Canada, O Canada!

by Mary Jo

Happy birthday, Canada! Canada Day was actually Saturday, July 1st, but this is one of those big birthdays that end in a zero: Canada is 150 years young!

I grew up in Western New York, quite close to the Canadian border. As a kid, I remember driving over the Rainbow Bridge from Niagara Falls, NY to Niagara Falls, Ontario with a lovely view of the famous falls from the car. (That's the Rainbow Bridge below, lit up at night.)  Of course, lots of Americans grew up close to the Canadian border since it runs 3,000 miles across North America from sea to shining sea.

Once upon a time, Canada and the US were both part of British North America when all the colonies were pretty much separate. (Thirteen of them are now the US.) The French colony of Quebec was a different matter, but in 1763 France ceded it to Britain as a result of the Seven Years War.

America's Independence Day is tomorrow, July 4th, and most of us learned early the story of how the 13 colonies got stroppy with Britain and fought the Revolutionary War, after which those colonies became the United States of America (though really, they could have called it the United Colonies of America. UCA??)

Canada, however, continued as a number of separate colonies for some time, including Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Looking at this map (from Wikipedia), you'd think Upper Canada would be the green bit because, well, it's upper. But no, in this case upper and lower refer to the mighty St. Lawrence River and "upper" is nearer the headwaters and covered an area this is now the southern part of the Province of Ontario. "Lower Canada" is farther along the river and is the now the southeastern part of the Province of Quebec.

In 1841, Upper and Lower Canada were united into the Province of Canada, which lasted until 1867, when the Dominion of Canada was formed of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. And the 150th anniversary of this act of union is what is now being celebrated.  (Picture below is one I took in a park in St. John, New Brunswick.  Beavers are the national animal of Canada.)

Canada was the first Dominion within the British empire and the name indicated that it was a self-governing entity within the empire. As a side note, a while back I listened to an audiobook course on the history of the British empire, and one of the things that stuck with me was that the British statesmen decided after the American Revolution that Britain had handled the 13 colonies badly, and they needed to do better.

And they did, which is why nations like Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others were comfortable staying within the big tent of the British Commonwealth.

There were good reasons for Canada uniting, not least of which was a wariness about all those people south of their border. (Canada is the second largest country in the world after Russia, but much of it is so very cold that the population is only about a tenth that of the US.)

One of the hoped-for goals of some Americans in the War of 1812 was to annex Canada, which after all is much closer to the US than Britain is. Very efficient, yes? Well, Canadians were NOT on board with this, and not only because tens of thousands of America loyalists had emigrated to Canada after the American Revolution and they hadn't changed their minds about being part of the United States. (The War of 1812 ended as basically a draw without a significant exchange of territory in either direction.)

There's lots of going back and forth between the US and Canada--we Word Wenches have had two Canadian Wenches, Jo Beverley and now Susanna Kearsley, and our site manager is Melissa Beverley, who lives in Ottawa, the capital of Canada.

While Canada and the US are generally pretty good friends, there is a certain amount of caution on the Canadian side. It's rather like a mouse and an elephant sharing a bed. They may be friendly, but when the elephant turns over, the mouse had better be alert! (I'm reminded of the story of a Mexican president who once said, "Pity poor Mexico. So far from God, so close to the United States." <G> I'm sure Canadians sometimes feel the same.)

"The Murdoch Mysteries" is a favorite tv series for me and the Mayhem Consultant. Made in Canada, it's set in Toronto around 1900 and features a scientifically inclined detective called William Murdoch. The series is great--and now and then the characters show that wariness when arrogant American authorities shows up. <G> (I believe the series is the most popular in Canada.  Yes, Yannick Bisson who plays Murdoch is Very Handsome.  <G>  Yes, there's a very nice romance in the series. )

Canada has grown and flourished in the last 150 years. Like the US, the country has expanded westward and is now comprised of 10 provinces and 3 territories. (The 10th province, Labrador and Newfoundland didn't become part of Canada until 1949.)

Canada's global image owes much to its long history of peacekeeping missions. The world LIKES Canadians--American backpackers in Europe have been known to attach Canadian flags to their backpacks in order to be received in a friendlier fashion.

And now Canada is throwing itself a grand birthday party! Fireworks, parades, speeches--and one giant yellow rubber duck. <G> Six stories high, it was created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, who thought of it as a symbol of global unity (and humor). It's hard to look at that duck without smiling. (This image is from the CBC news site and my Toronto friend Ali Cunliffe referred me to it.)

The duck will spend three days in Toronto, then tour other ports in Ontario, bringing smiles wherever it goes, I'm sure.

So happy birthday, Canada, and long may you be smiling. I hope the US will always be as good a neighbor to you as you are to us.

Mary Jo

 

Comments

[Sonya Heaney]

Here in Canberra a lot of national buildings were lit up in red and white over the weekend for Canada's celebration. Old Parliament House, the National Science and Technology Centre, the Canadian High Commission, Black Mountain Tower, the massive water jet in the lake...

I suspect a great deal of the success of Murdoch Mysteries can be credited to Mr Bisson's eyes alone. ;) They show three episodes a week here.

[Jana]

Thank-you for the birthday wishes! As a Canadian, we often think our American neighbours don't know very much about us other than the stereotypes (eh). It's nice to know that at least some of our neighbours know as much and maybe even more than the average Canadian about our history! It's definitely not as exciting to study (unless your a keen on political manoeuvring) once you get past the war of 1812 (which we like to pretend we won...we may not have gained any ground, but we also stayed a British colony,no there's that!).

[MarshaM]

I caught a glimpse of the duckie driving home along the south of Toronto Friday. He is cute.

[Minna]

Well, happy birthday Canada from 100 years old Finland!

Oh, I love The Murdoch Mysteries! And the oldie but goodie, Due South! Handsome Mounties, anyone? =)

[Mary M.]

Love the duck (or is that, Lord luv a duck?), it's so nice seeing something orange bring a smile. We Americans (USians?) should be so lucky.

I grew up in Michigan, across the river from Ontario, and was visiting Canada when Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne. I still have a little metal "royal coronation carriage" I bought then in Hamilton, Ontario, and have always had a soft spot for the British monarchy, even before I discovered the Regency.

So big congrats to our neighbors to the north--now waaay to my north as I've drifted south to Arizona. (We get a lot of you guys here in the white season--we call you "snowbirds." You call yourselves "winter visitors." Either way, you're welcome.)

[Mary T]

What a wonderfully enlightening post. I'm ashamed to say that I know so little of Canadian history. Canada we love you - please don't build a wall (smile).

HAPPY 150TH!

[Sue McCormick]

Happy Birthday to our Northern Neighbor!

Back in the day — when PenPals were supposed to bring us World Peace. My next-door-neighbor (well just across the intervening street neighbor) sent my name into the PenPal list of a comic book (Famous Comics?) I gained a Canadian pen pal through that listing. She was very smart and wrote great letters. She went to school at Ontario Ladies' College in Whitley (spelling?) which is across the Detroit River from the U. S. I believe she grow up to become an Astro-Physicist.

Unfortunately, I lost track of her during the early years of my first marriage.

I now have an internet friend of many years who lives in Ottawa.

I fondly remember my trip to the falls in the summer of 1941. We cross into Canada at Buffalo, New York — and so saw them at their bast from the Canadian Side. We drove through Canada past the whirlpool and re-entered the U. S. at the North end of Lake Cayuga. (The fact that Canada was already at war colors those memories; we were still 3 to 4 months away from December 7th).

And I have visited Canada through poetry and story (beginning — of course — with L. M. Montgomery (Emily as well as Anne of Green Gables).

So, again happy birthday to our northern neighbors!

(As to Murdoch's Mysteries, Sonya — Mr. Bisson's eyes my attract some, but I doubt that is why my husband and the Mayhem Consultant like the series so much!

[Mary Jo Putney]

LOL, Sonya! So Murdoch is everywhere popular. *G* We stream the shows from Netflix and see two or three episodes a week. We're almost done with season 7, and I'm glad the show has been renewed for season 11.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Jana, be grateful that Canada's history is less dramatic! Some people here are still fighting the Civil War because they can accept the facts that A) the South lost, and B) the war was ultimately about slavery. (Lots of rationalizing about this.)

As to who, if anyone, won the war of 1812--it actually worked on both sides of the border because both Canada and the US developed much clearer senses of national identity. The US was a small, poor, highly experimental republic at the time and there were fears that independence would collapse and the US would end up as part of the British empire again. So one could say that the war was win/win--except for all the people who died. (Why yes, my upcoming book, ONCE A REBEL, is set mostly in the War of 1812. *G*)

[Mary Jo Putney]

Marsha M, I'm sure that long after people have forgotten the costs of bringing the duck to Canada, people will still be remembering it with a fond smile. *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Yes, please, Minna! Have you seen the episode where it turns out that Murdoch has a previously unknown Mountie half brother? Great fun!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Mary M, living in Arizona is a good way to meet lots of Canadians for sure. *G* And a lot of people from the northern US, too! The Southwest is gorgeous in the winter.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Agreed, Mary T!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Sue, Murdoch's ingenious techie devices hook the guys in. *G*

[Suzanne]

Well thank you Mary Jo! Next month it'll be 45 years since my family moved from Ireland and settled in "sunny"Alberta, which was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, 4th daughter of Queen Victoria.

Murdoch Mysteries is my favourite show--actually my husband would say I'm obsessive about it. I have never missed a "live" episode, & everyone in my household knows not to "disturb" me while it's on. And there's so much more to this show than Yannick's eyes 😊

[Jana]

Oh definitely grateful that we have either solved our problems peacefully or nattered on about them incessantly until no one cared any more (I'm looking at you Quebec separatists!). It just made for long boring history lessons in high school! To be honest, we really aren't taught much about the war of 1812. What I know about it, I learned as an adullt, or from those funny little mouse cartoons that came on after Spider-Man when I was a kid (whatever happened to those? They were a brilliant way to make history fun!). Canadian history is not dwelled upon by our education system. The focus tends to be more global with a strong emphasis on current events. Personally I feel that it's one area that we need to improve upon. There tends to be a feeling that we lack a clear identity, beyond poutine and ice hockey. Knowing how the country came to be, our triumphs and our failures gives us that shared sense of what we stand for. I think other countries do this better than we do. There's a sense that our history will offend the Francophones, or the First Nations so we skim over it, focus on the parts we all can agree on (like getting involved in WWI cemented our national identity) and ignoring the rest. But ignoring it doesn't mean it didn't happen. As you can see this is something I've given a fair amount of thought to....a bit of a frustration of mine since high school 25 years ago!

[Minna]

Yeah, I did see it. But when I really want to see a mountie (or two), it's Due South time for me. I really need to find those DVDs somewhere...

Due South:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PINmbqb4Z18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu4krJJkkIs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQkql4dHniE

[Jana]

It's the red coats that do it. Much like Kitty and and Lydia in Pride and Prejudice, a red uniform still makes a lady swoon!

[Teresa Broderick]

Happy Birthday Canada!! I just love the duck:):)
Murdoch Mysteries is a great series. I've missed the last season or two so much catch up. The scenery in it is wonderful at times. Murdoch himself is a great character.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Jana, that's interesting that Canada doesn't do a lot to teach history, and concentrates on topics that aren't likely to offend different groups. In the US, there are usually people willing to go to the mat over challenging issues. *G* In my school days, we studied a fair amount of history, including a year where our history focus was the history of New York State, where I grew up. I don't know what history they teach now, but I imagine it's a lot less than when I was in school.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Okay, I had to go looking. It's available on Amazon US, though I don't know if you can access a European format series in Finland. Good luck finding it!

[Mary Jo Putney]

There's definitely something about a uniform--and it doesn't even have to be red. Have you seen a US Marine in dress uniform? *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Suzanne, all the characters on Murdoch have grown and changed and most of them are very appealing.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Indeed he is. We're waiting for him and Julia to finally get it together. *G*

[Paula Kruk]

Now our day has come to an end and yours is on the horizon. I wish all the word wenches a Happy 4th

[Mary Jo Putney]

Thank you, Paula! And yes, I hear fireworks in the distance in proof of that!