Canadian Identity

What symbols does Canada use to promote Canadian nationalism and Canadian identity?

Red Ensign

• Used between the 1920s and 1940s• Many Canadians strongly attached to this flag• Veterans attached to Union Jack because many Canadians

had fought under that flag

A New Flag for Canada

• 1964 – Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson states that he wants Canada to adopt a distinctive national flag.

• He wants a flag that will unify the country, especially English and French speaking Canadians.

• He believes a new flag will give Canadians a shared sense of identity.

• Over 5900 designs were submitted to a 15 member parliamentary committee

A Sample of Submissions

Three Finalists …..

Pearson’s Pennant

• He wants a new design to move away from the past• Wants a flag with no colonial association (French Canadians

did not like the Union Jack because it represented British colonialism

Opposition

• Diefenbaker and Conservative Party wanted symbols on the flag that represented Canada’s two founding nations.

He stated: The Pearson flag is a meaningless Flag. There is no recognition of history; no indication of the existence of French and English Canada; the partnership of the races; no acknowledgement of history. It is a flag without a past, without history, without honour and without pride. (Source – I Stand for Canada: The Story of the Maple Leaf Flag).

Canadian Flag• Submitted by George Stanley, a historian who taught at Royal

Canadian Military College at Queens University in Kingston, ON

His argument:• The new flag had to be immediately recognizable and simple

so children could draw it• Maple Leaf – an excellent emblem because Canadiens first

used it as an emblem of Canada, not used by any other nations, used in the Coats of Arms of Canada, a symbol of Canadian armed forces in the two world wars

• Red and White – King George V designated red and white the two official colours in 1921

• It stands out

February 15, 1965 Canada’s red and white maple leaf flag was raised for the first time

Do you think they made the right choice? Why or Why not?

“I am Canadian”

American Military Influence

• During the cold war there were strong ties between Canada and the U.S. (eg. NORAD)

Can you think of examples in the 1960s when Canada did not follow the U.S.?

American Cultural Influence• Canadians strongly influenced by American music and television (eg.

Elvis, Ed Sullivan Show, I Love Lucy)

Do you think this is still a concern today?

• In the 1950s and 1960s there were serious efforts to promote Canadian culture

Massey Commission• Royal Commission set up by government to study U.S. influence on

culture• Want to support institutions that express national feeling promote

richness of Canadian life

Canada Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) • started broadcasting in 1952 • given government money to build a

national and distinctly Canadian television services

• Popular shows included the children’s• show, Uncle Chichmus, The Plouffe

Family, Hockey Night in Canada

In the late 1950s private stations began to broadcast on T.V.

To begin with they played American shows non-stop until new guidelines forced them to have 55% Canadian content. Radio was also given Canadian content guidelines.

1957 – Canada Council created to fund Canadian writers, painters, musicians, and scholars

Do you think the government should play a role in protecting Canadian culture? Explain

American Economic Influence

There were strong economic ties between Canada and the U.S.The Branch Plant• Parent companies located in the U.S. own and control plants

in Canada• Positive - provide jobs, Canadian consumers get more

products• Example of branch plant would be auto manufacturers in

Canada (Ford, Chrysler, GM)

What might be some negative consequences of branch plants?

Negative Consequences• Many of the largest firms in Canada are foreign owned• U.S. invests more in Canadian economy than Canada. In 1967

the U.S. owned 28% of Canadian industries

1960 – President of the Bank of Canada, James Coyne, stated:No other country in the world with something like our relative state of development has ever had such a degree of foreign domination, or even one half or one quarter the degree of foreign domination. Canada is being pushed down the road that leads to loss of any effective power to be masters in our own household and ultimate absorption in an by another.

• By the late 1960s Canadians were becoming concerned and call on the government to control foreign investment

• Some support a “Buy Canadian” campaign

A Diverse Society• Before 1960s – immigration acts were discriminatory and

favoured British and Western European immigrants (did not want to change the racial, ethnic character of Canada)

• In the 1960s, however, Canada’s attitudes toward immigration were changing (focus now on who should be allowed in, not who shouldn’t)

• 1962 – changes eliminated discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, or national origin

• 1967 – a points system – provided a more fair assessment of immigrants, get points based on ability to speak English or French, age, education, and employment skills.

• Canadian citizens can also sponsor close family members

Look at image – What is this image trying to convey? Do think being a multicultural society is an important part of Canadian identity?

Look at the statistics on immigration. What do you notice about the changes in immigration patterns.

Tommy Douglas and Universal Healthcare

• Leader of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in Saskatchewan

• In 1944 became the Premier of Saskatchewan• Known as the Father of Medicare• In 1947 introduced universal hospitalization for citizens in

Saskatchewan at a fee of $5 per year per person• In 1959 – introduced universal healthcare in Saskatchewan

• In 1961 - He leaves to becomes leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP)

• He pushed the Liberal government under Pearson to introduce social reforms

• Pearson government introduced Medicare, which meant that every Canadian had equal access to medical and hospital care and the government paid for it