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NEWS: Naruto #1 in Canada with Teens

This comes as no surprise, but I suppose such a reaction in Canada is best for importers all around.

Such justifies that Viz made an economically sound business decision to only slightly graze the Naruto dub; hopefully, we can expect Naruto to be the start of a new era of higher quality shows such that something along the lines of 4Kids One Piece never again sees the light of day.

You're misleading us a bit. The Nielson Media Ratings you are referring to was from November 2005, and there have been many schedule changes since that information was published. One Piece is now closer to "prime time" and isn't sandwiched between two Naruto episodes. We've no idea how well the dub is doing now; even if the ratings are not spectacular, they're still high enough to keep the show on Toonami.

Well, that actually proves nothing. You're underestimating cultural dispositions toward the show; the Western world has a growing interest in Japanese history and lifestyles, which is reflected in the popularity of "japanese themed" shows like Inu-Yasha, Naruto, and Bleach. Sterotypes have shelled romantic pirates into the world of children, as historical pirates were little more than beasts. Thus, there's considerable opposition to portraying a show with "real pirates", whom are essentially anti-heroes, as protagonists. I know that's not the case, but it's what people on the offhand percieve.

Historically, I can think of Card Captors, a Shoujo manga that was heavily edited and failed to meet its target audience. OP is really no different than CC, and is likely to meet the same obscure fate, despite 4Kids efforts to turn OP into a smash hit.

We'll have to see what happens in Alabasta, though. If OP doesn't take the reigns of American markets in what many consider the highlight of the series, I would conclude the entire franchise is dead. Unless 4Kids pulls serious momentum through Alabasta, I cannot foresee them even getting to the Skypiea arc.