Canadian Culture
Canada is one of two countries located in North America and is the second largest country in the world. It is situated just north of the United States and constitutes the northern part of the country, excluding Alaska. Over the years Canada's culture has been influenced by European culture and traditions, mainly that of the French and British. Canadian culture has also been influenced by the countries' first people, the Aboriginals, as well as the newer immigrated population (Wikipedia, 2007). Canada consists of ten provinces and three northern territories, almost all of which are "rich in land and natural resources" (Bailey, par. 2). Canada is often referred to as a mosaic community because there is such a wide variety of different cultures and ethnic groups that call it home. Three geographical regions of Canada, including the Prairies, the Eastern Maritimes and the Northern Territories will be discussed and the relationship between their geographical locations and the established cultures will be focused on.
To begin, the Prairies are often known for their agriculture and large, widespread land. Statistics Canada (1997) confirms that more than half of the farms in Canada can be found in the Prairie Provinces which includes Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba (cited in Wallace, 2002). Agriculture is one of the largest industries in this region (Agriculture Canada, 1989). Beef cattle and sheep are raised in Alberta and Saskatchewan and these provinces also "produce enough dairy products and poultry to meet its domestic needs" (Agriculture Canada, 1989, p.17). Alberta ...
... middle of paper ...
...
Wallace, Iain. (2002) A geography of the Canadian economy. Ontario: Oxford Press
Wikipedia. (2007, July 06). Canadian Prairies. [On-line]. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Prairies [2007, September 12].
Wikipedia. (2007, September 11). Culture of Canada. [On-line]. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Canada [2007, September 12].
Wikipedia. (2007, September 11). Maritimes. [On-line]. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritimes [2007, September 12].
Wikipedia. (2007, September 11). Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. [On-line]. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowknife, _Northwest_Territories
[2007, September 12].
idea of what it is to be Canadian rather than always identifying with the place
Within the time span of one decade, it was evident that a massive economic shift had occurred in the Prairie Provinces. Almost 200,000 individuals relocated themselves from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, which greatly impacted the net population, the economy, and the lives of many Canadians. These severe impacts that were caused by the “dust bowl” in the Prairies left the grain industry in a critical condition. Since the growing conditions of the Prairies proved to be unbearable for crops and humans alike, Canada’s grain export levels were at a standstill.
Canada and Canadian culture and they are what Canada is known for across the globe.
Canada holds a very unique place around the world with exclusive characteristics, symbols and signs that sets Canada apart from other cultures and countries. In this Mr. Sub advertisement, Canadianness is produced in various ways throughout. Moreover, Mounties, lumberjacks, dog sleds, the color red,
What is Canada? What is a Canadian? Canada, to employ Voltaire's analogy, is nothing but “a few acres of snow.”. Of course, the philosopher spoke of New France, when he made that analogy. More recently, a former Prime Minister, Joe Clark, said that the country was nothing but a “community of communities”. Both these images have helped us, in one way or another, try to interpret what could define this country. On the other hand, a Canadian could be a beer, a hockey-playing beaver or even a canoe floating in a summer day's sunset. A Canadian could also be a “sovereigntyphobe”, refusing to see the liquefaction, albeit political, of the second largest country in the world. However, in this era of multiculturalism, could the current immigration flow help us determine what is a Canadian and, to an extent, what is Canada?
Gaëtan Tremblay is a professor at the University in Quebec in Montreal. As a concerned Quebecois, He wrote an article which discusses the Americanization of Canada, in particular Quebec. Tremblay seems to have a strong stand point about the future of Quebec. Using statistical and literary evidence, primary and secondary sources, he attempts to support his argument that Quebec is a victim of American cultural colonization. Tremblay fears that Canadian culture is going to disappear as a result of the Canadian-American Free Trade Agreement.
Since the British Empire conquered North America, Canada has been a tightly connected colony of Britain. Canada has always under British rule and their cultures and national identity copied each other. However, after the Second Cold War Canada became culturally different in comparison to Britain and was lacking their own individual national identity. Joining NORAD, introducing a new Canadian flag, and fact that Canada’s Constitution was patriated helped ameliorate an identity for Canada. These advances of becoming an autonomous country after the Second World War helped Canada where it is today.
Canada is a vast country with a strong multiculturalism policy, many distinct regions, and heavy foreign influence. The size of Canada has shaped much of Canadian’s way of life. Communications could not have developed easily or naturally in Canada without relying on technological innovations to bond the country in a communicative society. Canada has been divided into provinces and territories which have extremely different terrains, climates, economies and cultures. These differences create conflicting interests and misunderstandings.
“ Canada 's national obsession seems to be its own identity.” For many years Canada has feared the increasing influence of its North American neighbors on its culture - the United States . It has become a matter of growing concern for the people of power and influence in Canada to maintain their separate cultural identity and to promote their own cultural norms. Gaetan Tremblay presents his views on this topic and does this from the perspective of a person living and working in Quebec.
Already before the first Europeans came to Canada, people had been living there for about 20 000 years1. These early settlers are the predecessors of the native people of Canada that are known as the Inuit. It was not before 1633 that the first Europeans, the French, came to Canada and established the first permanent European settlement there. By 1754, settlements in Canada greatly increased, causing French Canada into war with the British Colonies. This war was known as the Seven Years’ War resulting in mostly British rule in Canada. However, on the 1st of July 1867, Canada achieved its independence from Britain and became its very own country. Today Canada is the second largest country by area with an abundant amount of natural resources such as fish, hydroelectric power and wood. The ...
The topic of discussion in this paper is advertising in Canada. It will argue that the Canadian advertising industry strives to protect themselves from competition in the United States. The paper will discuss how the Canadian advertising industry allots their money to different forms of media to ward off the United States competition. Tracing the history of advertising from the early 1960’s to the present day, will help to show why Canada concentrates on the television and radio portion of the media.
The culture of Canada refers to the shared values, attitudes, standards, and beliefs that are a representative of Canada and Canadians. Throughout Canada's history, its culture has been influenced by American culture because of a shared language, proximity, television and migration between the two countries. Over time, Canadian-American relations have helped develop Canada’s identity during the years 1945-1982; thus introducing changing social norms, media and entertainment. In support of this, due to the United States being approximately 9.25 times larger in population and having the dominant cultural and economic influence, it played a vital role in establishing Canada’s identity. With Canada being its neighbour, naturally, the United States would influence their way of life upon Canada.
Multiculturalism is a significant fabric of Canadian society that defines its unique identity among the rest of the world. Enactment of the Canadian multicultural policy (1971) affirmed government position and recognition of multiculturalism as a vital element of Canada. It is imperative to understand that multiculturalism is a static concept that keeps changing overtime and has a multidimensional entity. Canadians have always and will continue to revise the concept of multiculturalism to suit the ever expanding needs of Canadian society. In this paper, I will evaluate the reasons behind Canada’s adoption of multicultural policy and assess whether the policy should be maintained or not. I will defend the thesis that Canada’s multiculturalism
Canada has a long standing tradition of having a culturally diverse population, stating with the formation of New France in 1534 and continuing on with British North America in 1763. With the large area of the country and the small population these cultures where able to maintain their heritages while becoming one united country in 1867. While the United States prides itself on being a cultural melting pot, Canada prides itself on being a cultural mosaic. Instead of assimilating into the already formed communities that where in Canada, each new Culture that immigrated into the country migrated into a new spot and adapted with their own practices. This makes Canada one of the world leaders in Multicultural policies,
Canada, also known as the “Great White North” is the second largest country in the world with a rich history located North America. Canada was originally inhabited by the Aboriginal people who crossed the Bering land bridge. The Aboriginals called this land “Kanata,” meaning “village.” These people would later be known as “Indians," named by the first explorers who mistakenly thought they were in the East Indies.