O’ Canada – A Brief History
An Old Colony
The “pre-history” of Canada is only recorded by oral means of the native peoples – written history was not of creation prior to the late 15th century.
The explorers of the late 15th century had found settled peoples along the coast of the early Americas; natives were relocated to reservations by European explorers to make room for a New World.
Soon after, “New France” would be established in present-day Canadian lands as a result of the fast growing trend of colonialism in Europe. New France includes cities like Quebec City and Montreal; today, Canada’s two official languages are English and French. During these times, the French and English fought to establish colonies in the New World. A passage of time would prove that the French were more successful in the north – Canada – and the English in the south – US of America.
At the turn of the 18th century, focus on Canadian lands increased further. With the American Revolution in the south, the British still pursued attempts to claim land in Canada of the north. As a result, the settled French moved west to avoid conflict with the English.
During the 19th century, there was a common desire for change amongst colonial settlers. A “Responsible Government” was created in an attempt to control the French and English under one governmental body – to unite Canada.
On 1 July 1867, the Canadas were united peacefully while maintaining good relations with the mother country. Ottawa was declared the new capital and is known as the original site for the new country. Bells rang across the lands; new Parliament buildings were in the makings; a Prime Minister was Knighted. Over 3 million peoples were born to a new country.
The Canada Act of 1982, signed on 17 April, officially marks Canada’s entitlement as a independent nation. The Act allows the country to amend its own Constitution, which was previously only done by the British Parliament. Canada Day, celebrated on 1 July, is a day of nation celebration; the holiday was only recently renamed with the Canada Act of 1982. The holiday was previously called “Dominion Day” but still celebrates the accounts of 1 July 1867 – when the northern American colonies united formally as “Canada” under the British Empire.
Fun Facts:
- In Canada, syrups must be at least 66 percent sugar be exclusively made from maple sap to qualify as maple syrup.
- Drake (rapper) is the “global ambassador for the Toronto Raptors (NBA team).
- The Canadian one dollar coin is recognized as a “loonie” by the Royal Canadian Mint as of 2006. The name originates from the loon – a common bird of Canada – depicted on the coin.
(Fact 1, 2, 3 – Thanks Wikipedia)
Political Blog Topic
KXL Pipeline
NOTE: The author of this blog currently holds no stance on the potential construction of the Keystone Export Pipeline
A hot button issue in the legislative branch is the Keystone XL Pipeline. The KXL Pipeline is a potential oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada to central U.S. states – like Nebraska, Missouri and Illinois. “The pipeline will allow Canadian and American oil producers more access to the large refining markets found in the American Midwest and along the U.S. Gulf Coast,” according to the TransCanada site.
According to the KXL Pipeline site, the TransCanada company is more than just a pipeline company. The company also has donework with hyrdro, wind, solar, and nuclear power. The map below shows a variety of TransCanada projects across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.
More often heard are the negative impacts that the KXL Pipeline may/will have.
In our own neck of the woods, Allegheny College students have been traveling to Washington D.C. in the past years to protest the construction of the Pipeline. There is a primary source, dated November 2011, that can be found on the College’s website under “Gator Blogs.”
Students of Environmental Action, or SEA, also ventured to Washington D.C. to protest the Pipeline in the September 2014. The club and its members is a direct resource to the cons of the Keystone XL Pipeline. **Most if not all of its members are publically known to be against the creation of the Pipeline. 350.org, a grassroots global network for climate movement states, “[The tar sands oil carried by the KXL Pipeline] has a massive carbon footprint — sometimes requiring more energy to produce than it creates — and the fossil fuel industry needs KXL to make extraction economically feasible”(Personal e-mail).
A Nebraska native present at the November 2011 protest states, “We got great water resources in the state… all the rivers run west to east, this pipeline… will cut across every single one of them and contaminate every single watershed in the state”(The Huffington Post).
When a Huffington Post journalist asked about the new job potential in this bad economy, protesters had many things to say:
MA native – “That’s just hype… that’s just a big lie.”
NY native – “Should we be, in order to get jobs, making the world a less loving place – a miserable place?”
Iraq War Veteran – “You have to look at the long term costs as opposed to the short term costs. We need to retool the whole economy to green energy. …If you just look at the short term you’ll never get free of the larger problems, you can never see the bigger picture.”
**An official statement on the KXL Pipeline by the President of SEA is eagerly awaited.
"The Political wOrld" 