Oprah Winfrey in the audience during the 38th AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Mike Nichols held at Sony Pictures Studios on June 10, 2010 in Culver City, California.Getty Images
If the power of the Internet could land Betty White on Saturday Night Live, why can't it get Oprah Winfrey to Canada?
A Toronto woman is hoping a groundswell of online support will convince the Chicago-based megastar to bring her show to Canada during its final season on the air.
Tanya Lee, a 39-year-old life coach, said Ms. Winfrey has for years been an inspiration to her family and fans across Canada, but she has never broadcast a show here.
"Canada is a great country, she should come up here," Ms. Lee said in a phone interview.
"I think she's an exceptional role model. For any person who has wanted to make their dreams come true, Oprah is the person that you listen to."
To get Ms. Winfrey's attention, Ms. Lee has written a poem called "Our Oprah Wish List." She has also created a Facebook group that has amassed 2,000 members in its first few weeks.
Ms. Lee is hoping to have two million people join the group in a bid to lure Winfrey to Toronto for a Mother's Day show in May.
"Most mothers and daughters have watched Oprah, many of them together, and it's like a rite of passage," she said.
"With those numbers, it will be pretty hard to turn us down."
Earlier this year, a half-a-million-strong Facebook campaign put White, the popular 88-year-old actor and comedian, on Saturday Night Live.
Ms. Lee said the success of that campaign made her think she could get Oprah's attention.
"I'm encouraged that it actually has worked, and that's why I started it," she said.
Ms. Winfrey has been to Toronto once before, in 2009, to promote a movie during the city's film festival.
Ms. Lee said convincing Oprah to broadcast a show from Canada's largest city would a major boon for the tourism industry.
Ms. Winfrey has already made a highly-publicized visit to Australia this year to film a series of shows.
After 25 years, she will end her daytime talk show next year and, on Jan. 1, is launching a cable channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network.