The short answer is no. This is important because, like the ever increasing CPU speeds and McDonald's Super size meals, many people equate bigger with better, although that's not always the case that does not stop manufacturers from squeezing more megapixels into a camera in order to squeeze more dollars from your wallet. To paraphrase B.B. King, the great blues guitarist says, it's not how many notes you play, but how well you play them.
There are a couple articles online that illustrate this point. The first I read was by David Pogue, the technology columnist with the New York Times. I'd love to have his job. He enlarged a photo to 16x24 inches at three different resolutions:5, 8 and 13 megapixel. He taped the pictures to a window in Time Square and asked people on the sidewalk passing by if they could tell the difference. Only 1 out of 95 could. The one was a professor of photography. Someone who commented on the article referenced an a website by Ken Rockwell, an avid photographer. He has an article that compares a a $150 camera to a $5,000 camera with photos that you can easily compare with each other. Guess which one takes the better photo? This is not to say that your new digital SLR camera is not worth it. However, it pays to shop, compare and eudcate yourself about digital photography. Kodak has an excellent area on their website for helping consumers take better pictures. Start out by reviewing their Top Ten Tips.
Ken also has a helpful 2006 Holiday Camera Shopping Guide. Ken is prefrential to Canons. I lean toward Sony's because that is what I know. The new compact Sony DSC-W30 is great little six megapixel camera that is is availble for around $200. We have a new gallery of photos taken with the camera by Emily Weir while she was in Austraila and New Zealand.