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Happy Canada Day!
On this Canada Day, I have a brief history to share, along with a few quotes about Canada Day.
On July 1, 1867, the British North America Act united the three colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada (now the two provinces of Ontario and Quebec) into a single country within the British Empire. This Act of Parliament was known as the Constitution Act, and it granted Canada substantial freedom from England, although it remained a part of the British Commonwealth, and most Canadians of the time still thought of themselves as British citizens. The Dominion of Canada became a kingdom in its own right, although the British Parliament maintained some rights of limited political control. The first official celebration of Dominion Day marking this occasion was held in 1917, on Canada's 50th birthday. The centennial, in 1967, was the first truly widespread celebration of the birthday.
The national anthem, O Canada, was established on July 1, 1980.
O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
A few years ago, the third line was changed to "true patriot love in all of us command," but it doesn't quite come naturally to me yet!
Canada received full and complete independence from Great Britain on July 1, 1982, and later that year, the name Dominion Day was officially changed to Canada Day.
Our hopes are high. Our faith in the people is great. Our courage is strong. And our dreams for this beautiful country will never die. ~Pierre Trudeau
Canada is the homeland of equality, justice and tolerance. ~Kim Campbell
I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind. ~John Diefenbaker
Whether we agree politically with these former Prime Ministers or not, they said the right things on occasion, which I suppose is probably true of most politicians. Here's what a British Prime Minster had to say about Canada:
There are no limits to the majestic future which lies before the mighty expanse of Canada with its virile, aspiring, cultured, and generous-hearted people. ~Winston Churchill
I hope he's right. I hope Canadians value their freedom and all the advantages they enjoy and fight to keep those freedoms.
Canadians have an abiding interest in surprising those Americans who have historically made little effort to learn about their neighbour to the North. ~Peter Jennings
I have actually found that to be true, especially when we first moved to the USA and were surprised at how much we had to explain about Canada.
Canada is a country whose main exports are hockey players and cold fronts. Our main imports are baseball players and acid rain. ~Pierre Trudeau
Hysterically funny, amazingly talented people. That's what I think of when I think of Canada. That, and cold beer. And mountains. ~Richard Patrick
You forgot hockey and curling!
Here are some links to my past articles with background on a few Canadian treats we enjoy, and the recipes:
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4 comments:
Your post was very interesting to read ! It's true we know little about Canada in Europe, more about the USA. I learned to know Canada through blogging and have a few Blogfriends there. I also have two friends whose son were sent to Canada by their companies to stay there for 3 years. Both decided to stay and asked for Canadian citizenship, their children are Canadians. Maybe we learned more about the USA at school because it is a melting pot of all European citizens !
I am so embarrassed to admit this, but I did not realize Canada had obtained complete independence from Great Britain in the 80s! Happy Canada Day!
Very interesting post. I follow a few Canadian blogs but most cover fashion and lifestyle so it was good to read about the history of independence and the Canadian spirit.
I didn't realize the song was so recent! This history was really interesting since we sadly don't learn about it much in US schools.
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