What does it mean to be Canadian?

[youravatar]

Any thoughts? 

I personally think the Canadian National Identity has slowly been eroded throughout history. What makes Canada unique? How can we bring it to the world stage? How can Canada once again rise up and be strong.

 

[DVessey]

What do you mean by rise up and be strong again? I think Canada's doing pretty damn well for itself.

 

[youravatar]

What do you mean by rise up and be strong again? I think Canada's doing pretty damn well for itself.

Nationally. Yes we're fine. What i'm saying and what i belive is that Canada needs to go through a sort of renaissence of it's culture in order to become more relevent. Does any of this make sense or have i just been up to late.

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/39343.0.html

This thread was brought up by a_majoor

 

[Amos]

It means that you call yourself "Canadian", not French Canadian, not Italian Canadian, not Lebanese Canadian...need I say more!!  And that you be very dam proud to fly the Maple Leaf on your house or in your yard!  And that you feel very fortunate to have been born or have immigrated to this great country.  And that every Remembrance Day you attend a ceremony in your community to pay respect to our great fallen comrades and present members serving....or, at the very least, stop and honour our fallen at 1100 hrs on 11/11. 
That, my friends, is what it means to be CANADIAN, and I sure as hell am one!  Thanks for listening....
Sincerely,  Amos

 

[retiredgrunt45]

Amos, I'll second that!!! 

We are all Canadian, one nationality, one country.

 

[Rodahn]

It means that you call yourself "Canadian", not French Canadian, not Italian Canadian, not Lebanese Canadian...need I say more!!  And that you be very dam proud to fly the Maple Leaf on your house or in your yard!  And that you feel very fortunate to have been born or have immigrated to this great country.  And that every Remembrance Day you attend a ceremony in your community to pay respect to our great fallen comrades and present members serving....or, at the very least, stop and honour our fallen at 1100 hrs on 11/11. 
That, my friends, is what it means to be CANADIAN, and I sure as hell am one!  Thanks for listening....
Sincerely,  Amos

Amos, I agree with all that you have written but, and this is an awful big but.... At the same time we as Canadians do not take ourselves so overly seriously that we cannot still laugh at ourselves as a nation, but as a people as well. In my heart of hearts this is of the utmost importance, as we are an extremely diverse nation.

 

[Sig_Des]

I agree with the canadian identity, but I still think it's important to keep a grasp to other cultural identities you may have. I myself and a French/Irish-Canadian. And I hold onto that.

 

[George Wallace]

........ I myself and a French/Irish-Canadian. .......

We aren't to interested in you yourself; but your better half is another story........is she cute.....a 'firery red-headed Quebecois'?  ;D

 

[career_radio-checker]

When I get on the no. 8 bus I see Caucasians, Blacks, Asians, Indians and Arabs. Each one portraying the characteristics of their respective peoples and speaking their own language. You begin to wonder if everyone lives in this country without any unifying personality... until you get to the next stop, where a crowd of the same mosaic is held up -- too polite to be the first on the bus. Now THAT'S Canadian. 

 

[rz350]

To me each different culture that is here makes up what being Canadian is. We are such a great nation because we take and learn from every culture and nationality that makes up this great land.

There is nothing wrong with a country that can speak English, French, Italian, Urdu, Arabic, Portuguese, Cree, Russian, Spanish, Cantonese, ect.

To me Canadian culture is it self a mix of other cultures, we (Canadians) eat food of every type, have many religions, speak many tongues, wear many types of clothes, that is our culture. No one thinks it odd to hear Arabic one moment and Italian the next.

I'm proud to be Canadian, a person in what might be the most diverse and broadest country in the world.

 

[jonoxford]

What really makes me proud to be Canadian is that we are welcomed in most of the friendly parts of the world. It would be a shame to lose even just this aspect of our identity. Whereas Americans travelling abroad often use our flag as cover.

 

[geo]

(JK)
Q. How do you get 500 Canadians to get out of a pool?
A. Blow your whistle and say, everyone out of the pool!

 

[3rd Horseman]

I don't know but it is interesting reading.

What is a Canadian? I can answer....An immigrant with seniority!

Arrived 1608...I got seniority

 

[condor888000]

1880's....not even close. Better than the other side though, 1977.

How you get it down that accurate? Or are you guessing a little bit there?

 

[geo]

3rd...
Mine got here in 1604 with Champlain - Seniority!

 

[a_majoor]

Where you came from or when you got here are only relevant in the concept of "Blood" or Ethnic nationalism. To a Quebec soverentist, if you are not "Pur laine" Québécois  it does not matter if you arrived yesterday, at the end of the last Ice Age or with the Vikings in 1100 AD, you are not nor ever will be a Québécois. To mold Canadian people into a Nation, as opposed to tenants in a State, we need to invoke the concept of Civic Nationalism, where people adhere to common symbols and (yes) mythology over their historical or ethnic roots. The Roman Empire and the United States are perhaps the two best examples of Civic Nationalism in action, the disintegration of the Hapsburg empire or former Yugoslavia illustrates what can happen when Ethnic Nationalism becomes paramount.

I bring up the example of Quebec only because they are the most prominent of the various "Ethnic" national factions in Canada. For a further discussion along these lines, see: Quebec Liberals call province a "nation" http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/52143/post-469025.html#msg469025

 

[booted]

It means that you call yourself "Canadian", not French Canadian, not Italian Canadian, not Lebanese Canadian...

To be, that's the first reason why I AM Canadian.
Secondly, I think Canada is doing pretty darn well in standing tall and proud among the other Countries.

 

[geo]

Majoor..... that is one thread I do not even want to discuss

My dad's side of the family came ashore with Champlain (and yes, I have what it takes to be billed as "pure laine").... while my mum's family would be the same in Bermuda... whocares

To me, I a dyed in the wool CANADIAN...

Chimo!