Year in Review: Best photos from around the world in 2016

As 2016 comes to a close, Global News takes a look back at some of the most compelling images that captivated our audience this year.

News and Politics

The devastating wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alberta in the early spring captivated much of our headlines. In May, the wildfire forced nearly 90,000 people from the area as “the beast” of a wildfire ripped through the community, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses. It wasn’t until June that residents were allowed to return to Fort McMurray.

In the U.S., Donald Trump shocked much of the country when voters went to the polls on Nov. 8 and elected the real estate mogul as the country’s 45th president.

The refugee crisis and the Syrian conflict dominated international headlines as hundreds of thousands of refugees fled the war-torn country, many ultimately dying trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea trying to reach Europe.

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A protester uses a tennis racket to return a tear gas canister at a demonstration against the French government’s proposed labour law reforms in Nantes on June 2, 2016. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks as he accepts the nomination during the final session of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

A body is seen on the ground after at least 30 people were killed in Nice, France. A truck drove into a crowd that was celebrating Bastille Day on July 14, 2016. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

A demonstrator protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Louisiana on July 9, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman

Air Force One, carrying U.S. President Barack Obama and his family, flies over a neighbourhood in Havana, Cuba on March 20, 2016. REUTERS/Alberto Reyes

Syrian men carrying babies make their way through the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held Salihin neighbourhood of Aleppo on September 11, 2016. Ameer Alhalbi/AFP/Getty Images

A Syrian gamer uses the Pokemon Go app on his mobile phone to catch a Pokemon amidst the rubble in the besieged rebel-controlled town of Douma, east of the capital Damascus on July 23, 2016. Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty Images

Wrecked boats and thousands of life jackets, used by refugees and migrants during their journey across the Aegean Sea, lie in a dump in Mithimna, Greece on February 19, 2016. Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

Nidhi Chaphekar, a 40-year-old Jet Airways flight attendant, is seen after being wounded in Brussels Airport in Belgium after explosions rocked the airport on March 22, 2016. Ketevan Kardava/Georgian Public Broadcaster via AP

Heat waves are seen as cars and trucks drive past a wildfire south of Fort McMurray, Alberta on May 6, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Residents console each other at a memorial near the La Loche Community School in Saskatchewan on Jan. 24, 2016 after four people were shot and killed at the school. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

A giant fireball is seen as a wildfire rips through the forest just south of Fort McMurray, Alberta on May 7, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

An honour guard is seen at former Toronto mayor Rob Ford’s casket at city hall on Monday, March 28, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte arrive in Victoria, B.C. on Saturday, September 24, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie performs during the first stop of the Man Machine Poem Tour at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, B.C. on July 22, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Mexican army soldiers escort drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to a helicopter to be transported to a maximum security prison in Mexico City on Jan. 8, 2016. AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo

Migrants jump into the water from a crowded wooden boat as they are helped by members of an NGO during a rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea, just north of Libya on Aug. 29, 2016. AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

An audience member reacts as U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets her at a campaign rally in Lowell, Massachusetts on Jan. 4, 2016. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

A woman with a Ziggy Stardust tattoo visits a mural following the death of David Bowie in Brixton, south London on Jan. 11, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

Sports

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Rio de Janeiro hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics in August, where Team Canada brought home 22 medals. Penny Oleksiak, 16, emerged as the country’s newest swimming sensation after becoming the first Canadian to win four medals at a single Summer Olympic Games.

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The Toronto Blue Jays made it to the post-season for a second year in a row, where the Jays were bested by the Cleveland Indians four games to one.

In the CFL, the Ottawa Redblacks were crowned Grey Cup champions after beating the Calgary Stampeders in Toronto.