101 most definitive results, including Niagara Falls (10th), the Rocky Mountains (11th), Parliament Hill (13th) and the CN Tower (17th).

Prominent Canadians — from Pierre Trudeau (eighth) to Pierre Berton (91st) — also figured prominently in the list. So did Canadian achievements such as peacekeeping (seventh), universal health care (ninth) and the discoveries of insulin (15th) and the polio vaccine (84th).

Canadian values such as diversity and multiculturalism (22nd), democracy (51st) and Canada's friendliness and politeness (81st) were also on the list.

A wide range of historical events included Confederation (20th), the Avro Arrow project (50th) and the 1972 hockey Summit Series (71st).

Indeed, hockey figures — Wayne Gretzky (12th), Maurice Richard (59th), Don Cherry (76th) — and the Stanley Cup (25th) were on the list. But other sports were also represented, including the Grey Cup (45th), the Olympics (46th) and curling (56th).

The study even answered some age-old questions, such as what's more Canadian, snow or beer? It's snow, at No. 61, while beer lagged behind at No. 90. Then there's the loonie $1 coin (37th), maple syrup (40th) and Tim Horton's (58th).

A nation of regions? No and yes

A few surprises jumped out in the survey, said Marc Chalifoux, executive director of the Dominion Institute. Chalifoux says he was surprised that aboriginal cultures and arts figures such as authors and filmmakers were not more fully represented on the top 101 list.

Two notable exceptions are singers Anne Murray (89th) and Celine Dion — who placed at No. 27 in all of Canada and much higher in Quebec, No. 9.

Yet Canadians looking for a common national identity should take heart in the results, Chalifoux said.

"We often hear that Canada is a country of regions, that we're very different," he explained in an interview. "But in our understanding of the country, there are a lot of key elements that are similar across the board, from coast to coast to coast."

Many of the top answers of what defines Canada were consistent across the regions. Several of the top defining symbols, including the maple leaf, hockey, Canada Day and the beaver, appeared near the top in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario and the West.

There were, however, some distinctly regional quirks. Hydroelectricity ranked 35 places above the national average in Quebec, where the province is a leader in the energy production.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba respondents placed the Grey Cup a full 29 places higher than people in the rest of the country. Tommy Douglas, the "father of medicare" and former Saskatchewan premier, also scored higher there, as well as in B.C.

Alberta residents put extra emphasis on the Calgary Stampede, while Quebecers felt the 1759 Plains of Abraham battle in Quebec City was more of a defining moment than people in the rest of the country.

How the poll was conducted

Respondents were asked five open-ended questions: What is Canada's defining person, event, place, symbol and accomplishment?

All of the results were gathered and presented back to the respondent in a random order. From that new list, they were asked to pick the top 10 items and rank these from most to least important.

The most important item was assigned a point total of 10, the second-most was a nine and points declined to one for the least important item.

The poll sampled 3,114 adult Canadians between March 31 and April 22, 2008. Nationally, it is considered accurate to within 1.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.