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Canadian influence on american culture
To what extent does canada have a national identity
American cultural influences in canada
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When the topic of Canada comes up among peoples, immediately the thought of ice hockey, the Mounted Police, and beavers comes to mind. In fact, Canada has truly lost its true identity that we once knew. It is slowly being assimilated and in fact 'Americanized'; in aspects of social identity, national identity, and cultural identity.
First, Canada is being slowly 'Americanized'; in its social identity. When we talk about a country's social identity, we examine a few areas. First is the media, which is constantly bombarding Canadians with images and values of American culture. Through the images we see Americans constantly fighting, either in aspects of global policing in their own backyard with Americans killing Americans. Through situation comedies and news we Canadians are hit with a whole other value system not of our own, saying it's okay to fight to solve our differences. The second aspect of the social identity is sports. This is quite financially the one factor that affects everyone. Every Monday night during the summer and on Sundays, the Fox network broadcasts the NFL. How many Canadians would rather watch the Tiger Cats and Argos battle, when they can watch the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots play some football and then to watch the cheerleaders? All of them, practically. In summary, this apparent coca-colonization of the Canadian social identity is on the uprise of one specific medium, the medium.
Second, not only is the Americanization h...
Lister Sinclair’s pamphlet Change Comes to Canada was distributed at the Canadian Government Pavilion during Expo 67. Sinclair looks at the meaning of the name Canada. She analyses common points in people’s daily lives such as the meaning of ‘our home and native land,’ Canadian history, Canadian resources, transportation, climate and culture that tie each Canadian together. She claims that “every Canadian who thinks about Canada has his own idea about the meaning of that dream.” She argues that there is no actual national identity but individual identities that made up our national identity. She challenges the questions related to a national identity. It is interesting that something that questions the national identity would be distributed at Expo 67; but, it provides in...
The American Revolution was the poignant turn to the freedom of the American Colonies. With America being able to defeat British, it gave their mother country the realization a new nation and broke the control they had over. Although it is clear that American Revolution created the nation of American, it can argued that it also created the nation up north; Canada. The Revolutionary War not only resulted in the nation of America but the nation of Canada as well.
In the written piece What Canada Means to Me an example of feeling detached from the rest of the world is: We seem to suffer from a lost identity, ungrounded in anything concrete, detached from both outer and back-home society; this shows that once Native American children were taken away from their home and stripped of their beliefs they felt unwanted by both sides of society. To return home was never the same and they were treated differently while out in Canadian society being of a different culture they were out casted, which left a constant feeling of un-belonging and detachment from
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.
Furthermore, the issues of representation in the House of Commons are even more evident in terms of the alienation of certain provinces. Western Canada has experienced political alienation due to the dominance and influence of Ontario and Quebec over policy-making as both provinces contain the founding Cultures of Canada (Miljan, 2012, p. 53) Also, the fact that Ontario and Quebec make up more than 60 percent of Canada’s population attracts policymakers to those provinces while marginalizing the interests of westerners (Miljan, 2012, p. 53). Thus, policymakers will favor Ontario and Quebec as these provinces harbor the most ridings as well as the bigger electors’ base. In fact, Western Canada is also underrepresented in both the House of Commons and the Senate when compared to the Maritime provinces as the Maritime provinces are overrepresented compared to their population. Also, many western Canadians are turned off by the federal government as they have been alienated from major political action and discussion due to low representation (Canada and the World Backgrounder, 2002). In other words, Ottawa does not address the needs and hopes of Western Canada
Which in turn, created a whole new set of problems or rather anxieties for Canada due to the fact that now, “[The United States] are now the primary market and source of investment for Canadian commerce” (Bow, p. 346). Now instead of the essence of the threat being a physical invasion of the United States, Anti-Americanism in this time period derived from a threat of economic and cultural assimilation. Canada throughout this time period continues to find ways in order to separate themselves from their Western counter-parts. This was especially evident during the 1960s where, “the social and political turbulence… provoked a new wave of liberal anti-Americanism in Canada, focusing on a supposedly endemic pattern of racial conflict, urban violence, cultural polarization and political corruption” (Bow, p. 346). Due to those issues in the United States the sentiment has been more social among its people and it shows with different implementations of policies that Canada has placed or tried to place in order to separate themselves and as a country make themselves look better than the “super powered” United States by comparison. As a result, Canada became to be “proponents of universal health care, national welfare and pension programs and post war social programs…” (Bow, p. 347). The sentiment would evolved further due to the issues regarding the Vietnam war, which not only created a perception that, “America is by nature inclined to an aggressive self destructive foreign policy” (Bow, p. 348), but also is the “first Cold war crisis in which Canada chose to stand apart from the United States, and this affected not only Canadian diplomats’ capacity to influence U.S. decisions, but also Canadian public perceptions of what the war said about American values and priorities” (Bow, p. 348). During the Vietnam war the U.S were mostly criticized for acting
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.
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).
By the mid 19th century, Canada was taking its first steps as a new colony in the British Empire. The Canadian government was faced with several challenges at the time, John A. MacDonald, the Prime Minister, had a plan to ensure that the Dominion of Canada's first century was a successful one. A major component of this plan was the establishment of a stable population in the West who worked the lands to create a strong agricultural economy. This agenda was not without its obstacles and conflict, but eventually, by the 1900's, the goal was essentially achieved.
A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and souls of its people. Many countries have been influenced by various things such as immigration, media, news, as well as trends and fads from both in and out of the country. However, in the 1950s and 1960s, there was mainly news and word of mouth. Many had argued that Canada should establish its own culture to have an identity separate, later growing into a concern of the government. Most would think that the cultural influence was negative as the influences of other countries would take away from the country’s own culture and identity, but it was not the case. The influence of American culture in the 1950s and 1960s in Canada was positive. American music, Hippie culture, and the impact the American
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.
Have you ever wondered which events in Canadian history have been the most significant in shaping Canadian identity? Many significant events in the twentieth century left a lasting legacy for Canada. Canada would not be the culturally rich, prosperous and progressive nation that it is today, without its immigration patterns in the past. World War I (WWI) was also a significant event as it united Canada and left behind a legacy of sacrifice and national pride. Economic development during the post war period contributed to Canadian success nationally and globally. Immigration, WWI and economic development were significant events in Canadian twentieth century history. Each event brought new and powerful
A century ago, Canada was under control by the British Empire. The battles we fought the treaties we signed and the disputes we solved all helped us gain independence from our mother country “Britain”. Canadians fought a long battle protecting others, and from these battles we gained our peaceful reputation and our independence from Britain. Canada became a nation on July, 1st 1867. Although we were an independent country, our affairs and treaties were all still signed by Britain. In the next years Canada would establish its own government, and lead its own affairs. Many important events led to Canada’s independence, one of the earliest signals that Canada wanted to establish autonomy was the Chanak affair of 1921. In addition the battle of Normandy, which occurred on June 6 1944, contributed to the autonomy of Canada. The Suez Canal Crisis, which took place in the year 1956, earned Canada a place in the media spotlight, displaying Canada as a peaceful country that deserves the right to be independent. One of the final steps that aided with Canada’s independence from Britain was the Canada Act of 1982. Independence from Britain steadily increased throughout the 20th century because of political decisions made in Canada.
Thomas, David M.. Canada and the United States: differences that count. Third ed. Toronto: Broadview Press, 2008.
occupied and their communities are almost entirely be disrupted and they have been assimilated into a Western culture though their own cultures still remain. These days, the indigenous are living in white-settler society under the control of state powers and in long history, they are being discriminated and exploited. The indigenous people today or even their ancestors face harsh challenges and they have to struggle with their identities in the issue of racism, self determination and assimilation.