
''Canuck'' ( ) is a
slang
A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...
term for a
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
, though its semantic nuances are manifold.
A variety of theories have been postulated for the etymological origins of the term.
The term ''Kanuck'' is first recorded in 1835 as a Canadianism, originally referring to
Dutch Canadians (which included
German Canadians
German Canadians ( or , ) are Canadians, Canadian citizens of Germans, German ancestry or Germans who emigrated to and reside in Canada. According to the 2016 Canadian census, 2016 census, there are 3,322,405 Canadians with full or partial Germ ...
) or
French Canadians
French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the provi ...
.
[Dollinger, Stefan (2006)]
"Towards a fully revised and extended edition of the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles (DCHP-2): background, challenges, prospects"
HSL/SHL Vol. 6. By the 1850s, the spelling with a "C" became predominant.
Today, many Canadians and others use ''Canuck'' as a mostly affectionate term for any Canadian.
Johnny Canuck is a folklore hero who was created as a
political cartoon
A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically co ...
in 1869 and was later re-invented as a
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
action hero in 1942.
The
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...
, a professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL), has used a version of "Johnny Canuck" as their team logos.
The Canadian military has used the term colloquially for several projects:
Operation Canuck, the
Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck
The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck (affectionately known as the "Clunk") is a Canadian twinjet interceptor/ fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Avro Canada. It has the distinction of being the only Canadian-designed fighter to ...
and the
Fleet 80 Canuck.
Captain Canuck
Captain Canuck is a Canadian comics, Canadian comic book superhero. Created by cartoonist Ron Leishman and artist/writer Richard Comely, the original Captain Canuck first appeared in ''Captain Canuck'' #1 (July 1975). The series was the first suc ...
is a
Canadian comic book superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
who first appeared in ''Captain Canuck'' #1 (July 1975). The series was the first successful Canadian comic book since the collapse of the nation's comic book industry following World War II.
Origin
Historically the
etymology
Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
was labelled as unclear,
with its most likely origins according to the 2017
Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles, 2nd edition being:
* ''kanata'', "village" (see
name of Canada
While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of Canada, its origin is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, St. Lawrence Iroquoian word , meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of ...
)
* ''Can''ada + -''uc'' (
Algonquian noun
In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...
suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...
)
* ''Kanaka'', derived from the Hawaiian ''
Kanaka''.
According to ''The Etymology of Canuck'' by Jacob Adler with contributions from Mitford M. Mathews, the word ''Canuck'' connects back to the term ''kanaka'', which is defined as someone indigenous to Hawaii. The term spread beginning in the 1800s however, when ''kanaka'' acquired a racist connotation, and was used to refer to Polynesians with darker skin tones negatively.
Usage and examples
Canadians use ''Canuck'' as an affectionate or merely descriptive term for their nationality.
If familiar with the term, most citizens of other nations, including the United States, also use it affectionately, though there are individuals who may use it as a derogatory term.
History
* ''Canuck'' also has the derived meanings of a Canadian
pony
A pony is a type of small horse, usually measured under a specified height at maturity. Ponies often have thicker coats, manes and tails, compared to larger horses, and proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavier , thicker necks and s ...
(rare) and a French-Canadian
patois
''Patois'' (, same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon or sl ...
(very rare).
*
Johnny Canuck, a
personification
Personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, often as an embodiment or incarnation. In the arts, many things are commonly personified, including: places, especially cities, National personification, countries, an ...
of Canada who appeared in early
political cartoon
A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically co ...
s of the 1860s resisting
Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam (with the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the United States, depicting the federal government of the United States, federal government or the country as a whole. Since the early 19th centu ...
's bullying. Johnny Canuck was revived in 1942 by
Leo Bachle to defend Canada against the
Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
. The Vancouver Canucks have adopted a personification of Johnny Canuck on their alternate hockey sweater.
* As the historical nickname for three Canadian-built aircraft from the 20th century: the
Curtiss JN-4C training biplane, with some 1,260 airframes built; the
Avro CF-100 jet fighter; and the
Fleet 80 Canuck two-seat side-by-side trainer.
* One of the first uses of ''Canuck''in the form of ''Kanuk''specifically referred to
Dutch Canadians as well as the French.
*
Operation Canuck was the designated name of a British
SAS raid led by a Canadian captain, Buck McDonald in January 1945.
*The
Canuck letter became a focal point during the US 1972 Democratic primaries, when a letter published in the Manchester Union Leader implied Democratic contender Senator
Edmund Muskie
Edmund Sixtus Muskie (March 28, 1914March 26, 1996) was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 58th United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1980 to 1981, a United States Senator from Maine from 1 ...
was prejudiced against French-Canadians. He soon ended his campaign as a result. The letter was later discovered to have been written by the Nixon campaign in an attempt to sabotage Muskie.
* A brand of firearms engineered and distributed by O'Dell Engineering Ltd since 2014 includes the Canuck 1911, Canuck Over Under and Canuck Shotgun.
Media
* In the opening of Thornton Wilder's 1938 play
Our Town, Polish and "Canuck families" are mentioned as living on the outskirts of the prototypical 1901
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
town.
* In 1975, in comics by
Richard Comely,
Captain Canuck
Captain Canuck is a Canadian comics, Canadian comic book superhero. Created by cartoonist Ron Leishman and artist/writer Richard Comely, the original Captain Canuck first appeared in ''Captain Canuck'' #1 (July 1975). The series was the first suc ...
is a super-
agent
Agent may refer to:
Espionage, investigation, and law
*, spies or intelligence officers
* Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another
** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuran ...
for Canadians'
security
Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...
, with Redcoat and Kebec being his sidekicks. (Kebec is claimed to be unrelated to Capitaine Kébec of a French-Canadian comic published two years earlier.) Captain Canuck had enhanced strength and endurance thanks to being bathed in alien rays during a camping trip. The captain was reintroduced in the mid-1990s, and again in 2004.
* The
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
character
Wolverine
The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...
is often referred to affectionately as "the Ol' Canucklehead" due to his Canadian heritage.
*
Soviet Canuckistan was an insult used by
Pat Buchanan
Patrick Joseph Buchanan ( ; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative author, political commentator, and politician. He was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. He ...
in response to Canada's reaction to
racial profiling
Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the offender profiling, selective enforcement or selective prosecution based on race or ethnicity, rather than individual suspicion or evidence. This practice involves discrimination against minority pop ...
by US Customs agents.
Sport
* The
Canada national rugby union team
The Canada men's national rugby union team () represents the Canada in men's international rugby union competitions. They are overseen by Rugby Canada the governing body of rugby union in Canada.
Canada is classified by World Rugby as a tier ...
(men's) is officially nicknamed Canucks.
* The
Canucks rugby Club, playing in Calgary since 1968.
* The
Crazy Canucks, Canadian alpine ski racers who competed successfully on the World Cup circuit in the 1970s.
* The
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...
professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team, with their former goaltender,
Roberto Luongo, having a depiction of Johnny Canuck on his goalie mask.
The full body Johnny Canuck was then updated in 2009 by graphic designer Evan Biswanger.
* During the
Vancouver 2010 Olympics official Canadian Olympic gear bore the term.
See also
*
Canadian folklore
*
Canadian identity
*
Canadian values
Canadian values are the perceived commonly shared ethical and human values of Canadians.Douglas Baer, Edward Grabb, and William Johnston, "National character, regional culture, and the values of Canadians and Americans." ''Canadian Review of Soci ...
*
Canadianism
References
External links
Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles Second Edition, UBC, 2017.
National Hockey League team
Canadians airplane crews who operated in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Johnny Canuck with a stamp illustration
with a stamp illustration
{{Ethnic slurs
Regional nicknames
Canadian demonyms
1830s neologisms