Reflections On Canada Day 2015: Pride In Our Accomplishments
I’m writing this on the morning of Canada Day 2015, thinking about all the fascinating things I’ve read about and all the people I’ve met. One thing I’ve come across is the persistent concern many Canadians seem to have about how we define ourselves, and the way we can fret about how other countries see us.
Jerry Agar wrote about how fervently many Canadians define themselves as “not American”. Bill Brady comments on how inferior we sometimes feel to the Americans. Part of the WikiLeaks revelations involved American authorities talking about Canada’s “inferiority complex” when dealing with the United States. In his book Canadians: A Portrait Of A Country And Its People, Roy MacGregor quoted journalist Walter Stewart, who wrote in the 1970s that smugness had become our “national disease”.
Irvin Studin writes about how content we supposedly are to follow in the footsteps of other countries, whether they be the United States or the UK, instead of acting more vigorously to develop our own national institutions in many fields. Randall Denley talks about how content we supposedly are to stay home and let the world come to us, instead of going out and actively engaging it.
In his book A Fair Country, John Ralston Saul writes about the colonial mentality of many of our elites, and how content they are to play second fiddle to other countries, and define their worth relative to what the elites in other countries think of them. The Franco-Québécois expression about a “peuple de petit pain” (people of little bread), refers to a people who are always going to be second-rate and mediocre. As early as 1949, Merril Denson commented in a speech to the Empire Club of Canada about Canada’s “inferiority complex”, and many Canadians’ inability to celebrate, or even know about, their country’s own successes.
It’s a pity, then, that so many of us feel this way when you consider the impact that Canadians have had on the world, an influence far out of proportion to our small population.
Militarily, Canadians have become renowned for their fierceness and skill in fighting. In the American Revolution and the War of 1812, British soldiers teamed up with Francophone Canadiens and First Nations warriors to drive out American invaders. In World War I, German troops became afraid to face Canadians in battle, even when the Canadians had to contend with poor equipment and worse leadership. In World War II Canadians fought fiercely throughout Europe, notably at Normandy, Dieppe and Italy, playing a critical role in saving the world from Hitler’s twisted evil. Lester Pearson’s peacekeeping initiatives in the Suez Canal crisis earned him the Nobel Peace Prize and led to him being credited for saving the world. His legacy continued to live on as peacekeepers have helped to reduce conflict in places ranging from Mozambique to Haiti to Bosnia. Canada also joined the American coalition to fight Saddam Hussein in the first Gulf War, helping the Kuwaitis regain their freedom.
Diplomatically, Lester Pearson also helped establish the modern state of Israel. Robert Borden helped establish the British Commonwealth by insisting that the British dominions should be treated as diplomatic equals to Great Britain itself. John Diefenbaker was ahead of his time when he got the British Commonwealth to expel South Africa for its practices of apartheid, an effort Brian Mulroney would later build on when Canada helped to finally put an end to South African apartheid.
Scientifically, Canadians have developed insulin treatments, standard time zones, the electron microscope, the pacemaker, an early version of the lightbulb, the Canadarm, the telephone handset, and much more.
Culturally, Canadians ranging from Mary Pickford to James Cameron to David Cronenberg to William Shatner have all made a tremendous impact on American television and film, which has been further broadcast to the world. Homegrown television shows such as SCTV, Bizarre, The Raccoons, Murdoch Mysteries, Due South and The Red Green Show have attracted international followings. Red Green has also become a huge fundraiser for American public broadcasting.
Musically, Canadians are represented not only by the likes of Celine Dion and Nickelback, but also the Guess Who, Rush, Leahy, Glenn Gould, Randy Bachman and Susan Aglukark.
In sports, Canadians are represented by the likes of racers Jacques and Gilles Villeneuve, figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, boxer Lennox Lewis, runner Donovan Bailey, and of course hockey players like Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Bobby and Brett Hull and Gordie Howe. Canadian sports figures have also left important legacies for future generations-the annual runs begun by Terry Fox have raised millions of dollars for cancer research, while Dr. James Naismith’s invention of basketball has provided an entertainment and outlet for thousands of people both in Canada, the United States and beyond, enabling them to develop their talents and their communities.
This is hardly a complete list of the contributions Canadians have made to the world, of course. That said, they do reflect the fact that we don’t need to insult other countries to feel good about ourselves, or feel inferior to them and follow meekly in their footsteps. Our successes speak for themselves in many different fields, contributions that show just what we’re capable of when we strive for the best.
Vive le Canada uni!
This article was written in response to the inferiority complex many Canadians seem to show towards foreign countries like the United States. Here, I show that we have a lot to be proud of as Canadians, and we don’t need to compare ourselves to other countries.
