Canada

Australian definition of a Canadian…

I think I’ve read this before. It was forwarded in email by my Mom today.

Australian definition of a Canadian…

Once in a while someone does a nice job of describing a Canadian, this time it was an Australian dentist.

You probably missed it in the local news, but there was a report that someone in Pakistan had advertised in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed a Canadian – any Canadian. …

An Australian dentist wrote the following editorial to help define what a Canadian is, so they would know one when they found one.

So the following is an Australian Definition of a Canadian. In case anyone asks you who a Canadian is ??

A Canadian can be English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek.

A Canadian can be Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, Arab, Pakistani or Afghan.

A Canadian may also be a Cree, Metis, Mohawk, Blackfoot, Sioux, or one of the many other tribes known as native Canadians.

A Canadian’s religious beliefs range from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or none. In fact, there are more Muslims in Canada than in Afghanistan.

The key difference is that in Canada they are free to worship as each of them chooses. Whether they have a religion or no religion, each Canadian ultimately answers only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

A Canadian lives in one of the most prosperous lands in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which recognize the right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

A Canadian is generous and Canadians have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return.

Canadians welcome the best of everything, the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best services and the best minds.

But they also welcome the least – the oppressed, the outcast and the rejected. These are the people who built Canada.

You can try to kill a Canadian if you must as other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world have tried but in doing so you could just be killing a relative or a neighbour. This is because Canadians are not a particular people from a particular place.

They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, can be a Canadian.

Please keep this going !!
Pass this around the World. Then pass it around again !!
It says it all, for all of us.

‘Keep your stick on the ice Canada’ !!!

Historically Interesting Casinos in Canada

history of gambling in Canada

Canada does not have a long history of actual buildings being made as casinos. We do have gambling far back in our history. John Cabot (circa 1497) noticed the native Canadians used sticks and pebbles to play games of chance.

The Canadian Criminal Code banned every form of gambling in 1892.

However, during  the days of the Klondike Gold Rush (1897 – 1899) Faro was a popular game of chance. By 1900 charities were holding bingo games and raffles. Next came horse racing and by 1925 agricultural fairs and exhibitions were permitted to hold gambling events.

Lotteries began in Canada in 1969. The government amended the Criminal Code to allow themselves to fund special projects from money made through lotteries. In 1974 the Olympics in Montreal were funded with lottery money.

In modern days most provinces have casinos.

Some are still government run, it depends on the province. Canadian casinos can be partially owned by private enterprise, government and the native Canadians who have special rights set out by the government. If you look for casinos in Canada you may find more online casinos than brick and mortar or land-based casinos. Like working from home you don’t actually have to get dressed up (or dressed at all) to play when your casino is online: www.gamingclub.com/nz/online-pokies

history of gambling in Canada

I grew up in the Toronto area where my family and I would attend the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) each summer at least once. My sister’s favourite part of the CNE were the games. Although the midway games had to gear down for children to play, there was a casino for the adults too. I never saw the inside of it. Each year it would be packed up again and disappear until the next summer.

Now I live near the Barrie casino, the Georgian Downs. I see the horse and buggy races now and then. In season you can drive right by on the main highway through Barrie and pass close enough to Georgian Downs to see the horses racing, warming up or exercising.

My plan was to write about historical casinos in Canada but once I started looking for them I found there aren’t any which are very old.

The first commercial casino opened in 1993, located in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The second to open and credited as the largest casino is in Montreal. It’s called The Montreal Casino and is located in Montreal, Quebec.  Open 24 hours a day, to those who are 18 years of age or older,  since October, 1993.

You Know You’re in Canada When…. Sledge Hockey

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The brochure does not mention disabled children, so I’m guessing that would be possible but not a requirement. There are two age groups and it begins in October. Mandatory equipment: helmet with a cage, gloves and additional padding. Sleds and sticks will be provided. The group is looking for sponsors.

I’m the “Oh Canada” Contributor on Squidoo

ohcanada

This was originally posted to the Squidoo network when I was accepted as the “Oh Canada” Contributor.

ohcanada Why become the Squidoo Contributor for “Oh Canada”?

First, I am Canadian. Born in down town Toronto, grew up in and around Ontario but mainly in the town of Port Union (which became Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto). I have travelled across Canada on the Via train, Greyhound bus, and by camper van, staying in youth hostels and the odd fancy hotel when the budget stretched enough. I’ve been from the ocean in Vancouver out to the ocean on PEI (Prince Edward Island). I have yet to be north enough to see the Canadian tundra – but I have been to Timmons and Thunder Bay at least twice.

Secondly, I really love to find out about Canadian art, history, culture, people, places, traditions…. all of it. When I see the word Canada on something it pops out at me and I will read whatever it is about. Even something I would otherwise not have an interest in or not even like all that much. I absorb Canadiana, greedily. That doesn’t mean I immerse myself in everything, there is only so much of me I can give, but I like to know the good, bad, and the ugly so I can create a whole picture of what Canada is and who we, as a people in the world, are.

I think it is a shame for people to say they are Canadian if they have not done some travelling to see Canada and meet more of the people than they find in the area they begin in. Canadiansare told we don’t have a real identity so we often defend ourselves with what culture, art and history is uniquely our own. That is a shame too because it just shows how well we know Canada is the country which people think of as nice but don’t really know who we are.

So, that is why I have taken on the challenge, the project, of being the Contributor for “Oh Canada”. I want to teach the world (at least those who stop by here) about Canada and Canadians.

I Really do Love the Canadian Flag

February 15th is National Flag of Canada Day

What is the Canadian National Anthem?

Listen to us sing it!

(The original post had videos here).

The Canadian anthem is “O Canada”. Here are people singing it, making their own versions. One of these is a video without singing, but I remember watching this as a kid.

My Background (like an About Me).

I am a proud Canadian and I do like to write about, research, and teach the world about Canada and Canadians.

I photograph abandoned, derelict farm houses. I like the history, the feeling of something surviving in spite of time and neglect. I like the way old buildings give us so many links to both our past and our culture. Travelling around Ontario (day trips and some over nights) I take a lot of backroads, get coffee in local restaurants and I keep in touch with other explorers across Canada through the groups I founded and moderate on Flickr.

I especially like Canadian music, literature and movies/ TV shows. Here we get so much media from the US it can be overwhelming. I make a point to support our own Canadian media by watching and listening to CBC, the oldest Canadian broadcaster and the most Canadian focused of them all. If you want to know about Canadian music, writers and others you can count on the CBC to have current news and old facts in their archives too.

I studied Canadian Literature as a course in high school and college. I do read a lot of everything, not just Canadian, but I am aware of Canadian writers and did belong to an online group (until it folded). I had thought to start up another group but that does take a huge amount of time and energy so it on a project on the backburner. Meanwhile I continue to write my site for writers and it does have some focus on Canadian resources (just because that is what I find most useful for myself, as a Canadian freelance writer).

As the Oh Canada Contributor at Squidoo I would be happy to bring some niches of Canadian culture, history and art to light.

Canada Day in 2017 Will be Canada’s 150th Birthday

1867 – 2017

Canadian Heritage
The Canadian heritage site from the Government of Canada.
Canada 150
In 2017 Canada will have it’s 150th birthday.
Flickr: Canada Day
Canada Day photographs on Flickr.
Imagi Nation 150
Canada’s Sesquicentennial from Calgary, Alberta.
Explore 150
Explore150 is a uniquely Canadian project that brings together mobile technology and youth engagement inviting young people to discover, celebrate and share the beauty and inspiration offered by natural, cultural and historical sites across Canada.
The CBC Digital Archives
CBC is the Canadian media and broadcaster. There is more than one, but CBC is across Canada and (as far as I know) has the most history.
The Canadian Encyclopedia
Today in Canadian history.
These were the comments with the original post on Squidoo. Also the poll.

Continue…

No Canada for Häagen Dazs

notincanada

Canada is not a small place. We may not have the world’s highest population but, I can assure you, we are here. Why then, do so many businesses, companies, corporations and etc. skip Canada? I can see Australia, Mexico, and assorted other countries in Europe, South America and Africa and so on. Not Canada.

This especially bugs me when it is a US business selling to Canadians. Or, any business which sells to Canadians and includes many other countries but just didn’t get around to adding Canada. As if we are some tiny, little place, hardly a dot on the map at all.

Is it because we are polite? Often polite, nice people finish last because no one bothers to actually count them. The polite people could actually win the entire race but go unnoticed until someone louder claims to be there first.

Today it’s Häagen Dazs . I bought the ice cream at the grocery store today. Thought I would look for the site and send a note about my favourite ice cream flavour. Well, I would have done that but, it seems Canada does not exist on any of their sites. It does say pick your country, right there at the top. My country just isn’t there. Not even on the US site (but Mexico is). I’m glad enough to see Mexico and other countries get noticed and included. However, Canada is bigger than they are. Maybe no one has noticed.

One funny thing I noticed… on the US site where you can search for locations from over 900 shops in more than 50 countries… you can only search using US postal codes. How does that work for you?

notincanada nocanada

Canadian Cuisine

Canada is far away from some places on the planet and people in those far away places may wonder what Canadians like to eat. This is especially good to know if you are making plans to visit Canada and wonder what you might find wriggling on the end of your fork. Not that we eat a lot of things that wriggle.

Canada is not snow all year. We don’t camp out in the wilderness and worry about polar bears wandering into our backyards. Canada is big. There are a lot of people here, some of them are still here and some are being born right now. We are multi cultural. Some people think Canada does not have a culture at all. This is not the case. Canada is built from many cultures, yet we have a common history which connects us.

One common theme in Canada is food. Take a look at Canada’s Food Guide. We may overload on sugar (mmm…. butter tarts) but we do like fresh food, vegetables and a great coffee (or beer) to top it all off. Most Canadians like food which is fairly well known: hamburgers and fries, fish and chips, spaghetti, steak and potato, pizza, back and eggs, lasagna, cabbage rolls, sweet and savoury pies, coffee, stew… a fairly generic list isn’t it? You may think we are fairly uninspired but, Canadians do have an edible culture of our own:

What do Canadians Eat?

  • Poutine – French fries with cheese curd and topped with gravy.
  • French fries with vinegar
  • Maple syrup (Not on everything)
  • Butter tarts – Tarts which are very sweet: butter, sugar and eggs in a pastry shell.
  • Nanaimo Bars – From BC. A crumble crust, a sweet layer, topped with a layer of chocolate.
  • Tourtiere – A French Canadian meat pie (pork, onions and spices in a crust).
  • Pate Chinois – Layers of beef, creamed corn and potato.
  • Bannock – Inuit flat bread.
  • Salmon – Salmon does go well with almost anything.
  • Montreal-style bagels
  • Montreal-smoked meat
  • Ice wine – Made with grapes frozen on the vine.
  • Bloody Caesar – You need Clamato for this Canadian version of the Bloody Mary.
  • Screech – What happens in Newfoundland, stays in Newfoundland.
  • BeaverTails – Fried dough with assorted sweet toppings.
  • Ketchup chips
  • Timbits – Doughnut holes.
  • Back bacon or peameal bacon (In the US they call it Canadian bacon, we don’t know why)

What Do Canadians Cook?

Canadians are multicultural. So you can find an endless assortment of dishes in Canadian restaurants and home kitchens. Most of the dishes above came from another culture and were adapted to become something unique to Canada.

Canadian Chefs to Inspire You: