Canadian Identity

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

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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

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• 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

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A Sample of Submissions
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Three Finalists ..
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Pearsons 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

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Opposition

• Diefenbaker and Conservative Party wanted symbols
  on the flag that represented Canadas 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).

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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

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• February 15, 1965 Canadas red and white maple
  leaf flag was raised for the first time
• Do you think they made the right choice? Why or
  Why not?

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I am Canadian
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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.?

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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

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• Canada Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)
• started broadcasting in 1952
• given government money to build a national and
  distinctly Canadian television services
• Popular shows included the childrens
• 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.

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• 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

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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?

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• 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

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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, Canadas attitudes toward
  immigration were changing (focus now on who
  should be allowed in, not who shouldnt)
• 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
•  

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• 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.

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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

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• 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