Canadian popular culture
Encyclopedia
Canadian popular culture
(or pop culture) is the vernacular (people's) culture that prevails in Canadian
society. Canadian popular culture is influenced by Canada's British
and French
ancestry. Canadian pop culture is also influenced by the United States
, which borders Canada to the south; US films, television shows and magazines dominate the Canadian media system. However, Canadians themselves play a large role in the US entertainment industry as leading actors, actresses, writers, directors, producers, technical crews, as well as providing film locations (though rarely if ever will the setting be Canadian). Canadian pop culture is also influenced by the diverse cultures of its immigrant communities, which include substantial populations from China
and India
.'";
. Some aspects of English-Canadian popular culture have been influenced by Canada's British
ancestry, from the period in the 19th century and early 20th century when Canada was a dominion of the British Empire
. As Canada's independence from Britain increased during this time, English-Canadian popular culture has been influenced by the pop culture of the United States
and by the diverse cultures of the huge immigrant communities which came to Canada.
, promoted through advertising by brands such as Molson
and Labatt, and comedies that poke fun at Canadian's love for beer, such as the 1980s "hoser" television comedy skit The Great White North
(from SCTV
) and the spin-off film Strange Brew
.
Television programs influencing Canadian popular culture include the comedies such as Trailer Park Boys
, Royal Canadian Air Farce
, SCTV
, This Hour Has 22 Minutes
, The Kids in the Hall
, and Rick Mercer
; sports coverage such as Hockey Night in Canada
, curling
, and the Canadian Football League
's Grey Cup
playoffs; children's shows such as Mr. Dressup
and Polka Dot Door
; and teen dramas such as the Degrassi series.
Hockey
provides another popular culture reference, with longstanding rivalries between teams (e.g., the Toronto Maple Leafs
and the Montreal Canadiens
; or, more recently, the Ottawa Senators
and the Toronto Maple Leafs) and cultural references to hockey in songs such as Stompin' Tom Connors
' The Hockey Song
.
Canadian musicians that have become an important part of English-Canadian pop culture include the singer k.d. lang
, singer-guitarist Stompin' Tom Connors
, Jann Arden
, and the Barenaked Ladies
.
. While most French-speaking Canadians live in the province of Quebec
(the area originally settled by French colonists in the 17th century), there are also major communities of French-speaking Canadians in the provinces of Manitoba
, Ontario
, New Brunswick
, and smaller communities in other parts of Canada.
Some aspects of French-Canadian popular culture have been influenced by the earlier period of Canada's history, in the 17th and 18th centuries, when Canada was a French
colony. French settlers passed on a rich heritage of French songs, dances, and stories that continue to have an influence on French Canadian pop culture.
; US films and television shows dubbed into French often appear in French-Canadian theaters and television channels. However, due to the language barrier, French Canadians have been more successful at preserving their culture from the powerful US media influence
than English Canadians.
French-speaking regions of Canada are not as dominated by US television and magazines as English-speaking regions. There is a thriving French-language popular culture, which includes French-language television shows, newspapers, and magazines. The different media help to promote a "star system
" of Canadian French-language celebrities such as popular television and film actors, sports stars (e.g., Formula 1 racing star Jacques Villeneuve
), and musicians.
Major touchstones for French-speaking Canadians include Canadian beer
, promoted through advertising by brands such as Molson
and Labatt, and a love for ice hockey
.
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
(or pop culture) is the vernacular (people's) culture that prevails in Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
society. Canadian popular culture is influenced by Canada's British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
ancestry. Canadian pop culture is also influenced by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which borders Canada to the south; US films, television shows and magazines dominate the Canadian media system. However, Canadians themselves play a large role in the US entertainment industry as leading actors, actresses, writers, directors, producers, technical crews, as well as providing film locations (though rarely if ever will the setting be Canadian). Canadian pop culture is also influenced by the diverse cultures of its immigrant communities, which include substantial populations from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.'";
History
About two-thirds of Canadians speak English as their own languageEnglish Canadian
An English Canadian is a Canadian of English ancestry; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadian. Canada is an officially bilingual state, with English and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but...
. Some aspects of English-Canadian popular culture have been influenced by Canada's British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
ancestry, from the period in the 19th century and early 20th century when Canada was a dominion of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. As Canada's independence from Britain increased during this time, English-Canadian popular culture has been influenced by the pop culture of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and by the diverse cultures of the huge immigrant communities which came to Canada.
2000s pop culture
Major touchstones for English-speaking Canadians include Canadian beerCanadian beer
Beer in Canada was introduced by European settlers in the seventeenth century, and a number of commercial brewers thrived until Prohibition in Canada. Though short-lived, very few brewers survived, and it was only in the late twentieth century that new breweries opened up...
, promoted through advertising by brands such as Molson
Molson
Molson-Coors Canada Inc. is the Canadian division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Molson Coors Brewing Company. It is the second oldest company in Canada after the Hudson's Bay Company. Molson's first brewery was located on the St...
and Labatt, and comedies that poke fun at Canadian's love for beer, such as the 1980s "hoser" television comedy skit The Great White North
The Great White North
The Great White North is a Canadian comedy album by the fictional television characters Bob and Doug McKenzie , released in 1981 by Anthem Records and distributed in the United States by Mercury Records...
(from SCTV
Second City Television
Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's The Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.- Premise :...
) and the spin-off film Strange Brew
Strange Brew
The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew is a 1983 Canadian comedy film starring the popular SCTV characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, played by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, who also served as co-directors. Max von Sydow co-stars....
.
Television programs influencing Canadian popular culture include the comedies such as Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy mockumentary television series created and directed by Mike Clattenburg that focuses on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The...
, Royal Canadian Air Farce
Royal Canadian Air Farce
Air Farce Live, also credited as Air Farce, previously Royal Canadian Air Farce, and Air Farce—Final Flight! for the final season, was a Canadian comedy series starring the comedy troupe The Royal Canadian Air Farce that previously starred in an eponymous radio show on CBC radio from 1973 to 1997...
, SCTV
Second City Television
Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's The Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.- Premise :...
, This Hour Has 22 Minutes
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
This Hour Has 22 Minutes is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics, combining news parody, sketch comedy and satirical editorials...
, The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States...
, and Rick Mercer
Rick Mercer
Richard Vincent "Rick" Mercer is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and blogger.Mercer first came to national attention in 1990, when he premiered his one man show Show Me the Button, I'll Push It, or Charles Lynch Must Die at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in...
; sports coverage such as Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
, curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
, and the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
's Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
playoffs; children's shows such as Mr. Dressup
Mr. Dressup
Mr. Dressup is a Canadian children's television series produced by CBC Television that ran from 1967 to 1996.The series starred Ernie Coombs as Mr. Dressup. The show aired every weekday morning, and each day Mr...
and Polka Dot Door
Polka Dot Door
Polka Dot Door was a long-running children's television series produced and broadcast by TVOntario from 1971 until 1993. The show, which aired Monday to Friday, was set in a large playhouse...
; and teen dramas such as the Degrassi series.
Hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
provides another popular culture reference, with longstanding rivalries between teams (e.g., the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
and the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
; or, more recently, the Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
and the Toronto Maple Leafs) and cultural references to hockey in songs such as Stompin' Tom Connors
Stompin' Tom Connors
Charles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors, OC is one of Canada's most prolific and well-known country and folk singers.He lives in Wellington County, Ontario.- Early life :...
' The Hockey Song
The Hockey Song
"The Hockey Song" is a song written and originally performed by Canadian folksinger Stompin' Tom Connors.The song first appeared on Connors' 1973 album, Stompin' Tom and the Hockey Song. However, the song did not reach its tremendous popularity until 1997. It was at this time that the song was...
.
Canadian musicians that have become an important part of English-Canadian pop culture include the singer k.d. lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
, singer-guitarist Stompin' Tom Connors
Stompin' Tom Connors
Charles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors, OC is one of Canada's most prolific and well-known country and folk singers.He lives in Wellington County, Ontario.- Early life :...
, Jann Arden
Jann Arden
Jann Arden is a Canadian singer-songwriter.-Life and career:Arden was born and raised near Calgary in Springbank, Alberta and attended Springbank Community High School. Her breakthrough came with her critically acclaimed 1993 debut album Time for Mercy and her first single "I Would Die For You"...
, and the Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
.
History
About one-third of Canadians speak French as their mother tongueFrancophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
. While most French-speaking Canadians live in the province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
(the area originally settled by French colonists in the 17th century), there are also major communities of French-speaking Canadians in the provinces of Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, and smaller communities in other parts of Canada.
Some aspects of French-Canadian popular culture have been influenced by the earlier period of Canada's history, in the 17th and 18th centuries, when Canada was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
colony. French settlers passed on a rich heritage of French songs, dances, and stories that continue to have an influence on French Canadian pop culture.
2000s
French-Canadians have also been strongly influenced by the popular culture of the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; US films and television shows dubbed into French often appear in French-Canadian theaters and television channels. However, due to the language barrier, French Canadians have been more successful at preserving their culture from the powerful US media influence
Media influence
Media influence or media effects are used in media studies, psychology, communication theory and sociology to refer to the theories about the ways in which mass media affect how their audiences think and behave....
than English Canadians.
French-speaking regions of Canada are not as dominated by US television and magazines as English-speaking regions. There is a thriving French-language popular culture, which includes French-language television shows, newspapers, and magazines. The different media help to promote a "star system
Star system
A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars which orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large number of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a star cluster or galaxy, although, broadly speaking, they are also star systems.-Binary star systems:A stellar...
" of Canadian French-language celebrities such as popular television and film actors, sports stars (e.g., Formula 1 racing star Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve, , is a Canadian musician and automobile racing driver. He is the son of the late Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, and is the namesake of his uncle...
), and musicians.
Major touchstones for French-speaking Canadians include Canadian beer
Canadian beer
Beer in Canada was introduced by European settlers in the seventeenth century, and a number of commercial brewers thrived until Prohibition in Canada. Though short-lived, very few brewers survived, and it was only in the late twentieth century that new breweries opened up...
, promoted through advertising by brands such as Molson
Molson
Molson-Coors Canada Inc. is the Canadian division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Molson Coors Brewing Company. It is the second oldest company in Canada after the Hudson's Bay Company. Molson's first brewery was located on the St...
and Labatt, and a love for ice hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
.
See also
- AcadianAcadianThe Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
musicMusicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture... - Canadian beerCanadian beerBeer in Canada was introduced by European settlers in the seventeenth century, and a number of commercial brewers thrived until Prohibition in Canada. Though short-lived, very few brewers survived, and it was only in the late twentieth century that new breweries opened up...
- Canadian EnglishCanadian EnglishCanadian English is the variety of English spoken in Canada. English is the first language, or "mother tongue", of approximately 24 million Canadians , and more than 28 million are fluent in the language...
- Ice hockeyIce hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
- LoonieLoonieThe Canadian 1 dollar coin is a gold-coloured, bronze-plated, one-dollar coin introduced in 1987. It bears images of a common loon, a bird which is common and well known in Canada, on the reverse, and of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse.The design for the coin was meant to be a voyageur theme,...
- PeacekeepingPeacekeepingPeacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
- PoutinePoutinePoutine is a Canadian dish of French fries and fresh cheese curds, covered with brown gravy or sauce. Sometimes additional ingredients are added.Poutine is a fast food dish that originated in Quebec and can now be found across Canada...
- President's ChoicePresident's ChoicePresident's Choice also known as “PC,” is a private label or store brand owned by Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada’s largest food retailer. As the company’s premium line, President’s Choice includes a wide variety of grocery and household products, in addition to financial services and mobile...
brand products - Red Green of The Red Green ShowThe Red Green ShowThe Red Green Show is a Canadian television comedy that aired on various channels in Canada, with its ultimate home at CBC Television, and on Public Broadcasting Service stations in the United States, from 1991 until the series finale April 7, 2006 on CBC...
- Trailer Park BoysTrailer Park BoysTrailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy mockumentary television series created and directed by Mike Clattenburg that focuses on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The...