CHAPTER 3 HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN CANADA

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• Leisure and Recreation Prior to the Dominion of
  Canada
• Historical research indicates that leisure and
  recreation in Canada began prior to
  confederation. In fact, the first accounts of
  leisure and recreation, and physical activities
  can be traced back to the Inuit and the
  Aboriginal Peoples of southern Canada.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• Leisure and Recreation Prior to the Dominion of
  Canada
• The Inuit participated in a number of culturally
  significant games (Ibrahim, 1991) such as
• Agraoruk - a game in which the contestant kicked
  a sealskin dangling from a pole.
• Nalukatook - a game of bouncing on a walrus hide
  held by others.
• Ipirautaqurnia - an activity that consisted of
  flipping a whip in an accurate fashion.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• Leisure and Recreation Prior to the Dominion of
  Canada
• A popular team game played by the Algonquins and
  Iroquis was baggataway (Searle and Brayley,
  2000). The Mohawks called this game tewaarathon
  (Cole, 1993). Today baggataway and tewaarathon
  are referred to as lacrosse, the name given to
  the game by the French settlers of Canada.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• Leisure and Recreation Prior to the Dominion of
  Canada
• Wright (1983) describes five major types of open
  space areas that were used for recreational
  purposes in Upper Canadian villages and towns in
  the early 1800s.
• The common - land set aside for livestock, wood
  and fuel, and for exercise (Markham, 1980). One
  of the earliest examples of this type of open
  space was the Halifax Common established in 1750.
• The public square - an open space with pathways
  for strolling. One of the first squares in Canada
  was created in Montreal in 1821.
• Church plaza - the open space in front of
  churches used for religious ceremonies and public
  gatherings.
• Military lands - the square or parade ground
  adjacent to the barracks.
• Cemeteries - often used for walking and picnics.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• Leisure and Recreation in the Infant Years of the
  Dominion of Canada (1867-1899)
• Social, political and cultural values started to
  change as the puritan ethic towards leisure and
  recreation began to lose significance (Cross,
  1990).
• A renewed interest in recreation took place as
  some activities became acceptable forms of
  public recreation for women. They included
  croquet, lawn tennis, golf, archery, roller
  skating, and ice skating (Searle and Brayley,
  2000 16).

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• Leisure and Recreation in the Infant Years of the
  Dominion of Canada (1867-1899)
• A number of accounts in research depict different
  sites as the starting place of ice hockey.
• Tessier (1984) claims that the first hockey game
  in Canada was played in Montreal at the corner of
  Bleury and Dorchester, attributing a prominent
  French-Canadian role in the establishment of this
  game.
• Searle and Brayley (2000) contend that hockey
  originated in Kingston, Ontario, in 1855 while
  crediting British troops stationed in Kingston,
  Ontario, as being the first to introduce this
  game. Moreover, Gruneau and Whitson (1993) make
  reference to the work of Captain James Sutherland
  while citing Kingston as the true birthplace of
  hockey in 1903.
• Vaughan (1996) cites Long Pond near Windsor, Nova
  Scotia, as the birthplace of ice hockey. Research
  by Vaughan (1996) finds that the Mikmaq, who
  called ice hockey alchamadajk or hurley-on-ice,
  first played the game with other participants in
  Nova Scotia.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• Leisure and Recreation in the Infant Years of the
  Dominion of Canada (1867-1899)
• The commercial sector of recreation also expanded
  during this era as Canada became home to the
  first private golf club in North America. This
  golf club was established in 1873 as the Royal
  Montreal Golf Club.
• The developments of the cross-Canada railway
  system and the efforts of the Canadian Pacific
  Railroad company led to the establishment of
  Rocky Mountain Park (Banff) in 1885.
• The Public Parks Act of Ontario was passed in
  1883, providing for the establishment of a system
  of parks as well as the maintenance of existing
  parks (Wright, 1984).
• By the 1890s, municipal parks had become a part
  of many municipalities in Canada. In fact,
  provinces such as Ontario and Manitoba had
  passed enabling legislation laws empowering
  municipalities to establish parks and set
  procedures for acquisitions and standards for
  management (Ibrahim, 1991 157).

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• Leisure and Recreation in the Infant Years of the
  Dominion of Canada (1867-1899)
• The National Council on Women was established in
  1893 in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal
  and Halifax to promote the social welfare role of
  play and, more specifically, to encourage
  community leaders to establish playgrounds and
  sand gardens as aids to help build the social and
  moral character of children.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1900-1909 The Playground Movement in Canada
• The efforts initiated by the National Council of
  Women, and in particular, Mabel Peters, became
  evident with the establishment of the first
  playground in Saint John in 1906 (Searle and
  Brayley, 2000).
• The Lord Days Act was proclaimed in 1907,
  leading, in part, to the establishment of the
  weekend (Wetherall and Kmet, 1990).
• The Ford Model-T automobile was introduced in
  1908, enticing a freedom never experienced
  before.
• In 1909, Earl Grey donated a trophy, the Grey
  Cup, for the Canadian Football Championship, thus
  helping to establish a Canadian identity to the
  game.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1910-1919 The Early Formation of Municipal and
  Voluntary Leisure and Recreation Services in
  Canada
• The trend towards urbanization creates a need to
  provide leisure services in municipalities.
• In June of 1913, the first full-time staff
  member for the implementation of a public
  recreation program was hired by the Toronto Parks
  Department.
• The commencement of branching out of the
  voluntary sector of leisure and recreation took
  place in parts of Canada with the establishment
  of the Jasper Place Community League in Edmonton
  in 1917.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1920-1929 The Golden Age of Sport
• Municipal governments were starting to accept
  responsibility for societys need for leisure and
  recreation as service clubs, churches and the
  YMCA played a key role in advocating for the need
  to recreate.
• The Golden Age of Sport in Canada takes place
  as organized sports and sport leagues expanded
  (Wright, 2000). Popular sport activities of the
  day included ice hockey, golf and swimming.
• Public athletic facilities, outdoor rinks,
  toboggan slides and swimming pools were found in
  cities and towns (Wright, 2000).
• In the 1920s, the influence of voluntary
  community associations and services clubs on the
  development of municipal recreation started to
  unfold. The Gyro Club of Edmonton, a mens
  service club, much like the Jasper Place
  Community League, became actively involved in the
  supervision of playgrounds.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1930-1939 Provincial Government Involvement
  Takes Off
• In 1930, Canadas first National Parks Act was
  passed. This Act recognized that neither could
  new parks be established nor existing parks be
  eliminated, nor their boundaries changed, without
  parliaments approval (McNamee, 2002 33).
• During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the
  establishment of new leisure service
  organizations was not halted. In 1933, McGill
  Universitys Dr. Arthur S. Lamb played a
  leadership role in the establishment of the
  Canadian Physical Education Association (Gurney,
  1983).
• Physical recreation, during the years of the
  Great Depression and World War II became a
  pressing concern of provincial and federal
  governments (Eisenhardt, 1945).

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1930-1939 Provincial Government Involvement
  Takes Off
• The events of the 1920s and 1930s indicated a
  tremendous increase in the involvement of
  provincial government in recreation. These two
  decades also witnessed an increase in community
  involvement in recreation through the expansion
  of the Jasper Place Community League to suburban
  areas and the many development and construction
  projects of neighbourhood playgrounds (Bowler and
  Wanchuk, 1986).

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1940-1949 The Impact of World War II
• The onset of World War II had a drastic impact on
  the economy, employment and social services,
  including leisure and recreation. Many leisure
  and recreational services in Canada were put on
  hold, or at least halted, with the exception of
  recreation activities and programs that were for
  the most part related to the war.
• On June 24, 1943, after several years of planning
  and preparation, the National Physical Fitness
  Act became law.
• By 1943, the impact of community leagues, service
  clubs, local Councils of Women, the YMCA and
  other voluntary associations had come a long way
  in shaping the establishment of municipal
  recreation services.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1940-1949 The Impact of World War II
• In addition to the efforts of the community
  leagues and service clubs, a number of other
  factors (McFarland, 1970) contributed to the
  development of municipal recreation in provinces
  such as Ontario. These were
• Urbanization,
• the recreation atmosphere of the 1940s,
• the provision of recreation services from armed
  forces,
• involvement in post-war reconstruction projects
  including recreation centres, and
• an awareness that those in charge of recreation
  for the armed forces would be seeking recreation
  opportunities in civilian life.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1940-1949 The Impact of World War II
• The inauguration of provincial recreation
  services in Ontario took place in 1945 under the
  Physical and Health Education Branch of the
  Department of Education (Report of the Minister,
  1945). By 1947, the Province of Ontario had one
  hundred municipal recreation communities
  (Skerrett, 1992).
• The first attempt by a university in Canada to
  offer a recreation-related degree program took
  place in 1947-1948. The University of Western
  Ontario offered a Honours Bachelor of Arts degree
  in Physical Education with a recreation option in
  its third and fourth years. This program was
  cancelled in 1955 as interest was not sufficient
  (McFarland, 1970).

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1950-1959 The Growth of Services, Opportunities
  and Consumerism
• According to Burton (1979 15) the best estimate
  that can be made suggests that the field of
  leisure research in Canada was born in the
  1950s.
• Two unsuccessful efforts, due to lack of
  enrolment, were made to offer university programs
  with an emphasis in recreation. The first was by
  the University of Toronto, which offered a
  Bachelor of Social Work degree in Community
  Recreation in 1951-1952. The second was by the
  University of Western Ontario, which attempted
  to offer a Bachelor of Physical Education degree
  with a recreation emphasis in 1955.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1950-1959 The Growth of Services, Opportunities
  and Consumerism
• In 1954 the National Physical Fitness Act,
  introduced in 1943, was repealed. This left
  provinces on their own to support fitness and
  recreation initiatives (Westland, 1979).
• Television viewing became a popular pastime
  activity, and an increase in mechanized
  automobiles, motorboats, motorcycles and
  snowmobiles shaped the recreation interests of
  the time.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1960-1969 The Leisure and Recreation Boom
• The 1960s were the boom years for leisure and
  recreation (Wright, 1964). Consumer spending and
  growth continued during this decade. The
  evolution of voluntary sector services in leisure
  and recreation had already established a rich
  history. Also, public leisure and recreation
  services, the commercial sector of leisure and
  recreation, the consumerism of leisure and
  recreation, and leisure and recreation education
  programs took off.
• In 1961, to address the pressing concerns of the
  role of government in sport, recreation and
  leisure, the Fitness and Amateur Sport Act was
  passed. This act was important as it did what had
  not been done since the repeal of the National
  Fitness Act in 1954 that is, to redefine the
  role of senior government in sport, recreation
  and leisure, and to help establish
  federal-provincial relationships.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1960-1969 The Leisure and Recreation Boom
• The 1960s were a period in which the offshoot of
  leisure research started to evolve. Research
  areas of focus in this new discipline in Canada
  focused largely on the leisure activities of
  youth (Burton, 1979) and on terminology issues
  such as the nature and uses of free time in
  Canadian society (Laplante, 1967). Most research
  in leisure studies at this time utilized
  univariate techniques deriving simple statistical
  forms such as frequencies, percentages and means
  (Burton, 1979).
• The increase in leisure research was largely
  enticed by the establishment of leisure studies
  or leisure studies-related degree programs in
  several universities and colleges. Throughout
  this decade, programs were established at the
  University of British Columbia, the University of
  Alberta, the University of Waterloo, the
  University of Ottawa, Mount Royal College,
  Lethbridge College and Centennial College
  (McFarland, 1970).

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1960-1969 The Leisure and Recreation Boom
• The decade of the 1960s marked an increase in the
  number of government-subsidized programs for the
  development and establishment of recreation
  facilities.
• Canadians preferred structured activities that
  were age-group specific and that were planned.
  Moreover, a preference existed for participation
  in formal social group activities and competitive
  activities.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1970-1979 Higher Education and Research in
  Leisure Studies Comes of Age
• The general public started to demand
  recreation as a basic right.
• The value of leisure had started to be highly
  appreciated by the general public.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1970-1979 Higher Education and Research in
  Leisure Studies Comes of Age
• Wright (2000) provides the following overview of
  societal changes that took place from the 1960s
  to the 1970s
• shift in emphasis from highly structured
  activities with rules and regulations to
  non-structured activities allowing for less
  competition, flexibility and spontaneity in such
  endeavours
• an increase in the number of young adults through
  to the older age categories continuing to
  participate in activities, both organized and as
  individuals (i.e., recreation hockey, biking,
  cross-country skiing)
• the leading physical recreation activities for
  men and women were self-directed pursuits,
  spontaneous in nature, such as walking or
  gardening
• most activities were participated in by one or
  two individuals, rather than being team oriented
• most activities engaged in were of the
  non-competitive type
• activities were experienced for personal
  self-fulfilment and growth
• the emphasis of activities highlighted a mix of
  physical, social and cultural interests
• activities engaged in were more of the informal,
  unstructured type and
• a growing concern for preventative health care
  with a significant increase in an active
  lifestyle, including walking and aerobic
  activities.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1970-1979 Higher Education and Research in
  Leisure Studies Comes of Age
• By the end of the decade, higher education and
  higher education research in leisure studies had
  become firmly established.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1970-1979 Higher Education and Research in
  Leisure Studies Comes of Age
• During March of 1978, a retreat of recreation
  professionals sponsored by the Ontario Ministry
  of Culture and Recreation resulted in the
  drafting of a document entitled The Elora
  Prescription with the intent of examining past
  and present social trends while trying to predict
  the future of recreation.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1980-1989 Learning to Do More with Less
• The 1980s was a decade defined by cutbacks in the
  public sector of leisure and recreation.
• Public recreation resources declined as a result
  of decisions made during the 1960s and 1970s
  (Ipson, 1993).
• Recreation departments at all levels of
  government tried to find different ways to
  increase revenues and reduce expenditures while
  increasing collaborative efforts.
• This decade witnessed a renewed interest in
  community school recreation programs, tourism,
  consumerism and commercial sector
  entrepreneurship.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1980-1989 Learning to Do More with Less
• In 1980, the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle
  Research Institute was born. In 1981, this
  institute conducted the Canada Fitness Survey
  with the intent of assessing the fitness levels
  and physical recreation levels of all Canadians.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1980-1989 Learning to Do More with Less
• In 1987 the National Recreation Statement was
  signed. This statement outlined the position of
  government towards the value of recreation
  (Searle and Brayley, 2000). This led to the
  establishment of provincial policies by the
  Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation in
  1987 and Alberta Recreation and Parks in 1988.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1980-1989 Learning to Do More with Less
• In 1988 the Campbells Survey on Well Being was
  carried out to provide an update of the 1981
  Canada Fitness Survey. The objectives of this
  survey were to
• describe changes in the physical recreation and
  physical fitness patterns of the Canadian
  population between 1981 and 1988
• identify a demographic profile of Canadians who
  increased, maintained, or decreased their
  activity patters
• analyze the relationship between health status in
  1988 and activity patterns from 1981-1988 and
• explore the existing relationship between
  activity patterns, motivations, incentives,
  barriers and social circumstances for the period
  1981-1988. The results revealed that Canadians,
  fifteen years of age and older, were more active
  than in 1981.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1980-1989 Learning to Do More with Less
• In 1988, a comprehensive study by William G.
  Watson revealed that, in the 1980s,
• Canadians tended to be more active during their
  leisure time than they used to be
• most Canadians owned, at the very least, one
  colour TV
• the number of hours worked had declined by almost
  3 hours per week to a little over 38 hours since
  the 1950s
• the number of Canadians engaged in commercial (as
  opposed to home) work had increased dramatically
  since World War II
• the overall consumption of leisure had increased
  with Canadians becoming more goods-intensive
  and
• the standard holidays per year, vacation time and
  leisure activity involvement by Canadians had all
  increased since the end of World War II.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1990-1999 The Increasing Value of Leisure and
  Recreation
• By the 1990s, leisure and recreation had evolved
  as an industry and as a part of life highly
  valued by society. Canadas national park system
  had become the largest in the world, and at 10.7
  of total expenditure, Canadas expenditure on
  leisure pursuits also ranked amongst the highest
  of all Western nations (Ibrahim, 1991).

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1990-1999 The Increasing Value of Leisure and
  Recreation
• In 1992, Fitness and Amateur Sport Canada put
  together a Task Force Report on Federal Sport
  Policy. This report, entitled Sport The Way
  Ahead, suggested that community sport systems
  work closely together with municipal recreation
  departments to establish collaborative service
  provision systems.
• In 1992, the Parks and Recreation Federation of
  Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and
  Recreation published The Benefits of Parks and
  Recreation A Catalogue.

33
CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1990-1999 The Increasing Value of Leisure and
  Recreation
• In 1998, Parks Canada became an official
  operating agency through the proclamation of the
  Parks Canada Agency Act. Also during this year,
  the Government of Canada affirmed that national
  parks in Canada would not be commercialized or
  privatized (McNamee, 2002).

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1990-1999 The Increasing Value of Leisure and
  Recreation
• The 1990s was a decade in which a new trend was
  observed in the general attitude towards the
  delivery of recreation services in Canada.
  Leisure and recreation started to be viewed as an
  important contributor to the health of our
  nation and of individuals (Searle and Brayley,
  2000 28). Leisure and recreation began to gain
  recognition as an important avenue for
  health-care prevention and the reduction of
  health costs.

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CHAPTER 3HISTORY OF LEISURE AND RECREATION IN
CANADA

• 1990-1999 The Increasing Value of Leisure and
  Recreation
• It was during this decade that phrases such as
  rights of the individual, freedom of choice
  and empowerment were more seriously considered
  by public recreation service providers to broaden
  the existing scope of leisure opportunities. The
  role of government in leisure and recreation
  appeared at the forefront of society as the
  Canadian Constitution was being discussed.