IdentityWho are you? How do you know?

People use various things to identify themselvesEG

Color of hair Gender Race Style of clothing Teams they are on Entertainment preferences (cowboy music or rap) …

Is being Canadian a part of your identity – what is a Canadian

Stereotypes: Lumberjack, fur trader, igloo, eat blubber, ride dog sled

Don’t know Jimmy, Sally or Suzie (small population)

Explaining our differences: PM instead of President, bilingual (not American = British spelling/pronunciation - zed), peacekeepers vs policing, diversity vs assimilation Pronouncing about

Proudly sew flag (world likes Canadians)

Beaver

Explaining Canadian terms: toque, chesterfield

Describing us: 2nd largest landmass, first nation of hockey, the best part of North America

“Thank you” (polite)

What is a Canadian?

Symbols of other nations

National IdentityKey Features of Canadian Identity

GeographyNorthern location, next to US2nd largest country

Natural ResourcesWealthy, don’t depend on others

Society urban, modern

Cultural make-up Bilingual, multicultural

World PositionMiddle power, peacekeeper

Watch for the following: Railway: unified Canada coast to coast Men drinking: could be reference to prohibition (US “Rum Runners”) Soldiers heading off to war

note the British flag = World War One Women’s hockey team Soldier returning home – billboard in background to buy war bonds Lowering of the old Canadian flag and raising the new flag in 1960s Watching the hockey game on TV

Summit Series Saturday nights

Paul Anka – popular singer Miss Prairie, guys on Atlantic coast (our diversity) Crazy fan at hockey game Niagara Falls (tourism, geography) Air Canada plane at foreign airport (Tehran hostages?) Lumberjack log rolling

Commercial Rugby, speaking in French William Shatner – famous Canadian actor Dancing (rave? Modern Canadian youth)

The Canadian National AnthemWhat images/symbols are there in our national

anthem – how does it compare to other anthems like the French or American?

“We Are the Beaver”

Institutions like the Bank of Canada and the Canadian Mint celebrate the symbols of Canada

• Wilfred Laurier • West Block of

Parliament

• Winter sports and famous Canadian hockey story

Bank of Canada Symbolism

John A. Macdonald

Library of Parliament

Canada’s military history including peacekeeping and Vimy Memorial

Head of State – Queen

Center Block of Parliament

Pacific First Nations imagery

• Mackenzie King• Parliamentary Clock

Tower

• Focus on human rights, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Famous Five

• Robert Borden• East Block

Parliamentary Offices

• Themes of Canadian exploration in the past (canoe) and today (satellite)

Myths Defining Canadian Identity

Myths are common tales or beliefs that we hold true as Canadians – often they are stereotypes held by Canadian and other countries (they often have a piece of truth – think about the stories that are often told at family gatherings and how they change over time.

Myth that we are anti-war and providers of peace, always involved in UN peacekeeping

Lately, we have moved away from peacekeeping - Afghanistan is a combat operation

Canada played an important role early on through Lester Pearson

What creates our identity – a shared history?

Rejection of American Manifest Destiny Belief that the British-Canadians defeated the

American invaders Many Americans think they won as wellThe importance of this battle is fading from

collective consciousness

War of 1812

Louis Lafontaine (Francophone) and Robert Baldwin (Anglophone) cooperate with each other to create better democracy in Canada Union of Upper and Lower Canada – the first

representative government in Canada

Confederation (BNA Act) – 1867- “The Dominion of Canada” - Prime Minister John A. Macdonald - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,

Ontario, Quebec

How many Canadians know these details??

Confederation of Canada

What about geography?

Part of our identity is being the second largest country in the world, with a harsh climate

But how is our geography a force that divides our nation-state into different nations?

“In the psychological sense, there is no Canadian nation as there is an American or French nation. There is a

legal and geographic entity, but the nation does not exist. For there are no objects that

all Canadians share as objects of national feeling.”

(Charles Hanley)

Canada as a Civic Nation

We know we are not American

Things Americans have noticed about us:

A few interesting facts Canada has more donut shops per capita than the United States does. Canadians consume more Kraft Dinner (aka Kraft Macaroni & Cheese) per capita

than any other nationality on earth. The CBC's evening news anchor is bald and doesn't wear a toupee. Contests run by anyone other than the government have "skill-testing questions"

that winners must answer correctly before they can claim a prize. These are usually math problems, and are administered to get around the law that only the government can administer lotteries.

The big mass-market beers are Molson and Labatt, and they're stronger than US beers. The major cigarette labels are milder than American ones.

There are billboards advertising vacations in Cuba, and Cuban cigars are freely available.

Nobody worries about losing a life's savings or a home because of illness. Teenagers can drink legally. The drinking age in Quebec, Manitoba, and Alberta is

18; it's 19 in the rest of the country. Potato chips come in flavo(u)rs such as salt and vinegar, ketchup, and "all

dressed" Cars (especially on the Prairies) have electrical plugs sticking out from under the

hoods. These are for block heaters, to prevent engines from freezing when it's -40.

People give distances in times, not miles. People ask whether you'd like "a coffee" rather than "some coffee."

Canadian language arena - An ice rink with seats around it. Could be any enclosed area with

seats for viewing surrounding it, but the implication is that it's primarily for hockey.

arse, bum - One's hind quarters. "He kicked me in the bum." bag - versus "sack," especially in US midwest beater - An old beat-up car. Central Canada - Refers to southern Ontario, actually 1300 miles east of

the centre of Canada. But in their minds... The West - Refers to any point from Manitoba (actual centre of Canada)

west to the Pacific Ocean. chesterfield - A couch, or sofa, or whatever you call it where you are. corner store – convenience store, usually on a corner in a residential

neighbourhood of a city. deke - To move quickly DUI - Driving under the influence; same as DWI, although limits in Canada

are 0.08 vs. 0.1 in US eavestrough - A gutter, the sort that is attached to houses and funnels rain

water down a pipe. elastic - rubber band go missing - to disappear, become misplaced Grade Oner, Twoers, Threers… - First, Second, Third…Grader holiday - A vacation or a trip. Also used in the American sense, meaning a

day off work or school. housecoat - robe, bathrobe

keener - Someone very eager and enthusiastic. Sometimes in the sense of brown-noser, suckup

klick - Kilometer, or kilometer per hour. lineup - line. pencil crayons – colored pencilsRobertson screws - Screws with a square hole rather than a

straight or X-shaped one. Robertson screws are just about impossible to strip, unlike Phillips-head. They'd be popular in the States except that Henry Ford wanted exclusive rights to them, and Robertson refused to sell.

runners - sneakers, running shoes second-last - Next to lastski-doo - Generic term for snowmobile. snowbird - Canadian who flees to southern United States

(usually Florida) for some/all winter. tea towel - dish toweltoque - Rhymes with "kook." A kind of hat, everywhere in

wintertime. track pants - sweat pantswashroom - bathroom

Food back bacon - Canadian bacon. Sometimes rolled in peameal (like cornmeal,

but from peas). butter tart - A very small (single-serving) pie. They taste like pecan pies

without the pecans. chocolate bar - Candy bar. Popular Canadian brands include Aero, Crispy

Crunch, Crunchie, Coffee Crisp, Caramilk, Bounty. Mars Bars have darker chocolate and no nuts. Other Canadian candies include Smarties (imagine very sweet M&Ms in brightly colored boxes, not the sweet-tart chalky things), Mackintosh toffee.

homo milk - Homogenized milk. Known in the States as whole milk. Nobody here thinks twice about what images milk cartons with the word "HOMO" in big letters on the side conjure up in the minds of Americans

Nanaimo bar - A confection, named for the town of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, that resembles a brownie but is topped with a layer of white butter cream icing and another of solid chocolate.

pop - soda. poutine (pron. poo-TEEN) Quebecois specialty. French fries covered in cheese

curds and gravy. Rockets – Smarties; small, chalky candies packaged in rolls wrapped in clear

plastic. Smarties - a candy resembling M&Ms. They do melt in your hand, and

they're a lot sweeter. Shreddies - A brand of breakfast cereal, vaguely resembling Chex. Timbits - Do(ugh)nut holes from Tim Horton's.

A broadcast created during the 2010 Olympics

Organizations that Promote Canadian Nationalism

Hudson’s Bay Company

British Royal Charter - 1670

Oldest Corporation in North America Oldest Corporation in North America

Fur traders, Rupertsland Fur traders, Rupertsland

Sold land to create the NWTSold land to create the NWT

CBC: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Canadian Programming (unique from American stations)

Formed by the Canadian government to protect and expand Canadian cultural identity

Hockey Night in CanadaHockey Night in CanadaMiniseries (The Arrow, Top 10 Miniseries (The Arrow, Top 10 Canadians))Canadians))Road to Avonlea, Corner Gas, Little Road to Avonlea, Corner Gas, Little Mosque on the PrairieMosque on the PrairieSCTV, Kids in the HallSCTV, Kids in the Hall

MuseumsNational History Museum

National Art Gallery

Museum of Civilizations

Glenbow Museum

Military Museums

Air Canada

Formed to foster development of air travel in Canada (modernization)

Formerly a Crown Formerly a Crown corporation - now corporation - now publically owned publically owned

Need for easy Need for easy communication and transit communication and transit across a giant nation-state across a giant nation-state

Notice the symbolism on the Notice the symbolism on the plane and the logo……plane and the logo……

RCMP – Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Founded to bring order to the west (NWMP)

Scarlet Uniforms and Scarlet Uniforms and Stetsons are recognized Stetsons are recognized the world over as the world over as Canadian Canadian

Musical RideMusical Ride

Assignment: Creating a Coat of ArmsCBC News in Review – 2010 New Governor

General Coat of Arms