Culture of Canada
Encyclopedia
Canadian culture is a term that explains the art
istic, music
al, literary
, culinary
, political
and social
elements that are representative of Canada
and Canadians, not only to its own population, but people all over the world. Canada's culture has historically been influenced by European culture
and traditions, especially British
and French
. Over time, elements of the cultures of Canada's Aboriginal peoples
and immigrant populations have become incorporated into mainstream Canadian culture. It has subsequently been influenced by American culture
because of its proximity and migration between the two countries.
Canada's federal government
has influenced Canadian culture with programs, laws and institutions. It has created crown corporations to promote Canadian culture through media, such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
(CBC) and the National Film Board of Canada
(NFB), and promotes many events which it considers to promote Canadian traditions. It has also tried to protect Canadian culture
by setting legal minimums on Canadian content
in many media using bodies like the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
Canada's culture, like that of most any country in the world, is a product of its history
, geography
, and political system
. Being a settler nation, Canada has been shaped by waves of migration that have combined to form a unique blend of customs, cuisine, and traditions that have marked the socio-cultural development of the nation. In this article, several aspects of Canadian culture will be discussed. Though this article attempts to feature a variety of subjects pertinent to the culture of Canada, it is in no way exhaustive, and to gain a much deeper knowledge of Canada and its culture, one must also consult the other articles pertaining to Canada and its peoples.
Canadian culture
is a product of Canada's history
and geography
. Most of Canada's territory was inhabited and developed later than other European colonies
in the Americas
, with the result that themes and symbols of pioneers, trappers, and traders were important in the early development of Canadian culture. The British
conquest of Canada in 1759 brought a large Francophone
population under British rule, creating a need for compromise and accommodation, while the migration of 46,000United Empire Loyalists from the Thirteen Colonies
brought American
influences which gave the Canadian provinces a distinct American flavor until 1830. The refugees from the Colonies to the south were royalists, but most were also Americans, hence the closeness of the two cultures.
Although not without conflict, Canada's early interactions with First Nations
and Inuit
populations were relatively peaceful, compared to the experience of native peoples
in the United States. Combined with relatively late economic development
in many regions, this peaceful history has allowed Canadian native peoples to have a relatively strong influence on the national culture while preserving their own identity.
's early development was relatively cohesive during the 17th and 18th centuries, and this was preserved by the Quebec Act
of 1774, which allowed Francophone culture to survive and thrive within Canada. In 1867, the British North America Act
was designed to meet the growing calls for Canadian autonomy while avoiding the overly-strong decentralization that contributed to the Civil War
in the United States. The compromises made by Macdonald
and Cartier
set Canada on a path to bilingualism
, and this in turn contributed to an acceptance of diversity that later led to both multiculturalism
and tolerance of Native culture and customs.
Multicultural heritage is enshrined in Section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
. In parts of Canada, especially the major cities of Montreal
, Vancouver
, and Toronto
(for example, in Toronto's Kensington Market
area), multiculturalism itself is the cultural norm and diversity is the force that unites the community.
In Quebec
, cultural identity
is strong, and many French-speaking Quebecer
commentators speak of a Quebec culture
as distinguished from English Canadian
culture, but some also see Canada as a collection of several regional, aboriginal, and ethnic subcultures.
While French Canadian
culture is the most obvious example, Celtic influences have allowed survival of non-English dialects in Nova Scotia
and Newfoundland
; however, the influence of Ulster
immigrants to Toronto has had the effect of minimizing Irish
influences in Ontario
's culture, and highlighting British influences instead, until the 1980s. Canada's Pacific trade has also brought a large Chinese
influence into British Columbia
and other areas.
Canada's cultural diversity also creates an environment much more accepting of LGBT
people than one finds in many other countries. Canada has always placed emphasis on equality and inclusiveness for all people. For example, in 1995, the Supreme Court of Canada
ruled in Egan v. Canada
that sexual orientation
should be "read in" to Section Fifteen of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
, a part of the Constitution of Canada
guaranteeing equal rights
to all Canadians. Following a series of decisions by provincial courts and the Supreme Court of Canada, on July 20, 2005, the Civil Marriage Act
(Bill C-38) received Royal Assent
, legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada
. Canada thus became the fourth country to officially sanction same-sex marriage
worldwide, after The Netherlands
, Belgium
, and Spain
. Furthermore, by 2005, sexual orientation was included as a protected status in the human rights laws of the federal government and of all provinces and territories.
Aboriginal peoples in Canada interacted with Europe
ans as far back as 1000 AD, but prolonged contact came only after Europeans established permanent settlements in the 17th and 18th centuries. European written accounts, though biased, generally noted friendliness on the part of the First Nations, some of whom profited in trade with Europeans. Such trade generally strengthened the more organized political entities such as the Iroquois Confederation
.
There were, and are, many distinct Aboriginal peoples across Canada, each with its own culture, beliefs, values, language, and history. Much of this legacy remains celebrated artistically, and in other ways, in Canada to this day. Part of the emblem of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics
is an Inukshuk
, a rock sculpture that is made by stacking stones in the shape of a human figure, that is a part of Inuit culture and the nation's perception of itself. According to the Department of Canadian Heritage
.
settlers to Acadia
and Saint Lawrence River valley
, English
settlers to Newfoundland and the British conquest
and settlement of New France
from the early 18th century. First Nations played a critical part in the development of European colonies in Canada, from their role in assisting exploration of the continent, the fur trade
and inter-European power struggles to the creation of the Métis people
. Through their art and culture, First Nations, Inuit and Métis continue to exert influence on Canadian identity.
The question of Canadian identity was traditionally dominated by three fundamental themes: first, the often conflicted relations between English Canadians and French Canadians stemming from the French Canadian imperative for cultural and linguistic survival; secondly, the generally close ties between English Canadians and the British Empire
, resulting in a gradual political process towards complete independence from the imperial power and, finally, the close proximity of English-speaking Canadians to the military, economic and cultural powerhouse of the United States. With the gradual loosening of political and cultural ties to the United Kingdom
, in the 20th century immigrants from European, Africa
n, Caribbean
and Asia
n nationalities have shaped the Canadian identity, a process that continues today with the continuing arrival of large numbers of immigrants from non British or French backgrounds, adding the theme of multiculturalism to the debate. Today, Canada has a diverse makeup of nationalities and cultures and constitutional protection for policies that promote multiculturalism rather than a single national myth.
The issue of Canadian identity remains under scrutiny, perhaps more than the identity of the people of any other modern nation. Journalist Andrew Cohen wrote in 2007:
In true Canadian fashion, however, even the search for an identity has become itself an object for self-criticism.
(GATT) and the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA).
, beaver, and the Canadian Horse
. Many official symbols of the country such as the Flag of Canada
have been changed or modified over the past few decades in order to 'Canadianize' them and de-emphasise or remove references to the United Kingdom. Symbols of the monarchy in Canada continue to be featured in, for example, the Arms of Canada and armed forces Her Majesty's Canadian Ship
. The designation 'Royal
' remains for institutions as varied as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet
, though with the 1968 unification of the three armed forces into the Canadian Forces
, the Royal Canadian Air Force
and Royal Canadian Navy
ceased to exist. However, certain Canadian Forces Land Force Command
(army) units carry "Royal" titles, Canadian Forces Maritime Command
vessels are still styled "HMCS" and Canadian Forces Air Command
squadrons
still use a Royal Air Force
-derived badge surmounted by the Queen's Crown
as their official crests. In 2011, the Canadian Forces commands reverted to their former names.
The arts have long flourished in Canada, and especially since the end of World War II
in 1945. Government support has played a vital role in their development enabling visual exposure through publications and periodicals featuring Canadian art, as has the establishment of numerous art schools and colleges across the country.
The works of most early Canadian painters followed European trends. During the mid-19th century, Cornelius Krieghoff
, a Dutch
born artist in Quebec, painted scenes of the life of the habitants
(French-Canadian farmers). At about the same time, the Canadian artist Paul Kane
painted pictures of Indian life in western Canada
. A group of landscape
painters called the Group of Seven
developed the first distinctly Canadian style of painting. All these artists painted large, brilliantly coloured scenes of the Canadian wilderness.
Since the 1930s, Canadian painters have developed a wide range of highly individual styles. Emily Carr
became famous for her paintings of totem pole
s in British Columbia. Other noted painters have included the landscape artist David Milne
, the abstract
painters Jean-Paul Riopelle
and Harold Town
and multi-media artist Michael Snow
.
The abstract art group Painters Eleven
, particularly the artists William Ronald
and Jack Bush
, also had an important impact on modern art in Canada. Canadian sculpture has been enriched by the walrus ivory
and soapstone
carvings by the Inuit art
ists. These carvings show objects and activities from the daily life of the Inuit.
Canadian literature
is often divided into French and English-language literature, which are rooted in the literary traditions of France and Britain, respectively, However, collectively this literature has become distinctly Canadian. Canada’s literature, whether written in English or French, often reflects the Canadian perspective on nature, frontier life, and Canada’s position in the world, Canadian identity is closely tied to its literature. Canadian literature is often categorised by region or province; by the status of the author (for example,, literature of Canadian women, Acadians, Aboriginal peoples, and Irish Canadian
s); and by literary period, such as "Canadian postmoderns" or "Canadian Poets Between the Wars."
Canadian authors have accumulated numerous international awards. In 1992, Michael Ondaatje
became the first Canadian to win the Man Booker Prize
for The English Patient
. Margaret Atwood
won the Booker in 2000 for The Blind Assassin
and Yann Martel
won it in 2002 for the Life of Pi
. Carol Shields
's The Stone Diaries
won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
, and the 1994 National Book Critics Circle Award
.
The Music of Canada
has reflected the multi-cultural influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals
, the French, and the British have all made contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. Since French explorer Samuel de Champlain
arrived in 1605 and established the first permanent Canadian settlements at Port Royal
and Quebec City
in 1608, the country has produced its own composers, musicians and ensembles
. From the 17th century onward Canada has developed a music infrastructure, that includes church hall
s, chamber hall
s, conservatories, academies
, performing arts center
s, record company
s, radio stations and television music video
channels. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between the two countries.
Canadian music industry has been helped by government regulation designed to protect and encourage the growth of distinct Canadian culture. The Canadian Content (CANCON) regulations require all radio stations in Canada play at least 36% Canadian music. This has enabled Canadian artists to garner success on the airwaves which were once dominated by American and European acts. Due to these regulations, Canadian music has become much more prevalent on the airwaves. Individuals are honoured at The Juno Award
s, recognizing Canadian achievement in popular music. In addition, Canada is home to a number of popular summer-time folk festivals, including the Winnipeg Folk Festival
. Canada has also produced many notable composers, who have contributed in a variety of ways to the history
of Western classical music
.
, Ontario, and the Shaw Festival
in Niagara-on-the-Lake
, Ontario. The Famous People Players
are only one of many touring companies that have also developed an international reputation. Canada also boasts the world's second largest fringe festival
the Edmonton International Fringe Festival
. There are also 2 major theatre venues in Ottawa
, the government-owned and sponsored National Arts Centre
and the privately-owned Great Canadian Theatre Company
.
, Pierre Perrault
, Gilles Groulx
, Jean Pierre Lefebvre
, Arthur Lamothe
, Claude Jutra
and other filmmakers from Quebec began to challenge Hollywood by making innovative and politically relevant documentary and feature films.
Canada has developed a vigorous film industry that has produced a variety of well-known films, actors, and auteurs. In fact, this eclipsing may sometimes be creditable for the bizarre and innovative directions of the works of such auteurs as Atom Egoyan
(The Sweet Hereafter
, 1997) and David Cronenberg
(The Fly
, Naked Lunch
, A History of Violence
). Also, the distinct French-Canadian society permits the work of directors such as Denys Arcand
and Denis Villeneuve
. At the 76th Academy Awards
Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions became Canada's first film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
.
A number of Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood
significantly contributed to the creation of the motion picture industry in the early days of the 20th century. Over the years, many Canadians have made enormous contributions to the American entertainment industry, although they are frequently not recognized as Canadians.
Canada's film industry is in full expansion as a site for Hollywood productions. Since the 1980s, Canada, and Vancouver in particular, has become known as Hollywood North
. The American Queer as Folk was filmed in Toronto. Canadian producers have been very successful in the field of science fiction
since the mid-1990s, with such shows as The X-Files
, Stargate SG-1
, the new Battlestar Galactica
, Smallville
, and The Outer Limits
, all filmed in Vancouver. As with its southern counterpart in California
, many Canadians are employed in the film industry, and celebrity-spotting is frequent throughout many Canadian cities.
Canadian television, especially supported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
, is the home of a variety of locally-produced shows. French-language television, like French Canadian film, is buffered from excessive American influence by the fact of language, and likewise supports a host of home-grown productions. The success of French-language domestic television and movies in Canada often exceeds that of its English-language counterpart.
The CRTC's Canadian content regulations dictate that a certain percentage of a domestic broadcaster's transmission time must include content that is produced by Canadians, or covers Canadian subjects. This also applies to US cable television
channels such as MTV
(MTV (Canada) and the Discovery Channel
(Discovery Channel (Canada), which have local versions of their channels available on Canadian cable networks
. Similarly, BBC Canada
, while primarily showing BBC
shows from the United Kingdom, also carries Canadian output.
The National Film Board of Canada
, is 'a public agency that produces and distributes films and other audiovisual works which reflect Canada to Canadians and the rest of the world'. The agency helped to pioneer the concept of the documentary. Canada has produced many popular documentaries such as The Corporation, Nanook of the North
, Final Offer
, and Canada: A People's History
. The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is considered by many to be one of the most prevalent film festivals for Western cinema. It is the première film festival in North America from which the Oscars race begins.
and the United States
. In part, this is made possible by a large pool of university-educated talent and high quality of life, but favorable government policies towards digital media
companies also play a role in making Canada an attractive location for game development studios.
Award-winning and best-selling games have come from Canadian studios and gone on to become smash hits in the international market. Such games include BioWare
's Mass Effect
and related games, Ubisoft Montreal
's Assassin's Creed
series, and EA's FIFA Soccer series.
Canadian humour
is an integral part of the Canadian Identity. Canadian comedians such as Jim Carrey
, John Candy
, Mike Myers
, Norm Macdonald
, Rick Mercer
, Seth Rogen
, Michael Cera
, Martin Short
, The Kids in the Hall
, Tom Green
, Phil Hartman
, Eugene Levy
, Howie Mandel
, Russell Peters
, Dan Aykroyd
and Leslie Nielsen
are amongst the most recognized. Second City Television
, otherwise known as SCTV
, is also regarded as a television show which was very influential on the development of comedy television. There are several traditions in Canadian humour in both English
and French
. While these traditions are distinct and at times very different, there are common themes that relate to Canadians' shared history and geopolitical
situation in North America
and the world
. Various trends can be noted in Canadian comedy. One thread is the portrayal of a "typical" Canadian family in an on-going radio or television series. Examples include La famille Plouffe
, with its mix of drama, humour, politics and religion and sitcoms
such as King of Kensington
and La Petite Vie
. Another major thread tends to be political and cultural satire
: television shows such as CODCO
, Royal Canadian Air Farce
, La Fin du monde est à 7 heures
and This Hour Has 22 Minutes
, monologuists such as Yvon Deschamps
and Rick Mercer
and writers, including Michel Tremblay
, Will Ferguson
and Eric Nicol
draw their inspiration from Canadian and Québécois society and politics. Another trend revels in absurdity, demonstrated by television series like The Kids in the Hall
, The Tom Green Show
and The Frantics, and musician-comedians such as The Arrogant Worms
, Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie
and Bowser and Blue
. Satire is arguably the primary characteristic of Canadian humour, evident in each of these threads, and uniting various genres and regional cultural differences.
Humber College
in Toronto and the École nationale de l'humour in Montreal offer post-secondary programmes in comedy writing and performance. Montreal
is also home to the bilingual (English and French) Just for Laughs
festival and to the Just for Laughs Museum
, a bilingual, international museum of comedy.
around the world.
Ice hockey
, referred to as simply hockey in the country, is Canada's official winter sport
, its most popular spectator sport, and its most successful sport in international competition. Lacrosse
, a sport with Aboriginal
origins, is Canada's oldest sport and official summer sport. Canadian football
is Canada's second most popular spectator sport, and the Canadian Football League
's annual championship, the Grey Cup
, is the country's largest annual sports event. Association football, known in Canada as soccer in both English and French, has the most registered players of any sport in Canada, but has never enjoyed sustained popularity as a major professional
spectator sport
even though the last few years have showed an improvement in terms of popularity and media coverage.
Other popular team sports include Ringette
, curling
, street hockey
, cricket
, rugby
, soccer
and softball
. Currently, Cricket
is the fastest growing sport in Canada. Popular individual sports include auto racing
, boxing
, MMA
, cycling
, golf
, hiking
, horse racing
, ice skating
, rodeo
, skateboarding
, skiing
, snowboarding
, swimming
, tennis
, triathlon
, track and field, water sports, bobsledding and wrestling
. As a country with a generally cool climate
, Canada has enjoyed greater success at the Winter Olympics
than at the Summer Olympics
, although significant regional variations in climate allow for a wide variety of both team and individual sports. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Canada broke the record for winning the most gold medals for any one country in Winter Olympic history.
Great achievements in Canadian sport are recognized by Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
, while the Lou Marsh Trophy
is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete by a panel of journalists.
Canadian cuisine varies widely depending on the regions of the nation. The former Canadian prime minister
Joe Clark
has been paraphrased to have noted: "Canada has a cuisine of cuisines. Not a stew pot, but a smorgasbord." There are considerable overlaps between Canadian food and the rest of the cuisine in North America, many unique dishes (or versions of certain dishes) are found and available only in the country. Common contenders as the Canadian national food
include Poutine
and Butter tarts. A noteworthy fact is that Canada is the world's largest producer of Maple syrup
.
The three earliest cuisines of Canada have First Nations
, English, and French roots, with the traditional cuisine of English Canada
closely related to British
and American cuisine
, while the traditional cuisine of French Canada
has evolved from French cuisine
and the winter provisions of fur traders
. With subsequent waves of immigration in the 18th and 19th century from Central
, Southern
, and Eastern Europe
, and also from China
, the regional cuisines were subsequently augmented.
, the British High Commissioner to Canada, stated that, in his opinion, Canadians have limited talents and are "deeply unimpressive." Said Moran, "Anyone who is even moderately good at what they do — in literature, the theater, skiing of whatever — tends to become a national figure. And anyone who stands out at all from the crowd tends to be praised to the skies and given the Order of Canada
at once."
A 2007 poll ranked Canada as the country with the most positive influence in the world. 28,000 people in 27 countries were asked to rate 12 countries as either having a positive or negative worldwide influence. Canada’s overall influence rating topped the list with 54 per cent of respondents rating it mostly positive and only 14 per cent mostly negative.
The United States
is home to a number of perceptions about Canadian culture, due to the countries' partially-shared heritage and the relatively large number of cultural features common to both the US and Canada. Many in the United States believe that the typical Canadian is more polite than his or her American counterpart. Canada and the United States are often inevitably compared as sibling countries, and the perceptions that arise from this oft-held contrast have gone to shape the advertised worldwide identities of both nations: the United States is seen as the rebellious child of the British Crown, forged in the fires of violent revolution
; Canada is the more calm offspring of the United Kingdom known for a more relaxed national demeanor.
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
istic, music
Music
Music 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...
al, literary
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, culinary
Culinary art
Culinary art is the art of preparing and cooking foods. The word "culinary" is defined as something related to, or connected with, cooking. A culinarion is a person working in the culinary arts. A culinarian working in restaurants is commonly known as a cook or a chef. Culinary artists are...
, political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
elements that are representative of Canada
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...
and Canadians, not only to its own population, but people all over the world. Canada's culture has historically been influenced by European culture
Culture of Europe
The culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures. Whether it is a question of North as opposed to South; West as opposed to East; Orthodoxism as opposed to Protestantism as opposed to Catholicism as opposed to Secularism; many have claimed to identify cultural...
and traditions, especially British
Culture of the United Kingdom
The culture of the United Kingdom refers to the patterns of human activity and symbolism associated with the United Kingdom and its people. It is informed by the UK's history as a developed island country, major power, and its composition of four countries—England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and...
and French
Culture of France
The culture of France and of the French people has been shaped by geography, by profound historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high culture and of decorative arts since the seventeenth...
. Over time, elements of the cultures of Canada's Aboriginal peoples
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
and immigrant populations have become incorporated into mainstream Canadian culture. It has subsequently been influenced by American culture
Culture of the United States
The Culture of the United States is a Western culture originally influenced by European cultures. It has been developing since long before the United States became a country with its own unique social and cultural characteristics such as dialect, music, arts, social habits, cuisine, and folklore...
because of its proximity and migration between the two countries.
Canada's federal government
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
has influenced Canadian culture with programs, laws and institutions. It has created crown corporations to promote Canadian culture through media, such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
(CBC) and the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
(NFB), and promotes many events which it considers to promote Canadian traditions. It has also tried to protect Canadian culture
Canadian cultural protectionism
Cultural protectionism in Canada has, since the mid-20th century, taken the form of conscious, interventionist attempts on the part of various Canadian governments to promote Canadian cultural production and limit the effect of foreign culture on the domestic audience...
by setting legal minimums on Canadian content
Canadian content
Canadian content refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requirements that radio and television broadcasters must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by persons from...
in many media using bodies like the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
Canada's culture, like that of most any country in the world, is a product of its history
History of Canada
The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of Paleo-Indians thousands of years ago to the present day. Canada has been inhabited for millennia by distinctive groups of Aboriginal peoples, among whom evolved trade networks, spiritual beliefs, and social hierarchies...
, geography
Geography of Canada
The geography of Canada is vast and diverse. Occupying most of the northern portion of North America , Canada is the world's second largest country in total area....
, and political system
Politics of Canada
The politics of Canada function within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is head of state...
. Being a settler nation, Canada has been shaped by waves of migration that have combined to form a unique blend of customs, cuisine, and traditions that have marked the socio-cultural development of the nation. In this article, several aspects of Canadian culture will be discussed. Though this article attempts to feature a variety of subjects pertinent to the culture of Canada, it is in no way exhaustive, and to gain a much deeper knowledge of Canada and its culture, one must also consult the other articles pertaining to Canada and its peoples.
Development of Canadian culture
Canadian culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
is a product of Canada's history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
. Most of Canada's territory was inhabited and developed later than other European colonies
European colonization of the Americas
The start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492. The first Europeans to reach the Americas were the Vikings during the 11th century, who established several colonies in Greenland and one short-lived settlement in present day Newfoundland...
in the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, with the result that themes and symbols of pioneers, trappers, and traders were important in the early development of Canadian culture. The British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
conquest of Canada in 1759 brought a large Francophone
Francophone
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....
population under British rule, creating a need for compromise and accommodation, while the migration of 46,000United Empire Loyalists from the Thirteen Colonies
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
brought American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
influences which gave the Canadian provinces a distinct American flavor until 1830. The refugees from the Colonies to the south were royalists, but most were also Americans, hence the closeness of the two cultures.
Although not without conflict, Canada's early interactions with First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
and Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
populations were relatively peaceful, compared to the experience of native peoples
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
in the United States. Combined with relatively late economic development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
in many regions, this peaceful history has allowed Canadian native peoples to have a relatively strong influence on the national culture while preserving their own identity.
Bilingualism and multiculturalism
French CanadaFrench Canada
French Canada, also known as "Lower Canada", is a term to distinguish the French Canadian population of Canada from English Canada.-Definition:...
's early development was relatively cohesive during the 17th and 18th centuries, and this was preserved by the Quebec Act
Quebec Act
The Quebec Act of 1774 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain setting procedures of governance in the Province of Quebec...
of 1774, which allowed Francophone culture to survive and thrive within Canada. In 1867, the British North America Act
Constitution Act, 1867
The Constitution Act, 1867 , is a major part of Canada's Constitution. The Act created a federal dominion and defines much of the operation of the Government of Canada, including its federal structure, the House of Commons, the Senate, the justice system, and the taxation system...
was designed to meet the growing calls for Canadian autonomy while avoiding the overly-strong decentralization that contributed to the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
in the United States. The compromises made by Macdonald
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
and Cartier
George-Étienne Cartier
Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, PC was a French-Canadian statesman and Father of Confederation.The English spelling of the name, George, instead of Georges, the usual French spelling, is explained by his having been named in honour of King George III....
set Canada on a path to bilingualism
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
, and this in turn contributed to an acceptance of diversity that later led to both multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
and tolerance of Native culture and customs.
Section Twenty-seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Section Twenty-seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a section of the Charter that, as part of a range of provisions within the section 25 to section 31 bloc, helps determine how rights in other sections of the Charter should be interpreted and applied by the courts...
. In parts of Canada, especially the major cities of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
(for example, in Toronto's Kensington Market
Kensington Market
Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. Robert Fulford wrote in 1999 that "Kensington...
area), multiculturalism itself is the cultural norm and diversity is the force that unites the community.
In 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....
, cultural identity
Cultural identity
Cultural identity is the identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as one is influenced by one's belonging to a group or culture. Cultural identity is similar to and has overlaps with, but is not synonymous with, identity politics....
is strong, and many French-speaking Quebecer
Francophone
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....
commentators speak of a Quebec culture
Culture of Quebec
The Culture of Quebec emerged over the last few hundred years, resulting from the shared history of the French-speaking majority in Quebec. It is unique to the Western World; Quebec is the only region in North America with a French-speaking majority, as well as one of only two provinces in Canada...
as distinguished from English Canadian
English 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...
culture, but some also see Canada as a collection of several regional, aboriginal, and ethnic subcultures.
While French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
culture is the most obvious example, Celtic influences have allowed survival of non-English dialects in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
; however, the influence of Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
immigrants to Toronto has had the effect of minimizing Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
influences in 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....
's culture, and highlighting British influences instead, until the 1980s. Canada's Pacific trade has also brought a large Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
influence into British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and other areas.
Canada's cultural diversity also creates an environment much more accepting of LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
people than one finds in many other countries. Canada has always placed emphasis on equality and inclusiveness for all people. For example, in 1995, the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
ruled in Egan v. Canada
Egan v. Canada
Egan v. Canada, [1995] 2 S.C.R. 513, was one of a trilogy of equality rights cases published by a very divided Supreme Court of Canada in the spring of 1995...
that sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
should be "read in" to Section Fifteen of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Section Fifteen of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Section Fifteen of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms contains guaranteed equality rights. As part of the Constitution, the section prohibits certain forms of discrimination perpetrated by the governments of Canada with the exception of ameliorative programs and rights or privileges...
, a part of the Constitution of Canada
Constitution of Canada
The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions and conventions. It outlines Canada's system of government, as well as the civil rights of all Canadian citizens and those in Canada...
guaranteeing equal rights
Human rights in Canada
Since signing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the Canadian government has attempted to make universal human rights a part of Canadian law...
to all Canadians. Following a series of decisions by provincial courts and the Supreme Court of Canada, on July 20, 2005, the Civil Marriage Act
Civil Marriage Act
The Civil Marriage Act was legislation legalizing same-sex marriage across Canada...
(Bill C-38) received Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
, legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada
Same-sex marriage in Canada
On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition...
. Canada thus became the fourth country to officially sanction same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
worldwide, after The Netherlands
Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands
Same-sex marriage has been legal in the Netherlands since 1 April 2001...
, Belgium
Same-sex marriage in Belgium
On June 1, 2003, Belgium became the second country in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage, with some restrictions. Originally, Belgium allowed the marriages of foreign same-sex couples only if their country of origin also allowed these unions...
, and Spain
Same-sex marriage in Spain
Same-sex marriage in Spain has been legal since July 3, 2005. In 2004, the nation's newly elected social democratic government, led by President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, began a campaign for its legalization, including the right of adoption by same-sex couples...
. Furthermore, by 2005, sexual orientation was included as a protected status in the human rights laws of the federal government and of all provinces and territories.
Aboriginal influences
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
ans as far back as 1000 AD, but prolonged contact came only after Europeans established permanent settlements in the 17th and 18th centuries. European written accounts, though biased, generally noted friendliness on the part of the First Nations, some of whom profited in trade with Europeans. Such trade generally strengthened the more organized political entities such as the Iroquois Confederation
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
.
There were, and are, many distinct Aboriginal peoples across Canada, each with its own culture, beliefs, values, language, and history. Much of this legacy remains celebrated artistically, and in other ways, in Canada to this day. Part of the emblem of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
is an Inukshuk
Inukshuk
An inuksuk is a stone landmark or cairn built by humans, used by the Inuit, Inupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America. These structures are found from Alaska to Greenland...
, a rock sculpture that is made by stacking stones in the shape of a human figure, that is a part of Inuit culture and the nation's perception of itself. According to the Department of Canadian Heritage
Department of Canadian Heritage
The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage |department]] of the Government of Canada with responsibility for policies and programs regarding the arts, culture, media, communications networks, official languages , status of women, sports , and multiculturalism...
.
Canadian identity
Primary influences on the Canadian identity trace back to the arrival, beginning in the early 17th century, of FrenchFrance
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...
settlers to Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
and Saint Lawrence River valley
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
, English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
settlers to Newfoundland and the British conquest
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
and settlement of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
from the early 18th century. First Nations played a critical part in the development of European colonies in Canada, from their role in assisting exploration of the continent, the fur trade
North American Fur Trade
The North American fur trade was the industry and activities related to the acquisition, exchange, and sale of animal furs in the North American continent. Indigenous peoples of different regions traded among themselves in the Pre-Columbian Era, but Europeans participated in the trade beginning...
and inter-European power struggles to the creation of the Métis people
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
. Through their art and culture, First Nations, Inuit and Métis continue to exert influence on Canadian identity.
The question of Canadian identity was traditionally dominated by three fundamental themes: first, the often conflicted relations between English Canadians and French Canadians stemming from the French Canadian imperative for cultural and linguistic survival; secondly, the generally close ties between English Canadians and 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...
, resulting in a gradual political process towards complete independence from the imperial power and, finally, the close proximity of English-speaking Canadians to the military, economic and cultural powerhouse of the United States. With the gradual loosening of political and cultural ties to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, in the 20th century immigrants from European, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n, Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n nationalities have shaped the Canadian identity, a process that continues today with the continuing arrival of large numbers of immigrants from non British or French backgrounds, adding the theme of multiculturalism to the debate. Today, Canada has a diverse makeup of nationalities and cultures and constitutional protection for policies that promote multiculturalism rather than a single national myth.
The issue of Canadian identity remains under scrutiny, perhaps more than the identity of the people of any other modern nation. Journalist Andrew Cohen wrote in 2007:
In true Canadian fashion, however, even the search for an identity has become itself an object for self-criticism.
Canadian nationalism
In general, Canadian nationalists are highly concerned about the protection of Canadian sovereignty and loyalty to the Canadian State, placing them in the civic nationalist category. It has likewise often been suggested that anti-Americanism, or at least hostility towards the United States, often plays a prominent role in Canadian nationalist ideologies. When nationalists speak of "independence", it is widely understood that the actual meaning is "independence from the United States".Cultural protectionism in Canada
Cultural protectionism in Canada has, since the mid-20th century, taken the form of conscious, interventionist attempts on the part of various Canadian governments to promote Canadian cultural production and limit the effect of foreign, largely American, culture on the domestic audience. Sharing a large border and (for the majority) a common language with the United States, Canada faces a difficult position in regard to American culture, be it direct attempts at the Canadian market or the general diffusion of American culture in the globalized media arena. While Canada tries to maintain its cultural differences, it also must balance this with responsibility in trade arrangements such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and TradeGeneral Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was negotiated during the UN Conference on Trade and Employment and was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization . GATT was signed in 1947 and lasted until 1993, when it was replaced by the World...
(GATT) and the North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA).
Symbols
Official symbols of Canada include the maple leafMaple leaf
The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree, and is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada.-Use in Canada:At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the settlements of New France had attained a population of about 18,000...
, beaver, and the Canadian Horse
Canadian Horse
The Canadian Horse is a breed of horse developed in Canada. Although previously relatively unknown due to its rarity, the Canadian Horse has influenced many other North American breeds, including the Morgan, American Saddlebred, and Standardbred...
. Many official symbols of the country such as the Flag of Canada
Flag of Canada
The national flag of Canada, also known as the Maple Leaf, and , is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. Its adoption in 1965 marked the first time a national flag had been officially adopted in Canada to replace the Union Flag...
have been changed or modified over the past few decades in order to 'Canadianize' them and de-emphasise or remove references to the United Kingdom. Symbols of the monarchy in Canada continue to be featured in, for example, the Arms of Canada and armed forces Her Majesty's Canadian Ship
Her Majesty's Canadian Ship
The designation Her Majesty's Canadian Ship , is applied as a prefix to any Canadian Forces warship. In the reign of a king, the designation changes to His Majesty's Canadian Ship; the French version of the title remains unchanged in this instance...
. The designation 'Royal
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
' remains for institutions as varied as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Royal Winnipeg Ballet
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America....
, though with the 1968 unification of the three armed forces into the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
, the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
and Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
ceased to exist. However, certain Canadian Forces Land Force Command
Canadian Forces Land Force Command
The Canadian Army , previously called Land Force Command, is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Forces. The current size of the Army is 19,500 regular soldiers and 16,000 reserve soldiers, for a total of around 35,500 soldiers...
(army) units carry "Royal" titles, Canadian Forces Maritime Command
Canadian Forces Maritime Command
The Royal Canadian Navy , is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canadian Forces. Operating 33 warships and several auxiliary vessels, the Royal Canadian Navy consists of 8,500 Regular Force and 5,100 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by...
vessels are still styled "HMCS" and Canadian Forces Air Command
Canadian Forces Air Command
The Royal Canadian Air Force , formerly Canadian Forces Air Command, is one of three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
squadrons
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
still use a Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
-derived badge surmounted by the Queen's Crown
Crown of Queen Elizabeth
The Crown of the Queen Mother is the platinum crown manufactured for, and worn by, Queen Elizabeth, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the queen consort of King George VI of the United Kingdom at their coronation in Westminster Abbey in 1937...
as their official crests. In 2011, the Canadian Forces commands reverted to their former names.
Arts
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1945. Government support has played a vital role in their development enabling visual exposure through publications and periodicals featuring Canadian art, as has the establishment of numerous art schools and colleges across the country.
The works of most early Canadian painters followed European trends. During the mid-19th century, Cornelius Krieghoff
Cornelius Krieghoff
Cornelius David Krieghoff is probably the most popular Canadian painter of the 19th century. Krieghoff is most famous for his paintings of Canadian landscapes and Canadian life outdoors, which were sought-after in his own time as they are today. He is particularly famous for his winter scenes,...
, a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
born artist in Quebec, painted scenes of the life of the habitants
Habitants
Habitants is the name used to refer to both the French settlers and the inhabitants of French origin who farmed the land along the two shores of the St. Lawrence Gulf and River in what is the present-day Province of Quebec in Canada...
(French-Canadian farmers). At about the same time, the Canadian artist Paul Kane
Paul Kane
Paul Kane was an Irish-born Canadian painter, famous for his paintings of First Nations peoples in the Canadian West and other Native Americans in the Oregon Country....
painted pictures of Indian life in western Canada
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
. A group of landscape
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
painters called the Group of Seven
Group of Seven (artists)
The Group of Seven, sometimes known as the Algonquin school, were a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920-1933, originally consisting of Franklin Carmichael , Lawren Harris , A. Y. Jackson , Franz Johnston , Arthur Lismer , J. E. H. MacDonald , and Frederick Varley...
developed the first distinctly Canadian style of painting. All these artists painted large, brilliantly coloured scenes of the Canadian wilderness.
Since the 1930s, Canadian painters have developed a wide range of highly individual styles. Emily Carr
Emily Carr
Emily Carr was a Canadian artist and writer heavily inspired by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the first painters in Canada to adopt a post-impressionist painting style, Carr did not receive widespread recognition for her work until later in her life...
became famous for her paintings of totem pole
Totem pole
Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...
s in British Columbia. Other noted painters have included the landscape artist David Milne
David Milne (artist)
David Milne, was a Canadian painter, printmaker, and writer.- Biography :David Milne was born in the southwestern Ontario village of Burgoyne in 1882. He was the last of 10 children born to Scottish immigrant parents...
, the abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
painters Jean-Paul Riopelle
Jean-Paul Riopelle
Jean-Paul Riopelle, was a painter and sculptor from Quebec, Canada.-Biography:Born in Montreal, he studied under Paul-Émile Borduas in the 1940s and was a member of Les Automatistes movement. He was one of the signers of the Refus global manifesto...
and Harold Town
Harold Town
Harold Town was a Canadian abstract painter. He is best known as a member of Painters Eleven a group of abstract artists active in Toronto from 1954-1960. Town coined the name of the group, which was based simply on the number of artists that were present the first meeting...
and multi-media artist Michael Snow
Michael Snow
Michael Snow, CC is a Canadian artist working in painting, sculpture, video, films, photography, holography, drawing, books and music.-Life:...
.
The abstract art group Painters Eleven
Painters Eleven
Painters Eleven was a collective of abstract artists active in Canada from 1954 to 1960.-History:...
, particularly the artists William Ronald
William Ronald
William Ronald, R.C.A. William Ronald, R.C.A. (August 13, 1926 – February 9, 1998) William Ronald, R.C.A. (August 13, 1926 – February 9, 1998) (born William Ronald Smith, was an important Canadian painter, best known as the founder of the influential Canadian abstract art group...
and Jack Bush
Jack Bush
Jack Bush was a Canadian abstract expressionist painter, born in Toronto, Ontario in 1909 and he died there 24 January 1977...
, also had an important impact on modern art in Canada. Canadian sculpture has been enriched by the walrus ivory
Walrus ivory
Walrus tusk ivory comes from two modified upper canines. The tusks of a Pacific walrus may attain a length of one meter. Walrus teeth are also commercially carved and traded. The average walrus tooth has a rounded, irregular peg shape and is approximately 5cm in length.The tip of a walrus tusk has...
and soapstone
Soapstone
Soapstone is a metamorphic rock, a talc-schist. It is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich in magnesium. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occurs in the areas where tectonic plates are subducted, changing rocks by heat and pressure, with influx...
carvings by the Inuit art
Inuit art
Inuit art refers to artwork produced by Inuit people, that is, the people of the Arctic previously known as Eskimos, a term that is now often considered offensive outside Alaska...
ists. These carvings show objects and activities from the daily life of the Inuit.
Literature
Canadian literature
Canadian literature is literature originating from Canada. Collectively it is often called CanLit. Some criticism of Canadian literature has focused on nationalistic and regional themes, although this is only a small portion of Canadian Literary criticism...
is often divided into French and English-language literature, which are rooted in the literary traditions of France and Britain, respectively, However, collectively this literature has become distinctly Canadian. Canada’s literature, whether written in English or French, often reflects the Canadian perspective on nature, frontier life, and Canada’s position in the world, Canadian identity is closely tied to its literature. Canadian literature is often categorised by region or province; by the status of the author (for example,, literature of Canadian women, Acadians, Aboriginal peoples, and Irish Canadian
Irish Canadian
Irish Canadian are immigrants and descendants of immigrants who originated in Ireland. 1.2 million Irish immigrants arrived, 1825 to 1970, at least half of those in the period from 1831-1850. By 1867, they were the second largest ethnic group , and comprised 24% of Canada's population...
s); and by literary period, such as "Canadian postmoderns" or "Canadian Poets Between the Wars."
Canadian authors have accumulated numerous international awards. In 1992, Michael Ondaatje
Michael Ondaatje
Philip Michael Ondaatje , OC, is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist and poet of Burgher origin. He is perhaps best known for his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient, which was adapted into an Academy-Award-winning film.-Life and work:...
became the first Canadian to win the Man Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
for The English Patient
The English Patient
The English Patient is a 1992 novel by Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje. The story deals with the gradually revealed histories of a critically burned English accented Hungarian man, his Canadian nurse, a Canadian-Italian thief, and an Indian sapper in the British Army as they live out...
. Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
won the Booker in 2000 for The Blind Assassin
The Blind Assassin
The Blind Assassin is an award-winning, bestselling novel by the Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It was first published by McClelland and Stewart in 2000. Set in Canada, it is narrated from the present day, referring back to events that span the twentieth century.The work was awarded the Man...
and Yann Martel
Yann Martel
Yann Martel is a Canadian author best known for the Man Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi.-Early life:Martel was born in Salamanca, Spain where his father was posted as a diplomat for the Canadian government. He was raised in Costa Rica, France, Mexico, and Canada...
won it in 2002 for the Life of Pi
Life of Pi
Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age...
. Carol Shields
Carol Shields
Carol Ann Shields, CC, OM, FRSC, MA was an American-born Canadian author. She is best known for her 1993 novel The Stone Diaries, which won the U.S. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as the Governor General's Award in Canada.-Biography:Shields was born in Oak Park, Illinois...
's The Stone Diaries
The Stone Diaries
The Stone Diaries is a 1993 award-winning novel by Carol Shields.It is the fictional autobiography about the life of Daisy Goodwill Flett, a seemingly ordinary woman whose life is marked by death and loss from the beginning, when her mother dies during childbirth...
won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. It originated as the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, which was awarded between 1918 and 1947.-1910s:...
, and the 1994 National Book Critics Circle Award
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book Critics Circle to promote the finest books and reviews published in English....
.
Music
Music of Canada
The music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...
has reflected the multi-cultural influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
, the French, and the British have all made contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. Since French explorer Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
arrived in 1605 and established the first permanent Canadian settlements at Port Royal
Port Royal, Nova Scotia
Port Royal was the capital of Acadia from 1605 to 1710 and is now a town called Annapolis Royal in the western part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Initially Port Royal was located on the north shore of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, at the site of the present reconstruction of the...
and Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
in 1608, the country has produced its own composers, musicians and ensembles
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
. From the 17th century onward Canada has developed a music infrastructure, that includes church hall
Church hall
A church hall is a room or building associated with a church, general for community and charitable use . It is normally located near the church, typically in smaller and village communities. Activities in the hall are not necessarily religious, but are typically an important part of local community...
s, chamber hall
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
s, conservatories, academies
Academy
An academy is an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership.The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and skill, north of Athens, Greece. In the western world academia is the...
, performing arts center
Performing arts center
Performing arts center, often abbreviated PAC, is used to refer to* A multi-use performance space that is intended for use by various types of the performing arts, including dance, music and theatre....
s, record company
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s, radio stations and television music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
channels. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between the two countries.
Canadian music industry has been helped by government regulation designed to protect and encourage the growth of distinct Canadian culture. The Canadian Content (CANCON) regulations require all radio stations in Canada play at least 36% Canadian music. This has enabled Canadian artists to garner success on the airwaves which were once dominated by American and European acts. Due to these regulations, Canadian music has become much more prevalent on the airwaves. Individuals are honoured at The Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
s, recognizing Canadian achievement in popular music. In addition, Canada is home to a number of popular summer-time folk festivals, including the Winnipeg Folk Festival
Winnipeg Folk Festival
The Winnipeg Folk Festival is a summer folk music festival held in Birds Hill Provincial Park, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It features a variety of folk artists from all around the world, as well as a number of local folk performers....
. Canada has also produced many notable composers, who have contributed in a variety of ways to the history
Western art history
Western art is the art of the North American and European countries, and art created in the forms accepted by those countries.Written histories of Western art often begin with the art of the Ancient Middle East, Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Aegean civilisations, dating from the 3rd millennium BC...
of Western classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
.
Canadian theatre
Canada has a thriving stage theatre scene. Theatre festivals draw many tourists in the summer months, especially the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in StratfordStratford, Ontario
Stratford is a city on the Avon River in Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a population of 32,000.When the area was first settled by Europeans in 1832, the townsite and the river were named after Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is the seat of Perth County. Stratford was...
, Ontario, and the Shaw Festival
Shaw Festival
The Shaw Festival is a major Canadian theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, the second largest repertory theatre company in North America...
in Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a Canadian town located in Southern Ontario where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region of the southern part of the province of Ontario. It is located across the Niagara river from Youngstown, New York, USA...
, Ontario. The Famous People Players
Famous People Players
Famous People Players is a black light puppetry theatre company. It is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and tours worldwide. It is a non-profit organization which employs people with physical and intellectual disabilities...
are only one of many touring companies that have also developed an international reputation. Canada also boasts the world's second largest fringe festival
Fringe theatre
Fringe theatre is theatre that is not of the mainstream. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which name comes from Robert Kemp, who described the unofficial companies performing at the same time as the second Edinburgh International Festival as a ‘fringe’, writing: ‘Round the fringe...
the Edmonton International Fringe Festival
Edmonton International Fringe Festival
The Edmonton International Fringe Festival produced by the Fringe Theatre Adventures is an annual event held every August in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada....
. There are also 2 major theatre venues in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, the government-owned and sponsored National Arts Centre
National Arts Centre
The National Arts Centre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ottawa, Ontario, between Elgin Street and the Rideau Canal...
and the privately-owned Great Canadian Theatre Company
Great Canadian Theatre Company
The Great Canadian Theatre Company, known for short as GCTC, is a professional theatre company based in Ottawa, Canada. It was established in 1975. The company specialises in the production of Canadian plays....
.
Film and television
The Canadian film market was dominated by the American film industry for decades, although that film industry has since inception seen a prominent role for actors, directors, producers and technicians of Canadian origin. In the 1960s Michel BraultMichel Brault
Michel Brault, OQ is a Quebec cinematographer, cameraman, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He is a leading figure of Direct Cinema, characteristic of the French branch of the National Film Board of Canada in the 1960s...
, Pierre Perrault
Pierre Perrault
Pierre Perrault was a Québécois documentary film director. He directed 20 films between 1963 and 1996. He was one of the most important filmmakers in Canada although largely unknown outside of Québec...
, Gilles Groulx
Gilles Groulx
Gilles Groulx was a Canadian film director. He grew up in a working-class family with 14 children. After studying business in school, he went to work in an office but found the white-collar environment too stultifying...
, Jean Pierre Lefebvre
Jean Pierre Lefebvre
Jean Pierre Lefebvre is a French Canadian filmmaker. He is widely admired as "the godfather of independent Canadian cinema," particularly among young, independent filmmakers....
, Arthur Lamothe
Arthur Lamothe
Arthur Lamothe is a French Canadian film director and film producer.-Biography:Lamothe immigrated to Canada in 1953 and immediately got a job as a lumberjack in the Abitibi region of northern Quebec. In 1954 he began studying economic science at the Université de Montréal...
, Claude Jutra
Claude Jutra
Claude Jutra was a Canadian actor, film director and writer. The Prix Jutra are named in his honor because of his importance in Quebec cinema history. He was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec....
and other filmmakers from Quebec began to challenge Hollywood by making innovative and politically relevant documentary and feature films.
Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan, OC is a critically acclaimed Armenian-Canadian stage director and film director. Egoyan made his career breakthrough with Exotica...
(The Sweet Hereafter
The Sweet Hereafter (film)
The Sweet Hereafter is a 1997 Canadian film written and directed by Atom Egoyan. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Russell Banks.-Plot:...
, 1997) and David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
(The Fly
The Fly (1986 film)
The Fly is a 1986 science fiction horror film co-written and directed by David Cronenberg. Produced by 20th Century Fox, and Brooksfilms, the film stars Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis and John Getz. It is a remake of the 1958 film of the same name, but retains only the basic premise of a scientist...
, Naked Lunch
Naked Lunch (film)
Naked Lunch is the 1991 Canadian/British/Japanese film adaptation, directed by David Cronenberg, of William S. Burroughs' novel of the same name...
, A History of Violence
A History of Violence (film)
A History of Violence is a 2005 American crime thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 graphic novel of the same name by John Wagner and Vince Locke...
). Also, the distinct French-Canadian society permits the work of directors such as Denys Arcand
Denys Arcand
Georges-Henri Denys Arcand, is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. He has won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2004 for The Barbarian Invasions...
and Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve is a Canadian film director and writer. In his early career he won Radio-Canada's youth film competition "La Course Europe-Asie" in 1990-91. He is a three-time winner of the Genie Award for Best Director, for Maelström in 2001, Polytechnique in 2010 and Incendies in 2011...
. At the 76th Academy Awards
76th Academy Awards
The 76th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films of 2003 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 29, 2004 . The show was produced by Joe Roth and was hosted for the eighth time by comedian Billy Crystal.The...
Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions became Canada's first film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
.
A number of Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood
Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood
Motion pictures have been a part of the culture of Canada since the beginning.-History:Around 1910, the East Coast filmmakers began to take advantage of California winters and after Nestor Studios, run by Canadian Al Christie, built the first permanent movie studio in Hollywood a number of the...
significantly contributed to the creation of the motion picture industry in the early days of the 20th century. Over the years, many Canadians have made enormous contributions to the American entertainment industry, although they are frequently not recognized as Canadians.
Canada's film industry is in full expansion as a site for Hollywood productions. Since the 1980s, Canada, and Vancouver in particular, has become known as Hollywood North
Hollywood North
Hollywood North, an allusion to Hollywood, Los Angeles, United States, a notable film centre in the world, is a colloquialism used to describe film production industries and or film locations north of its namesake...
. The American Queer as Folk was filmed in Toronto. Canadian producers have been very successful in the field of science fiction
Canadian science fiction television
-History of science fiction television in Canada:Science fiction in Canada was produced by the CBC in its early years, notably the series Space Command . Actors such as James Doohan and William Shatner first appeared on Canadian television, before finding success in the United States. In the 1970s,...
since the mid-1990s, with such shows as The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
, Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
, the new Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
, Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
, and The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that originally aired on Showtime,the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002...
, all filmed in Vancouver. As with its southern counterpart in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, many Canadians are employed in the film industry, and celebrity-spotting is frequent throughout many Canadian cities.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, is the home of a variety of locally-produced shows. French-language television, like French Canadian film, is buffered from excessive American influence by the fact of language, and likewise supports a host of home-grown productions. The success of French-language domestic television and movies in Canada often exceeds that of its English-language counterpart.
The CRTC's Canadian content regulations dictate that a certain percentage of a domestic broadcaster's transmission time must include content that is produced by Canadians, or covers Canadian subjects. This also applies to US cable television
Cable television in the United States
Cable television in the United States is a common form of television delivery, generally by subscription. Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948, with subscription services in 1949. Data by SNL Kagan shows that as of 2006 about 58.4% of all American homes subscribe to...
channels such as MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
(MTV (Canada) and the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
(Discovery Channel (Canada), which have local versions of their channels available on Canadian cable networks
Multichannel television in Canada
Many Canadians now receive their television service through some sort of multichannel television platform, such as cable television or satellite television, as opposed to an antenna-based system providing only conventional stations...
. Similarly, BBC Canada
BBC Canada
BBC Canada is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel. It presents programming primarily from the BBC. BBC Canada is a joint venture between Shaw Media and BBC Worldwide.-Programming:Main article: List of programs broadcast by BBC Canada...
, while primarily showing BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
shows from the United Kingdom, also carries Canadian output.
The National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
, is 'a public agency that produces and distributes films and other audiovisual works which reflect Canada to Canadians and the rest of the world'. The agency helped to pioneer the concept of the documentary. Canada has produced many popular documentaries such as The Corporation, Nanook of the North
Nanook of the North
Nanook of the North is a 1922 silent documentary film by Robert J. Flaherty. In the tradition of what would later be called salvage ethnography, Flaherty captured the struggles of the Inuk Nanook and his family in the Canadian arctic...
, Final Offer
Final Offer
Final Offer is a Canadian film documenting the 1984 contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers Union and GM. Ultimately, it provided a historical record of the birth of the Canadian Auto Workers Union as Bob White, then head of the Canadian sector of the UAW, led his membership out of...
, and Canada: A People's History
Canada: A People's History
Canada: A People's History is a 17-episode, 32-hour documentary television series on the history of Canada. It first aired on CBC Television from October 2000 to November 2001. The production was an unusually large project for the national network, especially during budget cutbacks. The unexpected...
. The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is considered by many to be one of the most prevalent film festivals for Western cinema. It is the première film festival in North America from which the Oscars race begins.
Video Games
Canada is home to the world's third largest video game industry, behind only JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In part, this is made possible by a large pool of university-educated talent and high quality of life, but favorable government policies towards digital media
Digital media
Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...
companies also play a role in making Canada an attractive location for game development studios.
Award-winning and best-selling games have come from Canadian studios and gone on to become smash hits in the international market. Such games include BioWare
BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts...
's Mass Effect
Mass Effect
Mass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios. The Xbox 360 version was released worldwide in November 2007 published by Microsoft Game Studios...
and related games, Ubisoft Montreal
Ubisoft Montreal
Ubisoft Montreal is a Canadian video game developer owned by French publisher Ubisoft.Ubisoft's North American studio is located in Montreal, Quebec...
's Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed is an award-winning historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The bulk of the game takes place during the Third Crusade, with the plot revolving around a sect known as the Secret Order of...
series, and EA's FIFA Soccer series.
Canadian humour
Canadian humour
Canadian humour is an integral part of the Canadian Identity. There are several traditions in Canadian humour in both English and French. While these traditions are distinct and at times very different, there are common themes that relate to Canadians' shared history and geopolitical situation in...
is an integral part of the Canadian Identity. Canadian comedians such as Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
, John Candy
John Candy
John Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of The Second City and its related Second City Television series, and through his appearances in comedy films such as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, and Uncle...
, Mike Myers
Mike Myers (actor)
Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
, Norm Macdonald
Norm MacDonald
Norman Gene "Norm" Macdonald is a Canadian stand-up comedian, writer and actor. He is best known for his five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, which included anchoring Weekend Update for three years...
, 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...
, Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
, Michael Cera
Michael Cera
Michael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Youth in Revolt, Superbad, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Juno. Cera received the 2008 Canadian Comedy Award for best male performance for his work in Superbad.-Early...
, Martin Short
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
, 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...
, Tom Green
Tom Green
Michael Thomas "Tom" Green is a Canadian actor, rapper, writer, comedian, talk show host and media personality. Best known for his shock humour brand of comedy, Green found mainstream prominence via his MTV television show The Tom Green Show...
, Phil Hartman
Phil Hartman
Philip Edward "Phil" Hartman was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family moved to the United States when he was 10...
, Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, television director, producer, musician, and writer. He is known for his work in Canadian television series, American movies, and television movies. He is the only actor to have appeared in all eight of the American Pie films, as Noah Levenstein...
, Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on...
, Russell Peters
Russell Peters
Russell Dominic Peters is an Indo-Canadian comedian, actor and disc jockey. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.-Early life :...
, Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
and Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
are amongst the most recognized. Second City Television
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 :...
, otherwise known as SCTV
SCTV
SCTV can refer to:*Second City Television, a Canadian sketch comedy television program*SCTV , an Indonesian TV station*SCTV , a television station of Sichuan province in China...
, is also regarded as a television show which was very influential on the development of comedy television. There are several traditions in Canadian humour in both English
Canadian English
Canadian 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...
and French
Quebec French
Quebec French , or Québécois French, is the predominant variety of the French language in Canada, in its formal and informal registers. Quebec French is used in everyday communication, as well as in education, the media, and government....
. While these traditions are distinct and at times very different, there are common themes that relate to Canadians' shared history and geopolitical
Geopolitics
Geopolitics, from Greek Γη and Πολιτική in broad terms, is a theory that describes the relation between politics and territory whether on local or international scale....
situation in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and the world
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
. Various trends can be noted in Canadian comedy. One thread is the portrayal of a "typical" Canadian family in an on-going radio or television series. Examples include La famille Plouffe
La famille Plouffe
La famille Plouffe was a Canadian television drama, more specifically a téléroman, about a Quebec family that first aired in the French-language on Société Radio-Canada in 1953. The show was created to fill a void in francophone television in Canada...
, with its mix of drama, humour, politics and religion and sitcoms
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
such as King of Kensington
King of Kensington
King of Kensington was a Canadian television sitcom which aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1980.The show starred Al Waxman as Larry King, a convenience store owner in Toronto's Kensington Market who was known for helping friends and neighbours solve problems. His multicultural group of friends...
and La Petite Vie
La Petite Vie
La petite vie was first a stage sketch of the comedy duo Ding et Dong, formed by Claude Meunier and Serge Thériault, and later a hit Quebec television sitcom aired by Radio-Canada from 1993 to 1999...
. Another major thread tends to be political and cultural satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
: television shows such as CODCO
CODCO
CODCO was a Canadian comedy troupe from Newfoundland, best known for a sketch comedy series which aired on CBC Television from 1987 to 1992....
, 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...
, La Fin du monde est à 7 heures
La Fin du monde est à 7 heures
La Fin du monde est à 7 heures was a Quebec television comedy series, which aired on TQS from 1997 to 2000...
and 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...
, monologuists such as Yvon Deschamps
Yvon Deschamps
Yvon Deschamps, CQ is a Quebec author, actor, comedian and producer best known for his monologues. His social-commentary-tinged humour propelled him to prominence in Quebec popular culture in the 1970s and 1980s...
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...
and writers, including Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay, CQ is a Canadian novelist and playwright.Tremblay grew up in the Plateau Mont-Royal, a French-speaking neighbourhood of Montreal, at the time of his birth a neighbourhood with a working-class character and joual dialect, something that would heavily influence his work...
, Will Ferguson
Will Ferguson
William Stener "Will" Ferguson is a Canadian writer and novelist best known for his humorous observations on Canadian history and culture....
and Eric Nicol
Eric Nicol
Eric Patrick Nicol was a Canadian writer, best known as a longtime humour columnist for the Vancouver, British Columbia newspaper The Province...
draw their inspiration from Canadian and Québécois society and politics. Another trend revels in absurdity, demonstrated by television series like 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...
, The Tom Green Show
The Tom Green Show
The Tom Green Show is a North American television show that first aired in September 1994 on Rogers Television 22, a community channel in Ottawa, Ontario, until 1996, and was later picked up by The Comedy Network in 1997...
and The Frantics, and musician-comedians such as The Arrogant Worms
The Arrogant Worms
The Arrogant Worms are a Canadian musical comedy trio that parodies many musical genres. They are well known for their humorous on-stage banter in addition to their music.-History:...
, Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie
Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie
Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie are a Canadian comedy group from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Childhood friends Wes Borg and Joe Bird met actress Cathleen Rootsaert at a weekly Theatre Sports comedy jam to form the initial group. Later, Neil Grahn was recruited...
and Bowser and Blue
Bowser and Blue
George Bowser and Rick Blue, better known as Bowser and Blue, are a musical duo from Quebec, Canada who write and perform comedic songs...
. Satire is arguably the primary characteristic of Canadian humour, evident in each of these threads, and uniting various genres and regional cultural differences.
Humber College
Humber College
Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning is a polytechnic college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Humber offers more than 150 programs including: bachelor’s degree, diploma, certificate, post-graduate certificate and apprenticeship programs, across 40 fields of study. Humber serves...
in Toronto and the École nationale de l'humour in Montreal offer post-secondary programmes in comedy writing and performance. Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
is also home to the bilingual (English and French) Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1983. It is the largest international comedy festival in the world.- Information :...
festival and to the Just for Laughs Museum
Just for Laughs museum
The Just for Laughs Museum is a Canadian museum dedicated to humour located in Montreal, Quebec.- History :The Just for Laughs Museum was created by Gilbert Rozon, who wanted to buy in on the success of the Just for Laughs festival...
, a bilingual, international museum of comedy.
Sport
The sporting culture of Canada is different from that of many other countries. Compared to any other nation, Canadians prefer a unique set of sports that are imported from the United States or home grown — namely football, basketball, baseball, and ice hockey. In Canada, football means Canadian football or what is sometimes called gridironGridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
around the world.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice 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...
, referred to as simply hockey in the country, is Canada's official winter sport
National sport
A national sport or national pastime is a sport or game that is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are de facto national sports, as baseball is in the U.S., while others are de jure as lacrosse and ice hockey are in Canada.-De jure national sports:-De facto...
, its most popular spectator sport, and its most successful sport in international competition. Lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
, a sport with Aboriginal
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
origins, is Canada's oldest sport and official summer sport. Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
is Canada's second most popular spectator sport, 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 annual championship, the 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...
, is the country's largest annual sports event. Association football, known in Canada as soccer in both English and French, has the most registered players of any sport in Canada, but has never enjoyed sustained popularity as a major professional
Professional sports
Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations...
spectator sport
Spectator sport
A spectator sport is a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches. For instance, Tennis, Rugby, F-1, baseball, basketball, cricket, football , and ice hockey are spectator sports, while hunting or underwater hockey typically are not...
even though the last few years have showed an improvement in terms of popularity and media coverage.
Other popular team sports include Ringette
Ringette
Ringette is a team sport played on an ice surface. Played primarily by females, Ringette requires the use of straight sticks to control a rubber ring; with the objective of the game being to score goals by shooting the ring into the opponent's net. It was introduced by Sam Jacks in North Bay,...
, 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...
, street hockey
Street hockey
Street hockey is a variation of the sport of ice hockey where the game is played on foot or with inline skates or roller skates. The object of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by shooting a ball or puck into the opposing team's net...
, cricket
Cricket in Canada
In fact, it was so popular that it was declared the national sport by John A. Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada. There are well over 40,000 cricketers in the country....
, rugby
Rugby union in Canada
Rugby union is a minority team sport in Canada; it is relatively strong as a participation sport, particularly in several hotspots like British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador, but does not attract the same level of spectator support...
, soccer
Soccer in Canada
Association football, more commonly known in Canada as soccer, is the most popular sport in terms of participation rate. According to FIFA's Big Count, 2,695,712 people played in Canada in 2006.-Terminology:...
and softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
. Currently, Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
is the fastest growing sport in Canada. Popular individual sports include auto racing
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
, boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, MMA
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
, cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
, ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
, rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
, skateboarding
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
, skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, triathlon
Triathlon
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
, track and field, water sports, bobsledding and wrestling
Amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
. As a country with a generally cool climate
Temperature in Canada
The average temperatures of Canada vary across the country; the table below shows the temperature of various cities across Canada.The table can be reordered by clicking on the box in each column.-External links :*...
, Canada has enjoyed greater success at the Winter Olympics
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...
than at the Summer Olympics
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...
, although significant regional variations in climate allow for a wide variety of both team and individual sports. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Canada broke the record for winning the most gold medals for any one country in Winter Olympic history.
Great achievements in Canadian sport are recognized by Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...
, while the Lou Marsh Trophy
Lou Marsh Trophy
The Lou Marsh Trophy, also known as the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, with the vote taking place in December. It was first awarded in 1936...
is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete by a panel of journalists.
Cuisine
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
has been paraphrased to have noted: "Canada has a cuisine of cuisines. Not a stew pot, but a smorgasbord." There are considerable overlaps between Canadian food and the rest of the cuisine in North America, many unique dishes (or versions of certain dishes) are found and available only in the country. Common contenders as the Canadian national food
National dish
A national dish is a dish, food or a drink that is considered to represent a particular country, nation or region.A dish can become a national dish for a variety of reasons. It can be the national dish because it is a staple daily food for the majority of the population. It can also be the national...
include Poutine
Poutine
Poutine 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...
and Butter tarts. A noteworthy fact is that Canada is the world's largest producer of Maple syrup
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
.
The three earliest cuisines of Canada have First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
, English, and French roots, with the traditional cuisine of English Canada
English Canada
English Canada is a term used to describe one of the following:# English-speaking Canadians, as opposed to French-speaking Canadians. It is employed when comparing English- and French-language literature, media, or art...
closely related to British
British cuisine
English cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with England. It has distinctive attributes of its own, but also shares much with wider British cuisine, largely due to the importation of ingredients and ideas from places such as North America, China, and India...
and American cuisine
Cuisine of the United States
American cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from the United States of America. European colonization of the Americas yielded the introduction of a number of ingredients and cooking styles to the latter...
, while the traditional cuisine of French Canada
French Canada
French Canada, also known as "Lower Canada", is a term to distinguish the French Canadian population of Canada from English Canada.-Definition:...
has evolved from French cuisine
French cuisine
French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...
and the winter provisions of fur traders
Coureur des bois
A coureur des bois or coureur de bois was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian woodsman who traveled in New France and the interior of North America. They travelled in the woods to trade various things for fur....
. With subsequent waves of immigration in the 18th and 19th century from Central
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
, Southern
Southern Europe
The term Southern Europe, at its most general definition, is used to mean "all countries in the south of Europe". However, the concept, at different times, has had different meanings, providing additional political, linguistic and cultural context to the definition in addition to the typical...
, and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, and also 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...
, the regional cuisines were subsequently augmented.
Outside views
In 1984, Baron MoranBaron Moran
Baron Moran, of Manton in the County of Wiltshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.It was created on 8 March 1943 for the physician Charles Wilson...
, the British High Commissioner to Canada, stated that, in his opinion, Canadians have limited talents and are "deeply unimpressive." Said Moran, "Anyone who is even moderately good at what they do — in literature, the theater, skiing of whatever — tends to become a national figure. And anyone who stands out at all from the crowd tends to be praised to the skies and given the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
at once."
A 2007 poll ranked Canada as the country with the most positive influence in the world. 28,000 people in 27 countries were asked to rate 12 countries as either having a positive or negative worldwide influence. Canada’s overall influence rating topped the list with 54 per cent of respondents rating it mostly positive and only 14 per cent mostly negative.
The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is home to a number of perceptions about Canadian culture, due to the countries' partially-shared heritage and the relatively large number of cultural features common to both the US and Canada. Many in the United States believe that the typical Canadian is more polite than his or her American counterpart. Canada and the United States are often inevitably compared as sibling countries, and the perceptions that arise from this oft-held contrast have gone to shape the advertised worldwide identities of both nations: the United States is seen as the rebellious child of the British Crown, forged in the fires of violent revolution
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
; Canada is the more calm offspring of the United Kingdom known for a more relaxed national demeanor.
See also
- Culture of AlbertaCulture of AlbertaSummer brings many festivals to the province of Alberta. Edmonton's Fringe Festival is the world's second largest after Edinburgh's. Edmonton also hosts some of Canada's largest Folk Festivals, Multicultural Festivals, and Heritage Days . Calgary is also home to Carifest, the second largest...
- Culture of SaskatchewanCulture of SaskatchewanCulture of Saskatchewan views the patterns of human activity in the central prairie province of Canada examing the way people live in the geography, climate, and social context of Saskatchewan. Cultural activities involve technology, science, as well as moral systems and the characteristic...