Is Canadian Culture Doomed to Become American?

"Canada's Culture War Questioned." The Washington Post Company. Online at: , consulted on February 9, 2004. TREMBLAY, Gaëtan (1992). "Is Quebec Culture Doomed to Become American?

But it was chosen after reflection, which was certainly measured and…also mature. The greatest threat to Canada lies in the possibility (some might even say probability) that, as the result of the strong presence of American influences, Canadian cultural development may be stunted. United States styles, ideas, and products are never far away. There is, alas, a well-grounded fear that as a consequence, Canadian perceptions, values, ideas, and priorities will become so dominated by those of the southern neighbours that the distinctiveness of Canada will, to all intents and purposes, vanish. As in so many other areas, the prime ingredient in the escape from extinction is to recognize the problem realistically and then to have the will to act upon it.

But today more then even Canadian culture is affected by the American influence. Media, American artists, economic dependence, American propaganda and political pressure from the United States is making Canada too Americanized. All of these factors reflect on the social life of ordinary Canadians threatening the heritage and the traditions that define Canada as independent country. Canada and the United States are the largest trade partners in the world. It is the result of the geographical position of two countries and the free trade between two countries.

He supported this with an extract from the Broadcasting Act which focused on that point. His article started off strong but then weakened with his excessive use of quotations from the Canadian Broadcasting Act and his minimum effort in evaluating the quotes themselves. After discussing the importance of culture to Canadians he went on to mention how culture is not as important to Americans with his statement “For Americans, in contrast, cultural products are commodities like any other..”. Although this may strengthen his argument, it is also a biased statement since he is not American himself and he stated it like it was a known fact. Following that accusation, he attempted to support his idea of America’s dissolving culture by an exert from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration report which focuseed on the deregulation of their radio broadcasting system.

This understanding stems from the understanding that many Canadians have about the idea of “two nations” in the country being of two founding peoples, the English and the French, but this sense of agreement ends here (Elliott 1). This reality has since expanded to encompass Aboriginals under this idea of nation founders, amidst an ever-expanding multicultural understanding of Canada. The historical foundations of the RCBB were sparked by a period of great change in Canada during the 1960s, especially in terms of the immigrant policies. These changes stood to both change and challenge previous immigration requirements, which were based on geographical and racial exclusion (Haque 20). With the demand for labour increasing in Canada, the immigration laws needed to be changed in order to allow for an increase in immigration once again.

In this paper, I will discuss Brian Gabrial’s article, “The Second Revolution”: Expressions of Canadian Identity in News Coverage at the Outbreak of the United States Civil War. Gabrial’s article is about how the Canadian identity was challenged by the American Civil War. In particular, he argues that Canadian identity is significant in five important themes: the importance of British identity, antipathy toward Americanism and suspicion of American democracy, a well-grounded fear of American militarism, a patronizing sympathy for Americans in crisis and liberal and conservative political threads. After summarizing Gabrial’s main arguments, I shall be claiming that the article has valuable points for many different reasons. The article makes different point for each of the main five themes that are played throughout.

4.3. Ethnic Cleavages Scholars largely debate cultural diversity as a cause of decentralization. “The provincial governments are strong in Canada because Canadians have distinctive needs and interests that cannot be accommodated within a single national government, and also because of Canadians actually want strong provincial governments and a relatively weak federal one” (Stevenson, “Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations” 90). This argument was strategically counter argued by sociologist John Porter in The Vertical Mosaic. “Even if it were true, it would not necessarily explain the power exercised by provincial governments” (Stevenson, “Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations, 91).

Moreover the United States must adopt the single-payer system of Canada while still retaining a strong revenue base. This paper will discuss the strengths and shortcomings of the Canadian health care system, and how health care is a sociopolitical enigma. Furthermore, how the single-payer system is the only realistic response to the growing inadequacies within the American socioeconomic status. CANADIAN HEALTH CARE STRUCTURE Serving as a general background in its appraisal, it is necessary to outline the history and the ambient factors of the Canada health care that is so sought after by the United States. The Canadian health-insurance program, called Medicare, is administered by provincial ... ... middle of paper ... ... and this tension is prevalent in the health care system.

Nationalism with Quebec is a prime example of how distinct regional cultures hinder Canada’s unity, as they want to separate from Canada, while still having the federal Canadian government financially support them. Western Alienation is also a prime political culture that is regionally distinct. This paper will prove how regionalism is a prominent feature of Canadian life, and affects the legislative institutions, especially the Senate, electoral system, and party system as well as the agendas of the political parties the most. This paper will examine the influence of regionalism on Canada’s legislative institutions and agendas of political part... ... middle of paper ... ...-PolicyBook_E.pdf>. Henderson, Ailsa.

Britain’s flag was the red ensign which they shared with Canada. “The Red Ensign had the Union Jack in the top left corner and the Canadian coat of arms diagonally opposite” (Cruxton and Wilson, 2000:318). The French Canadians didn’t like the red ensign because of its close relation with the British Empire. They needed a new flag that would be a symbolize Canada as its own country because there were many new immigrants coming into Canada which was making it a country of multiculturalism. Lester B. Pearson was the prime minister at this time and he thought that the idea of Canada choosing a new flag would make Canadians have a stronger feel of nationalism for their country.