Escaping Extinction - The Amer

When the United States flexes their muscles, claws at our existence, or when we are sceptical of their policies, we become nationalists seeking to protect our national interest. A Canadian nationalist is someone like Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney, who advances, protects and promotes our national interest by standing up against the Americans. Our relationship is one of cooperation and conflict, imitation and competition, and in constant need of readjustment. Our wish to compete with and need to cooperate is a very Canadian contradiction. Canada between the years of 1868-1993 was shaped by a period contradiction; Canadians during this period were nationalists and contientialists at the same time.

The main reason for noncompliance with deregulation is the fear that Canadian and especially Quebecois culture would be overtaken by America. Unfortunately, in reality, the more powerful and thriving nation has the upper-hand and may enforce more control. Is the future of Quebec in jeopardy of being swallowed up by the big giant? Quebec's and Canada's main interest is the promotion and maintenance of their "cultural identity" and their main fear is too much American influence, especially within the media (Tremblay, 1992). In accordance with this need of protection, the Canadian broadcasting policy within the Broadcasting Act of 1991 strictly adheres to th... ... middle of paper ... ...zation of the Global Village: An Examination of the Cultural Imperialism Theory."

Quebec's separation perhaps is inedible and the future of Canada questionable. Canada without Quebec will bring about many complications and whether there is a rest of Canada (ROC) after Quebec a major challenge. Western alienation and the lack of representation in federal affairs will be a factor; moreover, past actions and historical events may have turned Canada into a time bomb, and the deterioration of the provinces the only sulotion. How First Ministers react to Quebec's sovereignty regarding economic factors, political structure, and constitutional issues will be of great importance. Whether emotional issues will play a major role in decision making is subjective; however, it is fair to say that it will be an emotionally charged event and it could either tear apart the ROC or fuse it together.

To understand the October Crisis and the implementation of the War Measures Act a brief look at the incidents preceding the kidnapping must be acknowledged. The English and French societies of Canada have a deep history of malcontent, but an ever growing form of acceptance has culminated between the two co-existing nations. Since the time of confederation there have been citizens within the province of Quebec that have felt oppressed by the ever dominant Anglo society and felt that Quebec should be an independent nation; upon this basis of independence the Parti Quebecois was created, along with the FLQ (Front Liberation du Quebec). Preceding the kidnappings of James Cross, a British Diplomat, and Pierre Laporte, the French Labour Minister, a history of violence had already been atypical of the FLQ . The FLQ was created during a period of time known as the Quiet Revolution; the Quiet Revolution was directly linked to the Liberal party, led by Jean Lesage, comin... ... middle of paper ... ...he public of Canada, but it was supported by-and-large by the Canadian public: who is then to blame?

I have heard many more stories like this. Having said that, this story probably resonates with many immigrants in Canada; they have it hard too. So why is it that these immigrants are what make up the Canadian identity of the “Mosaic” and the Aboriginal people in Canada do not consider themselves apart of that? By immigrating to Canada, these people are deciding to lose hold of their roots and sacrifice a little bit of their identity in order to have a better life, they let the government take control. Aboriginal people in Canada have tried their best to keep hold of their roots and identity and have refused to subdue to the Canadian Mosaic.

National Identity Crisis in Margaret Atwood’s Through the One-Way Mirror National identity is one of the most important factors in maintaining a country. It defines one’s nation, culture and everything associated with that country. When it comes to Canada, however, it seems that our national identity has been lost. In Margaret Atwood’s essay “Through the One-Way Mirror,” she effectively questions Canada’s national identity through symbolism and ambiguity. At first glance, this essay seems to be about American dominance in the Canadian-American relationship with its numerous powerful metaphors and extensive use of symbolism.

Is Canadian Culture Doomed to Become American? As Alvin Toffler once said, “The wider any culture is spread, the thinner it gets”1. Such holds true for the American culture, which is not only a dominating factor in its own internal market and known domestically but also a dictating force in countries around the world on the global scale, and the first on their list – Canada. This issue of cultural imperialism is touched upon by Gaëtan Tremblay in his article, “Is Quebec Culture Doomed to Become American?” Although Tremblay talks about the American culture’s influence on Canada as a whole, his main concern in this article is Quebec, which is in a separate league than the rest of Canada due to its different linguistics. Tremblay focuses on Quebec culture and raises many significant issues that should be noticed.

The Canadian identity has always been difficult to define. We, as Canadians, have continued to define ourselves by reference to what we are not - American - rather than in terms of our own national history and tradition. This is ironic since the United States is continuing to be allowed by Canadians to take over our economy and literally buy our country. Culturally Canada has its own distinct government and institutions which differ and are better from those in the United States, but economically the country has been all but sold out to America. The major cultural differences to be examined are that of Canada's strong government, institutions such as welfare and universal healthcare, and our profound respect for law and authority.

The article makes different point for each of the main five themes that are played throughout. The first theme is Identification of British, it focuses on Canadian editorials and newspapers that indicated strong loyalty to Great Britain, and helps define Canadian identity as British. However, before Confederation, Canada was politically, diplomatically, military and interactions with the United States depended on Great Britain. The U.S., British, and Canadian relations was trapped by Canadian foreign affairs and focused on Great Britain reaction to the American crisis that separated Canadian concerns. Great Britain recognized that the Confederate states and Army right to trade over open seas, several news editorials noted that the relation between the United States and Great Britain were tense on their past.

Vote No For Quebec To Be Separate From Canada I urge you as a fellow Canadian to vote NO! to the upcoming referendum question. Canada as a whole has many unique qualities. Our most valued characteristic is our cultural diversity. Our combination of Anglophone and Francophone regions throughout our country and their ability to work together sets us apart from the rest of the world.