Canadian History

The Canadian Flag: Red Ensign

In 1965, the national flag of Canada was changed from the Canadian Red Ensign to the current Maple Leaf flag without so much as a referendum to give people a voice to see if they wanted to change the current flag or not.

In 2014, while it might be too late to make the Canadian Red Ensign the national flag of Canada, it is never too late to right this historical wrong by making the Canadian Red Ensign an official flag of Canada similar in status to the current national flag and the Royal Union Flag.

The Canadian Red Ensign should be flown at all appropriate war memorials and cemeteries, Canada Day, and other places and events where Canada’s past should be honoured. The flag should be also be accorded the same reverence and respect as the national flag.

via – Bring Back the Red Ensign . (Facebook group)

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.

Famous Canadian Women You've Never Heard Of

happywgrrl

We are making goodies for Thanksgiving dinner today. Sitting with a coffee in the kitchen while my cheesecake cooks I began browsing through a book about Canadian Heroines . It’s sad how many of these women I have never heard of.

In the US they seem to have a lot about their own history and the people in it. They learn in school about famous US men and some of the women too. In Canada we also learn a lot about world history, not so much our own though. When I was in high school you had the option of picking Canadian Literature, Canadian History and so on. Why wait till then? In University and College you come across courses about Canadian Women in History and other more narrowed down areas of interest. But, why do we have our people and our history shoved aside so that it has to be found? Does anyone know about Emily Stowe , Harriet Brooks, Maude Abbott or Alice Wilson ? Those are all Canadian women.

Anyway, a nice time of year to think of some of these Canadian women. A time of year when things are settling down for winter. People are planning and cooking for family dinners together. Some are packing up the car and some are packing away things that were cluttering up the dining room. I hope everyone has family they can spend some time with, on the phone through an email or whatever is available. But, even if you feel you are alone, you’re not. We are all Canadians and we all have that in common with the Canadians here now and those forgotten long before we came around.

When you have your Thanksgiving, give thanks to Canadians. As Red Green says… “we’re all in this together”.