Canadian Popular Culture

The culture of Canada embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, humour, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Canadians. Throughout Canada's history, its culture has been influenced firstly by its indigenous cultures, and later by European culture and traditions, mostly by the British and French. Over time, elements of the cultures of Canada's immigrant populations have become incorporated to form a Canadian cultural mosaic. Certain segments of Canada's population have, to varying extents, also been influenced by American culture due to shared language (in English-speaking Canada), significant media penetration, and geographic proximity.

Canada is often characterized as being "very progressive, diverse, and multicultural". Canada's federal government has often been described as the instigator of multicultural ideology because of its public emphasis on the social importance of immigration. Canada's culture draws from its broad range of constituent nationalities, and policies that promote a just society are constitutionally protected. Canadian policies—such as abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, and cannabis; an emphasis on cultural diversity; significant immigration; abolishing capital punishment; publicly funded health care; higher and more progressive taxation; efforts to eliminate poverty; and strict gun control are social indicators of the country's political and cultural values. Canadians view the country's institutions of health care, military peacekeeping, the national park system, and the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' as integral to their national identity.

The Canadian government has influenced culture with programs, laws and institutions. It has created crown corporations to promote Canadian culture through media, such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), and promotes many events which it considers to promote Canadian traditions. It has also tried to protect Canadian culture by setting legal minimums on Canadian content in many media using bodies like the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

Cultural components

History

Influences

For thousands of years, Canada has been inhabited by indigenous peoples from a variety of different cultures and of several major linguistic groupings. Although not without conflict and bloodshed, early European interactions with First Nations and Inuit populations in what is now Canada were arguably peaceful. First Nations and Métis peoples played a critical part in the development of European colonies in Canada, particularly for their role in assisting European coureur des bois and voyageurs in the exploration of the continent during the North American fur trade. Over the course of three centuries, countless North American Indigenous words, inventions, concepts, and games have become an everyday part of Canadian language and use. Many places in Canada, both natural features and human habitations, use indigenous names. The name "Canada" itself derives from the St. Lawrence Huron-Iroquoian word "Kanata" meaning "village" or "settlement". The name of Canada's capital city Ottawa comes from the Algonquin language term "adawe" meaning "to trade".

In the 17th-century, French colonials settled New France in Acadia, in the present-day Maritimes, and in ''Canada'', along the St. Lawrence River in present-day Quebec and Ontario. These regions were under French control from 1534 to 1763. However, the British conquered Acadia in 1710 and conquered ''Canada'' in 1760. The British were able to deport most of the Acadians, but they were unable to deport the Canadiens of ''Canada'' because they severely outnumbered the British forces. The British therefore had to make deals with Canadiens and hope they would one day become assimilated. The American Revolution, from 1775 to 1783, provoked the migration of 40,000 to 50,000 United Empire Loyalists from the Thirteen Colonies to the newly conquered British lands, which brought American influences to Canada for the first time. Following the War of 1812, many Scottish and English people settled in Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Many Irish people fleeing the Great Famine also arrived between 1845 and 1852.

The Canadian Forces and overall civilian participation in the First World War and Second World War helped to foster Canadian nationalism; however, in 1917 and 1944, conscription crises highlighted the considerable rift along ethnic lines between Anglophones and Francophones. As a result of the First and Second World Wars, the Government of Canada became more assertive and less deferential to British authority. Canada, until the 1940s, was often described as " binational", with the 2 components being the cultural, linguistic and political identities of English Canadians and of French Canadians.

Legislative restrictions on immigration (such as the Continuous journey regulation and '' Chinese Immigration Act'') that had favoured British, American and other European immigrants (such as Dutch, German, Italian, Polish, Swedish and Ukrainian) were amended during the 1960s, resulting in an influx of people of many different ethnicities. By the end of the 20th century, immigrants were increasingly Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Jamaican, Filipino, Lebanese, Pakistani and Haitian. By the 21st century Canada had thirty four ethnic groups with at least one hundred thousand members each, of which eleven have over 1,000,000 people and numerous others are represented in smaller numbers. , 16.2% of the population self-identify as a visible minority.

Development of popular culture

Themes and symbols of pioneers, trappers, and traders played an important part in the early development of Canadian culture. Modern Canadian culture as it is understood today can be traced to its time period of westward expansion and nation building. Contributing factors include Canada's unique geography, climate, and cultural makeup. Being a cold country with long winter nights for most of the year, certain unique leisure activities developed in Canada during this period including ice hockey and embracement of the summer indigenous game of lacrosse.

By the 19th century, Canadians came to believe themselves possessed of a unique "northern character," due to the long, harsh winters that only those of hardy body and mind could survive. This hardiness was claimed as a Canadian trait, and sports that reflected this, such as snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, were asserted as characteristically Canadian. During this period, the churches tried to influence leisure activities by preaching against drinking, and scheduling annual revivals and weekly club activities. In a society in which most middle-class families now owned a harmonium or piano, and standard education included at least the rudiments of music, the result was often an original song. Such stirrings frequently occurred in response to noteworthy events, and few local or national excitements were allowed to pass without some musical comment.Making Music: Profiles from a Century of Canadian Music, Alex Barris and Ted Barris. Toronto: HarperCollins, 2001.

By the 1930s, radio played a major role in uniting Canadians behind their local or regional teams. Rural areas were especially influenced by sports coverage and the propagation of national myths. Outside the sports and music arena, Canadians expressed a national character of being hard working, peaceful, orderly and polite.

Political culture

Cultural legislation

French Canada's early development was relatively cohesive during the 17th and 18th centuries, and this was preserved by the Quebec Act 1774, which allowed Roman Catholics to hold offices and practice their faith. The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' was thought to meet the growing calls for Canadian autonomy while avoiding the overly strong decentralization that contributed to the Civil War in the United States. The compromises reached during this time between the English- and French-speaking Fathers of Confederation set Canada on a path to bilingualism which in turn contributed to an acceptance of diversity. The English and French languages have had limited constitutional protection since 1867 and full official status since 1969. Section 133 of the Constitution Act, 1867 (BNA Act) guarantees that both languages may be used in the Parliament of Canada. Canada adopted its '' first Official Languages Act'' in 1969, giving English and French equal status in the government of Canada. Doing so makes them "official" languages, having preferred status in law over all other languages used in Canada.

Prior to the advent of the ''Canadian Bill of Rights'' in 1960 and its successor the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' in 1982, the laws of Canada did not provide much in the way of civil rights and this issue was typically of limited concern to the courts. Canada since the 1960s has placed emphasis on equality and inclusiveness for all people. Multiculturalism in Canada was adopted as the official policy of the Canadian government and is enshrined in Section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In 1995, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in '' Egan v. Canada'' that sexual orientation should be "read in" to Section Fifteen of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a part of the Constitution of Canada guaranteeing equal rights to all Canadians. Following a series of decisions by provincial courts and the Supreme Court of Canada, on July 20, 2005, the '' Civil Marriage Act'' (Bill C-38) became law, legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada. Furthermore, sexual orientation was included as a protected status in the human-rights laws of the federal government and of all provinces and territories.

Contemporary politics

Canadian governments at the federal level have a tradition of liberalism, and govern with a moderate, centrist political ideology. Canada's egalitarian approach to governance emphasizing social justice and multiculturalism, is based on selective immigration, social integration, and suppression of far-right politics that has wide public and political support. Peace, order, and good government are constitutional goals of the Canadian government.

Canada has a multi-party system in which many of its legislative customs derive from the unwritten conventions of and precedents set by the Westminster parliament of the United Kingdom. The country has been dominated by two parties, the centre-left Liberal Party of Canada and the centre-right Conservative Party of Canada. The historically predominant Liberals position themselves at the centre of the political scale, with the Conservatives sitting on the right and the New Democratic Party occupying the left. Smaller parties like the Quebec nationalist Bloc Québécois and the Green Party of Canada have also been able to exert their influence over the political process by representation at the federal level.

Nationalism and protectionism

In general, Canadian nationalists are concerned about the protection of Canadian sovereignty and loyalty to the Canadian State, placing them in the civic nationalist category. It has likewise often been suggested that anti-Americanism plays a prominent role in Canadian nationalist ideologies. A unified, bi-cultural, tolerant and sovereign Canada remains an ideological inspiration to many Canadian nationalists. Alternatively Quebecois nationalism and support for maintaining French Canadian culture many of whom were supporters of the Quebec sovereignty movement during the late-20th century.

Cultural protectionism in Canada has, since the mid-20th century, taken the form of conscious, interventionist attempts on the part of various Canadian governments to promote Canadian cultural production. Sharing a large border, a common language (for the majority), and being exposed to massive diffusions of American media makes it difficult for Canada to preserve its own culture versus being assimilated to American culture. While Canada tries to maintain its cultural differences, it also must balance this with responsibility in trade arrangements such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Foreign relations

The notion of peacekeeping is deeply embedded in Canadian culture and a distinguishing feature that Canadians feel sets their foreign policy apart from its closest ally, the United States. Canada's foreign policy of peacekeeping, peace enforcement, peacemaking, and peacebuilding has been intertwined with its tendency to pursue multilateral and international solutions since the end of World War II.

Canada's central role in the development of peacekeeping in the mid-1950s gave it credibility and established it as a country fighting for the "common good" of all nations. Canada has since been engaged with the United Nations, NATO and the European Union (EU) in promoting its middle power status into an active role in world affairs.

Canada has long been reluctant to participate in military operations that are not sanctioned by the United Nations, such as the Vietnam War or the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Canada has participated in US-led, UN-sanctioned operations such as the first Gulf War, in Afghanistan and Libya. The country also participates with its NATO allies in UN-sanctioned missions, such as the Kosovo Conflict and in Haiti.

Values

Canadian values are the perceived commonly shared ethical and human values of Canadians. Canadians generally value freedom and individuality, often making personal decisions based on family interests rather than collective Canadian identity. Tolerance and sensitivity hold significant importance in Canada's multicultural society, as does politeness and fairness Canadians typically tend to embrace liberal views on social and political issues. A majority of Canadians shared the values of human rights, respect for the law and gender equality. Universal access to publicly funded health services "is often considered by Canadians as a fundamental value that ensures national health care insurance for everyone wherever they live in the country."

The major political parties have claimed explicitly that they uphold Canadian values, but use generalities to specify them. Historian Ian MacKay argues that, thanks to the long-term political impact of "Rebels, Reds, and Radicals", and allied leftist political elements, "egalitarianism, social equality, and peace... are now often simply referred to...as 'Canadian values.'"

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, was intended to be a source for Canadian values and national unity. The 15th Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau wrote in his ''Memoirs'' that:

Numerous scholars, beginning in the 1940s with American sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset; have tried to identify, measure and compare them with other countries, especially the United States. However, there are critics who say that such a task is practically impossible.

Denis Stairs a professor of political Science at Dalhousie University; links the concept of Canadian values with nationalism. anadians typically..believe, in particular, that they subscribe to a distinctive set of values – ''Canadian'' values – and that those values are special in the sense of being unusually virtuous.

Identity

Canada's large geographic size, the presence of a significant number of indigenous peoples, the conquest of one European linguistic population by another and relatively open immigration policy have led to an extremely diverse society. As a result, the issue of Canadian identity remains under scrutiny.

Canada has constitutional protection for policies that promote multiculturalism rather than cultural assimilation or a single national myth. In Quebec, cultural identity is strong, and many commentators speak of a French Canadian culture as distinguished from English Canadian culture. However, as a whole, Canada is in theory, a cultural mosaic—a collection of several regional, and ethnic subcultures.

As Professor Alan Cairns noted about the '' Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms '', "the initial federal government premise was on developing a pan-Canadian identity"'. Pierre Trudeau himself later wrote in his ''Memoirs (1993)'' that "Canada itself" could now be defined as a "society where all people are equal and where they share some fundamental values based upon freedom", and that all Canadians could identify with the values of liberty and equality.

Political philosopher Charles Blattberg suggests that Canada is a " multinational country"; as all Canadians are members of Canada as a civic or political community, a community of citizens, and this is a community that contains many other kinds within it. These include not only communities of ethnic, regional, religious, and civic (the provincial and municipal governments) sorts, but also national communities, which often include or overlap with many of the other kinds.

Journalist and author Richard Gwyn has suggested that "tolerance" has replaced "loyalty" as the touchstone of Canadian identity. Journalist and professor Andrew Cohen wrote in 2007:

Canada's 15th prime minister Pierre Trudeau in regards to uniformity stated:

In 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defined the country as the world's first postnational state: "There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada".

The question of Canadian identity was traditionally dominated by three fundamental themes: first, the often conflicted relations between English Canadians and French Canadians stemming from the French Canadian imperative for cultural and linguistic survival; secondly, the generally close ties between English Canadians and the British Empire, resulting in a gradual political process towards complete independence from the imperial power; and finally, the close proximity of English-speaking Canadians to the United States. Much of the debate over contemporary Canadian identity is argued in political terms, and defines Canada as a country defined by its government policies, which are thought to reflect deeper cultural values.

In 2013, nearly nine in ten (87%) Canadians were proud to identify as Canadian, with over half (61%) expressing they were very proud. The highest pride levels were for Canadian history (70%), the armed forces (64%), the health care system (64%), and the Constitution (63%). However, pride in Canada’s political influence was lower at 46%. Outside Quebec, pride ranged from 91% in British Columbia to 94% in Prince Edward Island, while 70% of Quebec residents felt proud. Seniors and women showed the most pride, especially among first- and second-generation immigrants, who valued both Canadian identity and achievements. Text was copied from this source, which is available under th
Statistics Canada Open Licence
/ref>

Inter-provincial interactions

Western alienation is the notion that the western provinces have historically been alienated, and in extreme cases excluded, from mainstream Canadian political affairs in favour of Eastern Canada or more specifically the central provinces. Western alienation claims that these latter two are politically represented, and economically favoured, more significantly than the former, which has given rise to the sentiment of alienation among many western Canadians. Likewise; the Quebec sovereignty movement that lead to the Québécois nation and the province of Quebec being recognized as a " distinct society" within Canada, highlights the sharp divisions between the Anglo and Francophone population.

Though more than half of Canadians live in just two provinces (Ontario and Quebec), each province is largely self-contained due to provincial economic self-sufficiency. Only 15 percent of Canadians live in a different province from where they were born, and only 10 percent go to another province for university. Canada has always been like this, and stands in sharp contrast to the United States' internal mobility which is much higher. For example 30 percent live in a different state from where they were born, and 30 percent go away for university. Scott Gilmore in ''Maclean's'' argues that "Canada is a nation of strangers", in the sense that for most individuals, the rest of Canada outside their province is little-known. Another factor is the cost of internal travel. Intra-Canadian airfares are high—it is cheaper and more common to visit the United States than to visit another province. Gilmore argues that the mutual isolation makes it difficult to muster national responses to major national issues.

Humour

Canadian humour is an integral part of the Canadian Identity. There are several traditions in Canadian humour in both English and French.Scobie, Stephe
"Humorous Writing in English"
. ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Retrieved on: April 23, 2010.Lacombe, Michell
"Humorous Writing in French"
. ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Retrieved on: April 23, 2010. While these traditions are distinct and at times very different, there are common themes that relate to Canadians' shared history and geopolitical situation in the Western Hemisphere and the world. Various trends can be noted in Canadian comedy. One trend is the portrayal of a "typical" Canadian family in an ongoing radio or television series. Other trends include outright absurdity, and political and cultural satire. Irony, parody, satire, and self-deprecation are arguably the primary characteristics of Canadian humour.

The beginnings of Canadian national radio comedy date to the late 1930s with the debut of '' The Happy Gang'', a long-running weekly variety show that was regularly sprinkled with corny jokes in between tunes. Canadian television comedy begins with Wayne and Shuster, a sketch comedy duo who performed as a comedy team during the Second World War, and moved their act to radio in 1946 before moving on to television. ''Second City Television'', otherwise known as '' SCTV'', '' Royal Canadian Air Farce'', ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'', '' The Kids in the Hall'', ''Trailer Park Boys'', ''Corner Gas'' and more recently ''Schitt's Creek'' are regarded as television shows which were very influential on the development of Canadian humour. Canadian comedians have had great success in the film industry and are amongst the most recognized in the world.

Humber College in Toronto and the École nationale de l'humour in Montreal offer post-secondary programmes in comedy writing and performance. Montreal is also home to the bilingual (English and French) Just for Laughs festival and to the Just for Laughs Museum, a bilingual, international museum of comedy. Canada has a national television channel, The Comedy Network, devoted to comedy. Many Canadian cities feature comedy clubs and showcases, most notable, The Second City branch in Toronto (originally housed at The Old Fire Hall) and the Yuk Yuk's national chain. The Canadian Comedy Awards were founded in 1999 by the Canadian Comedy Foundation for Excellence, a not-for-profit organization.

Symbols

Predominant symbols of Canada include the maple leaf, beaver, and the Canadian horse. Many official symbols of the country such as the Flag of Canada have been changed or modified over the past few decades to Canadianize them and de-emphasise or remove references to the United Kingdom. Other prominent symbols include the sports of hockey and lacrosse, the Canada goose, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Rockies, and more recently the totem pole and Inuksuk; material items such as Canadian beer, maple syrup, tuques, canoes, nanaimo bars, butter tarts and the Quebec dish of poutine have also been defined as uniquely Canadian. Symbols of the Canadian monarchy continue to be featured in, for example, the Arms of Canada, the armed forces, and the prefix His Majesty's Canadian Ship. The designation ''Royal'' remains for institutions as varied as the Royal Canadian Armed Forces, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Arts

Visual arts

Indigenous artists were producing art in the territory that is now called Canada for thousands of years prior to the arrival of European settler colonists and the eventual establishment of Canada as a nation state. Like the peoples that produced them, indigenous art traditions spanned territories that extended across the current national boundaries between Canada and the United States. The majority of indigenous artworks preserved in museum collections date from the period after European contact and show evidence of the creative adoption and adaptation of European trade goods such as metal and glass beads. Canadian sculpture has been enriched by the walrus ivory, muskox horn and caribou antler and soapstone carvings by the Inuit artists. These carvings show objects and activities from the daily life, myths and legends of the Inuit. Inuit art since the 1950s has been the traditional gift given to foreign dignitaries by the Canadian government.

The works of most early Canadian painters followed European trends. During the mid-19th century, Cornelius Krieghoff, a Dutch-born artist in Quebec, painted scenes of the life of the ''habitants'' (French-Canadian farmers). At about the same time, the Canadian artist Paul Kane painted pictures of indigenous life in western Canada. A group of landscape painters called the Group of Seven developed the first distinctly Canadian style of painting, inspired by the works of the legendary landscape painter Tom Thomson. All these artists painted large, brilliantly coloured scenes of the Canadian wilderness.

Since the 1930s, Canadian painters have developed a wide range of highly individual styles. Emily Carr became famous for her paintings of totem poles in British Columbia. Other noted painters have included the landscape artist David Milne, the painters Jean-Paul Riopelle, Harold Town and Charles Carson and multi-media artist Michael Snow. The abstract art group Painters Eleven, particularly the artists William Ronald and Jack Bush, also had an important impact on modern art in Canada. Government support has played a vital role in their development enabling visual exposure through publications and periodicals featuring Canadian art, as has the establishment of numerous art schools and colleges across the country.

Literature

Canadian literature is often divided into French- and English-language literatures, which are rooted in the literary traditions of France and Britain, respectively. Canada's early literature, whether written in English or French, often reflects the Canadian perspective on nature, frontier life, and Canada's position in the world, for example the poetry of Bliss Carman or the memoirs of Susanna Moodie and Catherine Parr Traill. These themes, and Canada's literary history, inform the writing of successive generations of Canadian authors, from Leonard Cohen to Margaret Atwood.

By the mid-20th century, Canadian writers were exploring national themes for Canadian readers. Authors were trying to find a distinctly Canadian voice, rather than merely emulating British or American writers. Canadian identity is closely tied to its literature. The question of national identity recurs as a theme in much of Canada's literature, from Hugh MacLennan's '' Two Solitudes'' (1945) to Alistair MacLeod's '' No Great Mischief'' (1999). Canadian literature is often categorized by region or province; by the socio-cultural origins of the author (for example, Acadians, indigenous peoples, LGBT, and Irish Canadians); and by literary period, such as "Canadian postmoderns" or "Canadian Poets Between the Wars".

Canadian authors have accumulated numerous international awards. In 1992, Michael Ondaatje became the first Canadian to win the Booker Prize for ''The English Patient''. Margaret Atwood won the Booker in 2000 for ''The Blind Assassin'' and Yann Martel won it in 2002 for the ''Life of Pi''. Carol Shields's '' The Stone Diaries'' won the Governor General's Awards in Canada in 1993, the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and the 1994 National Book Critics Circle Award

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases