My parents’ first day in Toronto was January 24, 1998. To them, Canada was a strange, foreign land. They had no friends or relatives here, and didn’t speak the language yet. They landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport on a cool, dreary winter day, as you would expect in Toronto in January.
Originally, my parents were from the big, oppressive Soviet Union. However, when they had the opportunity to leave, they left, as many Jews did, to Israel, which was also quite a struggle.
Then they chose to immigrate here – and a year later, in 1999, I was born here in Toronto. I was my family’s first Canadian. My sister, born a few years later, was the second one.
Today is the day Canada turns 150 years old – quite a long time, but still young compared to many other countries. July 1, 1867 was when we become a country – but even before that, the history of Indigenous peoples and colonialism largely affects our country today.
There are a lot of funny stereotypes about Canada, and that’s okay. It’s a frozen wasteland. We all live in igloos. We ride polar bears to work. Honestly, I sometimes wish that’s how we lived – it sounds like it would be a pretty cool place. However, even though we DON’T ride polar bears to work, Canada is still a cool place.
Then, there are some stereotypes about us that are sort of true; we’re overly nice (unless you’re ADoseOfBuckley on Youtube), a lot of us love our hockey and maple syrup, and we sometimes talk weird (although the ‘aboot’ thing is an exaggeration).
Unfortunately, Canadian culture is sometimes underappreciated. This is for multiple reasons; for one thing, we’re relatively young country, so many would argue that we have no history. Of course, this is unwarranted as there are many countries younger than Canada that take pride in their history. Another thing is that most of us descend from immigrants, which is fine. However, for some immigrants and even some locals, this means that ‘diversity’ is to be excessively promoted and is to replace Canadian culture – many even go as far as to say that Canada doesn’t have its own culture. This is unjustified as well; we may not have the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal, but Canada does have its own, distinguishable, culture. Some say we’re exactly like Americans, while others base our identity on not being American; the fact is that Canadians and Americans are similar, however in many ways we are different.
Canada has three founding peoples; the Natives, the French and the English. The Natives were here first. Then came the French and conquered the land where Natives originally lived. Then came the English and conquered the French-owned land.
For a hundred years, Canada was under British rule. Then, in the 19th century, Canada became more distinct from the British and more North American. We became a country on July 1, 1867 – 150 years ago today.
Today, Canada has two official languages; English and French. French is spoken in most of Quebec and parts of New Brunswick, English is mostly spoken everywhere else. We also have several indigenous languages, such as Inuktitut and Cree.
Canadian identity is tied to a bunch of things; if you google ‘Canada’ on Google Images, the first thing that comes up is our flag, which consists of a red maple leaf. Then comes a map of the country, and afterwards, a picture of a lake next to the Rocky Mountains. If you keep looking through the results, you see pictures of Toronto’s skyline with the CN Tower, canoes, Parliament Hill, hockey, forests, mountains, glaciers, lakes and beaches.
Although subject to interpretation, these are all symbols of various aspects of Canadian identity; our nature, our four seasons, our national sports, or our history.
Another important aspect of Canadian identity is our values; Canadian values. That includes freedom, democracy and tolerance. Many Canadians and the ancestors of many Canadians fled their countries of origin for that very reason; for a better standard of living, for freedom from persecution and for opportunity. Being Canadian is something I personally take as a privilege, and not something to be taken for granted. Unfortunately, many living here still don’t realize that.
So, now Canada’s been around for 150 years, and we’re still here. Like any country, we’re not perfect; however, we’ve enjoyed a century and a half of peace, prosperity and stability.
Canada is my homeland; a land of prosperity, natural beauty, four seasons, great hockey and excellent maple syrup. 😝
Happy Canada Day! Or as they say in Quebec, Joyeux Jour du Canada! For many more prosperous and stable years to come.
-Blah 😊