{"id":18554,"date":"2017-01-01T07:00:55","date_gmt":"2017-01-01T12:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/?p=18554"},"modified":"2020-03-26T03:46:23","modified_gmt":"2020-03-26T07:46:23","slug":"canada-begins-a-year-long-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/2017\/01\/01\/canada-begins-a-year-long-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada begins a year-long celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo:<\/a>

Photo: Ross Dunn<\/a>, Creative Commons, some rights reserved<\/p><\/div>\n

The party\u2019s just getting started in Canada. 2017 is the 150th<\/sup> anniversary of confederation and New Year\u2019s Eve is the start of year-long festivities to mark the occasion. In Ottawa, that means fireworks and entertainment on Parliament Hill. Other events and programs will happen throughout the year. It\u2019s an unusual phenomenon for a country that does not easily celebrate itself. Many Canadians only fly a flag on Canada Day.<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Canada's<\/a>

Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, 1870. Photo: George Lancefield<\/a>, public domain<\/p><\/div>\n

Why was Canada formed in the first place? It was all about economics, governance, and protecting identity. Ontario and Quebec were jointly governed by weak coalition legislatures that seldom lasted long and did not have a permanent capital. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia had economic challenges. All four colonies were wary of a post-Civil War invasion of Canada by the United States or the possibility of having no economic independence from their Yankee neighbor. Leaders like Sir John A. Macdonald, who ended up as the first Prime Minister, wanted to tie the country together economically and socially through projects like the Canadian Pacific Railway and protectionist trade to discourage too much economic assimilation with the US. The result was that the four colonies became the founding provinces of the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867. Manitoba joined in 1870, British Columbia in 1871, Prince Edward Island in 1873, Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1905, and finally Newfoundland and Labrador in 1949.<\/p>\n

\"Cover<\/a>

Cover of the Portage la Prairie, Manitoba Boy Scouts Centennial Cookbook. \u00a0It includes the official centennial logo. Photo: James Morgan<\/p><\/div>\n

50 years ago, Canadians celebrated their centennial year. Communities large and small had a centennial project of some kind. Montreal\u2019s was Expo \u201967, the world\u2019s fair. A group of canoeists crossed the country as a way of capturing the old Voyageur spirit. A train crossed Canada as a traveling museum, making stops along the way. The whistle was calibrated to sound like the opening notes of \u201cO Canada.\u201d A lot of small parks, hockey rinks, baseball diamonds, and schools got built. My grandparents lived in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba at the time and the Boy Scout committee decided to publish a recipe book as a centennial project. My grandmother was on the cookbook committee and for her community service, was given a centennial letter opener with the special issue penny, nickel, and dime encased inside the transparent handle. Other centennial souvenirs included teacups and ashtrays. Gift and cookware wholesalers have been advertising 150th<\/sup> anniversary merchandise to retailers lately, too.<\/p>\n

\"Heritage<\/a>

Heritage for sale: The Wallace Centennial Park was Wallace Township’s centennial project in 1967. Wallace dissolved into the town of North Perth in 1998. North Perth has decided to sell the park for development. Photo: James Morgan<\/p><\/div>\n

50 years later, the word \u201ccentennial\u201d remains on a lot of facilities across Canada that were built in 1967. The distinct centennial logo is still visible on many of them. Similar projects are planned for 2017, only with the equally distinct Canada 150 logo. One of the 1967 facilities has an uncertain future. Gowanstown is a hamlet near where I grew up in southwestern Ontario. The North Perth town council decided a few months ago that the Centennial Park there is \u201csurplus to the needs of the municipality\u201d and put the park up for sale. Selling surplus land makes sense for a town short on cash, but is it right to sell a park where a cairn of stone stands covered in plaques honoring the 100th<\/sup> anniversary of the country and the pioneers who settled the area? It may make good financial sense, but it\u2019s rotten as far as civic pride and respect for history go.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, Canada weathers its 150th<\/sup> year with the relative peace, order, and good government that has typified its first 149 years. Canada has had its moments of both honor and shame throughout its history. This year is about celebrating what is good, and in typical Canadian fashion, apologizing for our mistakes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The party\u2019s just getting started in Canada. 2017 is the 150th anniversary of confederation and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[17011,880,17013,7,17012],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18554"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18554"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22024,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18554\/revisions\/22024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}