For many years Canada has feared the increasing influence of its North American neighbours on its culture. It has become a major growing anxiety for the people in power to keep Canada’s separate identity and to promote Canadian culture in an effective way without depending on the United States. Since the invasion of the United States’ culture, the Canadian government has initiated policies and programs to protect Canadian Culture and thus Canada has become more culturally independent. The Canadian Government made three different ways to help protect the Canadian culture. The first was the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau (CGMP) which was created in September 1918, during the end of WWI. The second was the thought of prosperity …show more content…
and security through incentives of the Canadian Culture of Arts which ultimately allowed Canadian culture to grow without the aid of the United States. Thirdly, the Massey Report, which was chaired by Vincent Massey, examined Canada’s cultural needs to become a country with an identity. Lastly, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was an important national resource particularly as the corporation has a rich heritage of helping Canada preserve its cultural identity for generations on. The Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau (CGMP) was the first national film production unit in the world. The CGMP produced films about Canada’s beauty and picturesque attractions. They showed places that would be perceived by other nations as a place to visit and Canadians a thriving sense of national identity. With most Canadians living near the Canadian-American border they got free reception to view American programs. Which meant Canadians were more interested in watching American programs than Canadian programs. This caused the CGMP to work harder to get new varieties of programs out to be seen. From 1920-1939, the CGMP had the largest and best equipped film studio in Canada. It produced documentaries such as Lest We Forget(1935) and the The Royal Visit(1939) which was a major achievement as many Canadians felt like they could relate to these documentaries. The CGMP led on to making the National Film Act of 1939. This went on to finding more film council’s and more than 5,000 groups all over Canada regularly using NFB and CGMP documentaries. Its purpose was successful as more and more Canadians felt like Canadian culture is finally being established. Canadians were being more independent on their choices. Incentives of the Canadian Council of Arts allowed culture to grow, and a growing culture is a sign of prosperity for Canada.
The Canadian Council of Arts encouraged Canadians to produce original work. The Canadian Council of Arts gives out monetary rewards to artists which interprets that it makes going into the arts appealing. Another motivation and encouragement that the government takes to roll is to grant scholarships or loans to persons in Canada for research in the arts in Canada, or to people in other countries to study in the arts in Canada. This not only encouraged Canadian citizens to pursue on their goals, but also encourages unemployed creators from all over the world to begin their career in Canada. With all this talent on the loose in Canada, laws were put into place in order to immerse Canadians in their culture. The Canadian Council of Arts has also helped keep Canada’s oldest culture alive. By preserving and helping support artists and art organization from indigenous communities. To this day, the Canadian Council of Arts have helped collect $6.3M for indigenous communities to keep the culture from vanishing. Overall, the country prospered and flourished an array of talent from not only Canadians, but also immigrants from different places whom were more than happy to start up their lives in …show more content…
Canada. The Massey Commission was officially appointed on 8 April 1949 by Prime Minister Louis St.
Laurent. The Massey report took on a great tool for Canadians as before the Massey report Canadian art and entertainment industries were threatened and disregarded as the United States dominated. This report recommended that Canadian broadcasting corporation's should plan to produce more media programs in both English and French so that they could be transmitted country wide. This was also very useful as the Quebecois during that time had emphasized how they were losing their culture to the English born Canadians and how their language and culture were not being supported in Canada. The idea of having media programs in both languages was to unify the two cultures to create one multicultural identity. The Report also determined that the radio stations were limited only in major Canadian cities. So, it recommended that Radio broadcasters should spread and expand more radio programs in other than the major cities like Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. The final recommendation was to employ more Canadian artists at concert venues and to play more Canadian made music on local radios. A Canadian artist that majored and inspired Canadians was Paul Anka. Paul Anka was in a way like Canada’s Elvis Presley. His songs “Diana” and “My Way” went onto being great hits, mostly listened to by young adults. Paul Anka was praised and promoted in other countries, such as Hawaii, which had posters of his
upcoming show everywhere. Overall the Massey Report has in the end proved that Canada has talent of its own. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is Canada’s national public broadcaster. At its creation, the CBC first operated only 16 privately owned branches but as time went on CBC went on to expanding its reach, increasing the broadcasting range of its stations in the country’s major urban centres. CBC went on to building transmitters in rural areas like British Colombia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Maritimes so that anyone can enjoy listening to the radio no matter how far you are from the capital cities. Secondly, CBC relied less on American and British programming. Beforehand CBC depended on British and American programming to fill its airwaves, however after some reasonable amount of time, CBC began to develop Canadian programming including agricultural and children’s programs as well as public affairs and news programming. Canadians started drifting away from American programs when CBC started to reconcile its own news program which Canadians started watching to grasp and understand the things happening around them in Canada, their country. CBC hit its huge break when it broadcasted the Olympic Games of 1956 in Melbourne. Canadians felt a feeling of pride and cheered on the Canadian athletes who have entered the games. Overall CBC is a significant public and cultural institution that has helped Canada overcome Americanization for the time being. In conclusion, Canadian culture has become more independent as Canadian officials have initiated policies and programs to protect Canadian Culture from its looming threat, The United States. Firstly, the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau has shown Canadians and many other nations what a beautiful and scenic nation Canada truly is. Secondly, because of the incentives Canada has long become an accepting country to anyone who wants a fresh start. Thirdly, the Massey Commision showed how much talented Canadians are without the aid of any other. Lastly, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has expressed culture through its broadcasts and enriched Canadian identity. With enduring years of hard work Canadian culture has come a long way from being submerged in American Television and radios to becoming a country with its own sense of identity and cultural prosperity.
Today Canada and the United States are major trading partners, allies, and two neighboring countries with a long history of cooperation with each other. But is it possible for Canada to protect its independence and culture living next door to the country so powerful and rich as the United States. Since the Canadian confederation, Canada started developing relations with the U.S. As the years passed by, Canada began to relay on the United States in the national defense. Many Canadians think that the military, political and economical dependence would not make a difference to their daily life. But today more then even Canadian culture is affected by the American influence. Media, American artists, economic dependence, American propaganda and political pressure from the United States is making Canada too Americanized. All of these factors reflect on the social life of ordinary Canadians threatening the heritage and the traditions that define Canada as independent country.
As its own state Quebec would have the capacity to act, consolidate and further create their own cultural identity (Heard, 2013). For example, Quebec could foster the national language to be French. By gaining independence from Canada, Quebec can then create their own laws, own immigration rules and levy taxes (Heard, 2013). This would allow Quebec to be completely independent from the rest of Canada, but they would have connecting boarders like the United States and Canada do.
Canada as a nation has been striving to characterize itself as more ?Canadian? for decades. This has included numerous struggles and events such as protests, bans, and the creation of the Massey Commission, to encourage national development in the arts, and support major companies like the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and National Film Board (NFB). However, this has not been an easy task for the Canadian government, as major influences from below the border (the United States) have been captivating the Canadian audiences by large. American media has had a momentous revolutionizing effect on Canada, even through efforts made to define Canada with its own cultural identity.
Canada is an ethnically diverse country. The notion of "multiculturalism" began circulating in Canada in 1971 and is a word that is now commonly used to define this country, unlike the word "melting-pot" which is used to describe Americans' loss of ethnic identity. The broadcasting system in Canada is pressured by the government to acknowledge the culturally diverse society by broadcasting a fair representation of the population in terms of ethnicity. This is achieved through the many acts that have been passed through parliament: the multiculturalism policy of 1971, the Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1988, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms of 1982, the Ethnic Broadcasting Policy of 1985, and most recent, the Broadcasting Act of 1991. These legislative and policy frameworks have provided guidelines for the management of Canadia...
Is Canada a nation or has its control just switched empirical hands? As Professor Hutcheson asked, did Canada go from "Colony to Nation or Empire to Empire?" This question has greatly influenced Canada's changing identity since her birth as a British colony with Confederation in 1867 to the present day. The purpose of this essay is to critically analyse the shifting Canadian identities between the years 1890 to 1960. The objective is to illustrate Canada's transforming identity by using the novels The Imperialist by Sara Jeanette Duncan, Barometer Rising by Hugh MacLennan, and Fifth Business by Robertson Davies and to connect the stories of each of these works of fiction to the varying political, economic, and social issues of their times. Each book is written by a prominent author, and portrays an accurate reflection of the demanding political, economic, and social concerns throughout the late nineteen and first half of the twentieth century of Canadian history. All of the novels reflect Canada's peripheral view of the world, as opposed to a central point of view, because throughout its history Canada has always been perceived as a secondary player. As George Grant says in his literary piece Lament for a Nation, Canada is "a branch plant society" , meaning Canada is controlled by another power. The essential question is where has Canada's loyalties traditionally lay and how has this shaped the Canadian identity. The Imperialist by Sara Jeanette Duncan, written in 1904 reflects a very British influenced Canada. At this time, Canada is still a British colony under British rule, and the people of Canada are very content to consider themselves British. The novel predominately ill...
After four hard years of fighting, Canadians celebrated the end of the Great War. Many returned to the country early in 1919, only to be brought down by the lack of employment and other disappointments. However, slowly, good times returned back to Canada, as the country ushered into a new era known as the “Roaring Twenties”. Many Canadians participated in the good life as the wealthy, as well as average families had more money to spend. Economic prosperity and technological advances brought Canadians pleasure to their lives. Canadians tuned in to their radios, used the automobile, cheered for their home sports teams, followed new fashion trends, listened to the same music and did the same dances. In addition, the 1920s marked the growth of movies as Canadians packed theatres to watch their favourite stars. The 1920s were one of the most important and revolutionary times for the film industry.
Do you know that despite Canada being called multicultural and accepting, Canada’s history reveals many secrets that contradicts this statement? Such an example are Canadian aboriginals, who have faced many struggles by Canadian society; losing their rights, freedoms and almost, their culture. However, Native people still made many contributions to Canadian society. Despite the efforts being made to recognize aboriginals in the present day; the attitudes of European Canadians, acts of discrimination from the government, and the effects caused by the past still seen today have proven that Canadians should not be proud of Canada’s history with respect to human rights since 1914.
The post-war time was a period where major changes were occurring. After being involved in two international conflicts, Canada was ready to reestablish their economy. During this time, Canada had started working on ways to become stronger and reputable. It is evident that Canada had matured through the post-war era. Canada’s economic progress left a positive impact on the growth of the country as consumerism became popular, and economic ties with America became stronger. Moreover, the removal of racial and ethical barriers contributed to Canadian social affairs such as the huge wave of immigration and the baby boom. The Canadian government also had become more aware and involved in issues impacting Canadian citizens. Canada as a whole started identifying itself as an independent nation and participating in events that brought a positive reputation amongst them. These economical, social, and legal changes helped Canada mature into the country it is today.
In conclusion, Canada was influenced throughout the 1920's by America, that by 1929 Canada became very similar to America in social trends, economics and produce. But has this stopped in modern day era? Canada continues to be heavily influenced by the amount of American products and media outpouring into Canada. Canada has made attempts throughout time to impede the onslaught of American invasion but American invasion is seen on a huge global scale. Hit movies, tv shows, products among others are generally based on American culture, views, or based within American domain. It is a reign yet to be stopped.
CanCon regulations not only help define Canada as a unity but help the creative Canadians that express themselves through musical expression. David Young states, “According to the CRTC, the higher requirements would expand the exposure given to Canadian artists and provide increased support to the Canadian music industry.” (Young, 2004) Therefore, in order for the Canadian music industry to expand and become successful there must be government intervention of content regulations. This is reinforced in the article The government steps in, “Without government support, the number of Canadian films, records and television shows would be much lower than it already is.”(1995) If CanCon regulations are not in place the amount of Canadian works will contract until one day there are none left. Hence, Canadian culture being lost within many other cultures. Shedd et al. state that having CanCon regulations in place “Could promote greater national unity. Similarly, it could promote a distinct Canadian culture, and as a result, a greater national identity or pride.”(Shedd et al. 1990) This helps to enforce that with CanCon regulations put in place the Canadian culture can be truly identified through television, films and music.
In the last 20 years the penetration of the Canadian market by American cultural industries is still extremely strong. The United States is still the main source of culture products. American products represent 81% of all culture commodity imports. Canadians watch American TV shows, listen to American music, love American sports teams, drive American cars and buy American goods at American stores like Walmart. They eat American food, drink American beer (sometimes).
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.
Canadians have come along way in their culture and identity. Canadians have participated in multiple wars and battles that have shaped our country and the people that live in this country. But it’s not just the violence what shaped our country but the people and traditions that originated outside of Canada and was brought here. European, British and French cultures and tradition have all influenced Canada’s culture and identity. (Blattberg, C. 13, January 02). Immigrants from all over the world have in the passed contributed to the way we view Canada and because of that we live in a safe, mosaic, multicultural country. (Blattberg, C. 13, January 02).There have also been the First Nations people who started Canada’s good reputation and because of them we have accomplished everything that we have done today. (Blattberg, C. 13, January 02).
“ 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.
There are many Canadians who have managed to make an impact on the world. Amazing Canadians can not only manage to change people’s lives, but improve them as well. Only an amazing Canadian can make the world distinguish Canada in a commendable and noteworthy way and make Canadians proud to be Canadian. By examining Young’s musical and song writing career, his role in the Farm Aid organization, and his role in the Bridge School Benefit, it is clear that Neil Young is an amazing Canadian.