Essay On Canadian Identity

Aboriginal – we were here first
European exploration, settlements and religion completely changed our way of life.
European explorers and fur traders started in the east and worked their way west. These explorers kept asking us (the natives) if we knew anything about this “North West Passage”? We didn’t know what they were talking about so we showed them the Rocky Mountains. The mountains appeared to only slow them down, for the time being, but they eventually made a road of steel with a great iron horse (steam locomotive) that was able to come through the mountains (both figuratively and literally) and across the Great Plains, in 1885.
After this the white European settlers came. This is when things really changed for us and the Canadian government took our children away from our communities and forced them into what were called Residential Schools that were run primarily by Christian missionaries. This was very

So as a mosaic that celebrates the culture, music and traditions of our various ethnic countries, how do we choose from this what is Canadian? If we want to look at Canadian identity, perhaps we should look at what is common amongst these cultures and ultimately what allows our multi-cultural society to exist. In my opinion, we as young, old or new Canadians have a much broader level of tolerance, respect and acceptance. This allows the people from various ethnic cultures to be able to practice their ways and traditions in a free and open manner, usually without fear or persecution. By doing so we are able to learn from these other cultures this, I feel, makes Canada a better place to be. Some other symbols of our Canadian national identity can be seen in some of our national sports, for example hockey. It may be played on a frozen patch of ice but it is played with skill, speed and strength along with hard work determination and