? HOW HISTORY HAS SHAPED CANADIAN IDENTITY 1939-2016 BY RYAN STORM CHC2D6 Culminating
? HOW HISTORY HAS SHAPED CANADIAN IDENTITY 1939-2016 Ryan Storm 2016 All Rights Reserved CHC2D6 Culminating, Northern Secondary School
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 2 3 4 5
WORLD WAR TWO
PIERRE TRUDEAU
QUEBEC SEPARATISM
MEDICARE
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Canada’s Coat of Arms
This book is dedicated to Pierre Trudeau for giving us sovereignty as Canada and standing tall in the face of a powerful enemy. Thank you also to Mr. Dingwall for teaching me all of this information - I had lots of fun learning it!
The Canadian Goverment Logo 2016
Canadian identity has been shaped and changed by many different events and many different people since 1939. Canadians as a whole have gone from colonists in British North America to citizens of an independent country. When I received the assignment for this project, I decided to create an e-book about four events or people that have changed Canadian identity since 1939. I chose World War 2, Pierre Elloitt Trudeau, the Quebec Separatist Movement, and Medicare. These events show different aspects of our identity and how it has changed. World War 2 shows Canada proving itself as an independent country on the world stage for the first time. Pierre Trudeau showed us that one person can stand up defiantly in the face of terrorists and stop them in their tracks despite constant criticism from the whole country. The Quebec Separatist Movement gave us the strength to keep Canada together when a province wanted to separate. Medicare showed us that Canada could be at the forefront of government-funded healthcare out of all the Western countries, We showed the world that Canada is an amazing country and we will continue to do so forever. Our identity will never stop changing and will never stop getting better.
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CHAPTER ONE
WORLD WAR TWO 1939-1945
Canadian Soldiers in Europe, World War 2
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) In December 1939, Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand signed an agreement to create the BCATP. The idea was to have a training camp in Ontario that would prepare air crew to fight in the war. The BCATP trained pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, wireless operators, air gunners, and flight engineers. From 1940 to 1945, over 130,000 people were trained. By 1943, there was a substantial reserve of air crew waiting for the Allies and there was talk of closing the BCATP. The Western powers ultimately decided to keep it open in the event there was a large battle where they sustained heavy air casualties. The first recruits started at the BCATP on April 19, 1940, and the program closed on March 31, 1945. The Dieppe Raid (August 19, 1942) In August 1942, the Allies sent a major raid to the French coast near Dieppe. Codenamed Operation Jubilee, the assault was supposed to test the strength of Nazi-controlled Europe’s defenses. Joseph Stalin had previously asked the Western leaders to attempt to open a second front in the west to relieve some of the pressure from the eastern front in Russia. The raid was a huge disaster, since the Allied troops had encountered a German convoy accidentally on the way to Dieppe, which alerted the coastal defenses and lost the element of surprise. When the mostly Canadian attack force attempted a landing at different points along the coast, many were gunned down by the heavily fortified German artillery. By midday, 907 Canadian soldiers had been killed and 2460 were wounded. An additional 1946 were taken prisoner by the Nazis. The RCAF also lost 13 planes and 10 pilots in the air battle. Juno Beach (June 6, 1944) The Canadian assaults on the beach codenamed “Juno” were some of the most successful of D-Day, the Allies’ first successful invasion of occupied Europe. Hitler had neglected the defenses around Normandy in 1944 because of a complicated British deception that pointed towards an attack on the Pas-De-Calais, so the Nazi high command shifted much of the defense power to there. D-Day was originally scheduled for June 5, but General Eisenhower moved it to the 6th due to unfavourable weather. Not even an hour after the landing, Canadian soldiers had already broken through Hitler’s Atlantic Wall at the cost of only 61 killed and 76 wounded.
‘C’ Company had been given the task of clearing out the enemy garrison at Varaville. Given the size of the force represented by ‘C’ Company, the undertaking was formidable. At the Chateau de Varaville, a 75 mm anti-tank gun and fortifications had been established to control the road intersection. This was manned by a much larger force than had been anticipated… ~ John A. Willes, Out of the Clouds
At 0630 hours all wireless sets were on listening watch to keep the Battalion informed of the progress of the assault battalions. At 1100 hours the order came through that we were to land… – North Nova Scotia Highlanders, War Diary, 3-6 June 1944
HOW DID WORLD WAR TWO SHAPE CANADA’S IDENTITY? After World War 2 ended, there were hundreds of thousands of refugees stranded in Europe with nowhere to go. Many sought out Western countries like Canada and the USA. Between 1948 and 1962, Canada took in nearly a quarter of a million European and Meditterranean refugees. Canada’s identity as a cultural mosaic became clearer as other countries refused refugees due largely because they wanted to keep their culture uniform and clean of any foreign influence.
Canada joins United Nations in 1945, seeking to play a world role as a "middle power", with interest in the UN Charter and in relief agencies.
Lester B. Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada 1963-1968
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CHAPTER TWO
PIERRE TRUDEAU 1968-1979 and 1980-1984
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Prime Minister 1968-1979 and 1980-1984
Official Languages Act, 1969 The Official Languages Act of 1969 was the legislature that made French and English the two official languages of Canada. This act required all laws, regulations, orders, and by-laws to be presented in both languages and limited when this rule could be broken. Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ) The FLQ was a separatist terrorist organization in Quebec in 1963 to 1971. They are best known for orchestrating the October Crisis of 1970, which resulted in Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoking the War Measures Act after they kidnapped British diplomat James Cross and member of Quebec Parliament Pierre Laporte. Cross was eventually freed when the FLQ was taken down in November 1970, but Laporte was strangled by his kidnappers before he could be rescued. The kidnappers included FLQ leaders Paul Rose and Jacques Lanctot, along with other sympathisers who lived in hiding together during the weeks the two politicians were held hostage. The FLQ orchestrated close to 200 bombings, and they killed 7 over their active years. Constitution Act, 1982 After the Statute of Westminster in 1931 that led Britain to grant full autonomy to all of its colonies, including Canada, the government faced a dilemma. How should amendments to the Constitution be made? Would the provinces have to unanimously decide? Would Quebec get a veto for French-Canadian rights? Since Parliament could not come to a decision, Canada kept approval with Britain. When the 1980 Quebec Referendum was held, Pierre Trudeau promised to reopen constitutional negotiations if Quebec voted “Non�. As soon as the results came in, Trudeau began a process to make a charter of rights and a formula for amendment. Since eight out of the ten provinces were opposed to this idea, Trudeau announced that he would ask Britain to amend the BNA Act alone. Before heading to England, Trudeau returned to negotiate one last time. This time, every province except for Quebec agreed and Trudeau made his way to Queen Elizabeth II for approval. Quebec has still not signed the Constitution to this day.
Canada will be a strong country when Canadians of all provinces feel at home in all parts of the country, and when they feel that all Canada belongs to them.
Of course a bilingual state is more expensive than a unilingual one — but it is a richer state.
~ Pierre Trudeau
HOW DID PIERRE TRUDEAU SHAPE CANADA’S IDENTITY? Pierre Trudeau emboldened Canada’s identity as a civic nation because he spent his time in office working for the people of Canada. He made a resounding speech to stop the Quebec Referendum of 1980. He invoked the War Measures Act against the FLQ even though a lot of his cabinet advised against it, sparking a controversy but was able to solve the October Crisis because of it.
Saint Lawrence Seaway, a joint project between Canada and the USA, opens in 1959
Expo 67 opens in Montreal in 1967 and is still considered the most successful World Fair of the 20th century and a landmark moment in Canadian history as we were recognized worldwide.
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CHAPTER THREE
QUEBEC SEPARATISM 1968-present
Separatist Protestors in Quebec
The logo of the separatist party, the “Parti Quebecois�
Rene Levesque Rene Levesque was the Premier of Quebec from 1976-1985, and was the leader of the Quebec separatist movement. He created the political “Parti Quebecois” in 1966 after Lesage’s Liberals were defeated in the elction and was a part of Jean Lesage’s Liberal cabinet during the Quiet Revolution. From the time of his election, he antagonized Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau about his “neglecting” of Quebec. He was a strong believer in nationalism, and wanted Quebec to separate from the rest of Canada. During the FLQ Crisis of 1970, Levesque condemned the FLQ not for their ideals, just the way they were acheiving them. 1980 Referendum In late 1979, Rene Levesque presented an idea to the government - hold a referendum in Quebec to decide whether the province wanted sovereignity from the rest of Canada. Levesque and Trudeau each campaigned in the months leading up to the final vote, and it came down to a 1% defeat for Levesque and the separatists. Some say the victory for Trudeau was due largely in part to an inspirational speech he made in early 1980 to rally support for his side.
We no longer want to be a province that is unlike the others, we want to be a country [that will be] like the others. ~ Pierre Bourgault
There is a time when quiet courage and audacity become for a people at the key moments of its existence the only form of adequate caution. If it does not then accept the calculated risk of the great steps, it can miss its career forever, exactly like the man who is afraid of life. ~ Rene Levesque
HOW DID QUEBEC SEPARATISM SHAPE CANADA’S IDENTITY? Rene Levesque and the Quebec Separatist Movement showed our country that we were not going to be separated so easily, and that even though there was huge support for the separatists, the true Canadians held out and won the vote.
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CHAPTER FOUR
MEDICARE ongoing
Tommy Douglas, creator of Medicare
Tommy Douglas Douglas felt that all Canadians deserved accessible medical care. He was the premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961, where he formulated his plan for medicare. In 1961, he resigned as premier to lead the newly formed NDP federal party. In 1947, Douglas implemented government-covered health insurance, and made Saskatchewan the first province to have subsidized health care in September 1961, when the government of Saskatchewan established a plan for universal healthcare paid for by the government The Saskatchewan Doctors’ Strike The Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons met with the government and said that they could not work with a compulsory government-controlled scheme. While the bill was being debated in early 1962, the college emphasized its refusal to cooperate. When the bill was passed on July 1, most doctors in the province went on strike and left their practices. An amendment was made on August 2 that stated doctors could operate their practices outside this agreement, so most went back to work. Canada-Wide Medicare In 1966, Allan J. McEachen introduced a bill to Parliament that would bring Medicare to the whole country. The Conservatives immediately opposed this proposition and said that it was going to “undermine patient-doctor relationships�. The NDPs supported it, however, and it was able to make it past its first reading. After much debate, the system was finally launched in 1968, munch to the chagrin of many Canadian doctors. This time, unlike in Saskatchewan, they did not go on strike.
I remember burying a girl fourteen years of age who had died with a ruptured appendix... I buried a good many people that I knew, some of whom I loved.
My dream is for people around the world to look up and to see Canada like a little jewel sitting at the top of the continent.
~ Tommy Douglas
HOW DID MEDICARE SHAPE CANADA’S IDENTITY? All around the world, people saw Canada as a visionary country with an idea to save thousands of lives. Medicare enabled low-income families to access healthcare whenever needed, and took the strain off of making enough money to pay doctors as well as life’s other expenses. Nowadays, Medicare allows for all Canadian families to have access to a physician to give yearly physical check-ups and are able to get medical attention at one of our many hospitals under the support of this program.
A newspaper boy in Ottawa after Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act against the FLQ
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CHAPTER FIVE
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 1992-present
Same Sex Marriage is legalized in Canada in 2005
Same-Sex Marriage In 2005, the Canadian government was under huge pressure to legalize same-sex marriage throughout the country. Provincial courts had already legalized it in eight out of ten provinces and one of the three territories starting in 2003. When the SameSex Marriages Act was passed on July 20th, 2005, over 3,000 same-sex couples had been married already. Canada became the fourth country in the world to legalize gay marriage nationwide, and the first in the Americas. Political Shift In 2003, the Canadian Alliance Party and the Progressive Conservative Party merged to form the Conservative Party of Canada, which ended a thirteen-year split of the conservative vote. The new party was elected twice as a minority government in 2006 and 2008 under the leadership of Stephen Harper. The Conservatives won a majority in the 2011 election, with the NDP as the official opposition for the first time in the party’s history. Harper and the Conservatives were defeated by Justin Trudeau and the Liberals in 2015, when Harper stepped down as leader of the party.
“It's certainly the most extensive revision of the Criminal Code since the 1950s and, in terms of the subject matter it deals with, I feel that it has knocked down a lot of totems and overridden a lot of taboos and I feel that in that sense it is new. It's bringing the laws of the land up to contemporary society I think. Take this thing on homosexuality. I think the view we take here is that there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation. I think that what's done in private between adults doesn't concern the Criminal Code. When it becomes public this is a different matter, or when it relates to minors this is a different matter.� ~ Pierre Trudeau, 1967
As a religion, bilingualism is the god that failed. It has led to no fairness, produced no unity, and cost Canadian taxpayers untold millions. ~ Stephen Harper
HOW DID RECENT DEVELOPMENTS SHAPE CANADA’S IDENTITY? Recent developments have helped Canadian identity because of many different reasons. When the government legalized same-sex marriage, it showed the world that we were prepared to usher in a new age where gay marriage is accepted into our society. Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada held a minority government for two elections, and persevered to finally win a majority in 2011.
In this book, I explored different ways that history has changed Canadian identity since 1939. The four things that I explored each contributed to a big part of how the rest of the world sees Canada. Everything we do every day could have an impact on Canada’s identity. The food we eat, the sports we play, the music and art we produce, this all changes the way people look at Canada, and that will keep happening forever. Even in other countries, the things that happen on a daily basis change how we, as citizens of Canada, look at them. Every country’s identity will always change every single day. One day, high school students may do a project on how 2016 changed Canadian identiy, who knows? Everything we do will someday be a part of history.
BIBLIOGRAPHY "World War Two." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Accessed May 22, 2016. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/. "The Birth of Medicare." Canadian Dimension. Accessed May 22, 2016. https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/the-birth-of-medicare. "The October Crisis." CBCnews. Accessed May 22, 2016. http://www.cbc.ca/history/EPISCONTENTSE1EP16CH1PA4LE.html. The Editors of EncyclopĂŚdia Britannica. "Rene Levesque." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Accessed May 22, 2016. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Rene-Levesque. All images from Google Images
Proud to be Canadian!
CANADIAN HISTORY HAS SHAPED OUR IDENTITY. IT’S WHAT MAKES CANADA UNIQUE. This book illustrates how different events in the 20th century have shaped our identity as a civic nation. It’s a quick read in four organized chapters and will give anyone native to Canada a sense of how their country has come to be, and for all others, a sense of Canada’s culture.