Vimy Ridge Essay

Canada has come a long way to become an independent country, from being another colony outside of Britain, Canada has become a nation of its own, bigger than what its mother country is and much stronger. Canada has had many battles to fight, some they won, others they lost, but to this day it made Canada what it is, a country that fights for freedom and their own independence. It was a combination of multiple events that paved the road for Canada, some of these events stood out more than others. Vimy Ridge was a tremendous battle that made Canada known and created the birth of this nation. The symbol of our almighty country, the one thing that symbolizes our citizenship, the national flag; without it Canada would not have been. Most of all,

the implementing of the Constitution Act of 1982, this finalized Canada as a country and gave us our great independence. Because of Canada’s tremendous bravery at Vimy Ridge, the creation of the national flag, and the implementing of the Constitution Act of 1982, Canada became an independent country aside from Britain, establishing their own nation.
One of Canada’s largest military undertakings was the battle of Vimy Ridge during World War One.

Canada was trying to conquer what most have tried but failed many times. Vimy Ridge was controlled by the Germans, it ran northwest to southwest and its highest point was 145 feet above sea level. With a strategy in place and a plan in hand, the Canadians started the battle. On April 9th, 1917, the soldiers moved at a measured pace, where mortar shells would take out the German positions just ahead of them before the Canadian troops would attack. The constant stream of mortars let the Canadians to gain land and move further up the ridge. Already over 4, 000 men had fallen at Vimy Ridge, all of them fiercely tried to take or defend this ridge from the Germans. As a result, the Canadians won the battle and were united as a nation; this victory changed the way all countries viewed Canada. This no longer made Canadians view their soldier’s as part of an extension of allied forces, but as an independent unified army. “I witnessed the birth of a country” said Brigadier-General A.E. Ross, after the war was won. After the Canadian victory at Vimy Ridge, countries immediately started to view Canada as a strong and serious army. It was because of this battle at Vimy Ridge that Canada started on their journey to independence and great freedom from

Britain.
In 1925, Canada had set about to create its own flag, their goal was to create a symbol of their country, something that would represent the great nation they had lived in. At the time, Canada’s official national flag was the Union Jack; it had used the red ensign with a Canadian coat of arms emblazed upon it. With Canada gaining a stronger sense of their nationalism during the First World War, they decided to make a flag that resembled Canada and nothing but Canada. The results were then inconclusive as symbols relating to Britain were placed on the flag. The debate went on, on what should be placed on the flag, this debate died down and the issue was dropped. In 1963, they tried again and all were in favour of eliminating the Union Jack from the flag and designing a completely different and original flag. It was then when the Canadian flag was born, with two red bars on either side of a white area with a red maple leaf in the middle. With no traces of Britain on the Canadian flag, Canada now has shown that they no longer need their mother country and can now support themselves and become their own. With the result of the flag debate, Canada ended up with a flag that represented their nationalism, the symbol of their new independence from Britain and the look of their future as a lone standing, self-supporting country.
By 1967, Canada has accomplished its own national symbol, with the making of their flag along with the qualities and all the powers of an independent nation.

The only exception; the power to amend their own constitution, this could only be done by British Parliament. After much debate and negotiation in Canada, the British Government decided to pass the Constitution Act in March 1982. The Constitution Act of 1982 was signed on April 17, 1982; this was the result of over 100 years of Canadian political progress and efforts by many successive governments. This Act replaced the British North America Act and gave all legislative authority to Canada, including the power to make changes to the constitution. The constitution outlines Canada’s government, laws, and civil rights, it also includes The Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which recognizes fundamental rights and freedoms of all Canadians. With the Constitution Act in place, Canada can control their government without the watchful eye of Britain taking over. They have created an act that would no longer require an appeal to the British Parliament, and will cut the ties to their mother country. Canada has now gained political power in their own country, and they are able to govern their own country and can now say goodbye to Britain ruling them. The Constitution Act of 1982 is an essential document for all Canadians, as it symbolizes Canada’s long journey from a colony to independent

nation.
In conclusion, Canada has come a long way to become what they are today, an independent nation. Starting with their tremendous bravery at Vimy ridge which lit the fire on their long journey, it was there where Canada was noticed, it was the changing point for them, changing their view of themselves and Britain, finally realizing that they can become something more. To the flag debate; Canada making their symbol of their country was the next step in independence, creating a flag that symbolizes themselves and not Britain. Eliminating any trace of them leading back to Britain, showing that they don’t need Britain to represent them. Finally, there last and final step was the making of the Constitution Act of 1982, finalizing them as a country, breaking their ties from Britain and finally gaining the power to govern and rule the country they lived in. It was because of these events and happenings that lead Canada to their independence. From a colony of Britain, to the great, independent country, it is today “The True North, strong and free.”