Terry Fox. Wayne Gretzky. Universal health care. Hockey, the beaver and the loonie. Toss in the Calgary Stampede and maple syrup, and you’re well on your way to listing the national icons and people that define our country.
Oh, Canada. You’re 141 years old and the best descriptor we have for you is hockey? Or the beaver? Ouch.
The above just-released Dominion Institute-Citizenship and Immigration survey confirms previous studies showing that the Canadian identity is rooted in mostly modern symbols, icons and people.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but it becomes a problem when that’s all we have in our collective memory — and other Dominion Institute surveys suggest this is the case.
For example, Confederation is listed in this year’s list of defining Canadian events, yet an earlier survey (1997) showed only 33 per cent of young Canadians could identify 1867 as the date of Confederation and another 33 per cent couldn’t even name the century in which it occurred.
Only 11 per cent could pass a basic history quiz (2000) and a meagre 17 per cent were capable of correctly answering six of 10 questions on Canada’s citizenship test (2001).
The fact remains that the majority of Canadians are historically illiterate when the conversation moves beyond symbolism.
That’s not good news amidst a tentative culture that is at the mercy of the forces of globalization, individualism and official multiculturalism.
If generations of Canadians don’t understand Canada’s history, how can Canada maintain a strong identity that gives comfort and an identity to our citizens abroad and encourages a sense of duty and unity in its citizens at home?
Perhaps the best answer lies with Jewish people. Constant assaults on their culture have kept them scattered and physically separated for 5,000 years. Yet, their culture remains strong and links to their common past are largely unbroken.
They have maintained their identity by passing on the stories that are unique to their culture. They have rituals and studies that serve to remind them of all they have accomplished — and survived — together.
In contrast, our current state of cultural amnesia suggests Canadians would have a hard time maintaining a unique cultural story if (God forbid) we were torn apart through war and persecution.
July 1 provides us with an opportunity to change that. Instead of merely digging out the red and white T-shirts and celebrating the fact that we have the day off work, we should all take time to address Canada’s identity crisis. Let’s talk about Canadian stories and remind ourselves of all that Canada has accomplished in its relatively short time as a nation.
In other words, let’s put aside our obsession for great national conversations about the price of gasoline, Maxime Bernier’s sex life and carbon taxes, and focus instead on proclaiming what is good about our country.
Read the story of the Avro Arrow — a great victory for Canada’s aviation engineers that was crushed by political manoeuvres, or the discovery of insulin by Drs. Banting and Best. Do you and/or your kids know why building the CPR was such a critical step in the creation of Canada? How about the details of the Canadian attack on the Germans at Vimy Ridge? And what about Laura Secord? Not just the name of a chocolate, as many young Canadians might think. She ran 30 kilometres to warn British troops of American plans for a surprise attack on the Niagara Peninsula during the War of 1812.
These are just some of Canada’s important cultural stories that need to be told and retold until they are known. In the age of the Internet, there is no excuse for not knowing even a condensed version of these stories.
Storytelling has long played a critical role in passing on the human experience from generation to generation, but Canadians now seem content with knowing names and events (if that).
Knowing the details is the only way Canadians can truly understand all that we have accomplished together and what we can accomplish in the future.
As an example, I admit that a comment about Canada’s history by Canadian philosopher John Ralston Saul (a raging liberal with whom I would profoundly disagree on almost any other topic) has had a major impact on my thinking and commentary about Canadian unity, native issues and Canada’s role on the global stage.
When Canadians go back and read about their history, Saul says they “realize that what happened in the 19th century in Canada was not just some sort of colonial accident, that the country was a choice, put into place by people who wanted it to exist.”
The French and the English made a choice to join together to create Canada. They obviously believed that they could overcome any future cultural differences through innovation and co-operation.
A common belief in that same deliberate will that created Canada should be acknowledged, celebrated and cultivated as an integral part of our modern national identity. It should give us confidence in our nation and its future.
It’s time for Canadians to grow up and move beyond symbols. July 1 is a good day to start.
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