Exactly 149 years ago tomorrow, Canada became a dominion, a more or less sovereign, self-governing territory, the first of Great Britain’s former colonies to achieve independence and the first member of what would become the Commonwealth.
In 1867, the country was a small subset of what we now celebrate, being a confederation of the colonies of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and the Province of Canada (Upper and Lower), which became Quebec and Ontario.
The population at confederation was approximately 3.5 million, close to one tenth of what it is today. Of those people, 2.6 million, or 79 per cent, were Canadian-born, or “Natives of British America,” as they were called at the time. That is not to be confused with Indigenous peoples, whose population had been decimated post-European contact to just 102,000 individuals in the founding colonies. The other million people were immigrants mostly from France, but also England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and “foreign origins.”
Around 45 per cent were Roman Catholic, 55 per cent were Protestant of various denominations and there were 19,000 people (half of one per cent), who claimed no religion.
At that time, Saskatchewan was part of the Northwest Territories, a vast expanse of land “owned” by Great Britain covering northern Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba, and all of Saskatchewan, Alberta and the current territories. There was not a single urban centre and very few settlers. That would change rapidly after Canada bought the Territories in 1868 and encouraged immigration with offers of nearly free land.
In 1868, Governor General Viscount Monck encouraged Canadians, with a Royal Proclamation, to celebrate the anniversary of Confederation. In 1879, “Dominion Day” became a statutory holiday.
The Canadian borders as they stand today, were established when Newfoundland and Labrador joined in 1949.
As of the 2011 census, the population breakdown was still roughly 80-20 Canadian- and foreign-born. More than 200 ethnic origins were reported. The most common were Canadian (29 per cent), English (18 per cent), French (14 per cent), Scottish (13 per cent), Irish (13 per cent) and German (nine per cent).
Seven other ethnic origins, Italian, Chinese, First Nations, Ukrainian, Indian, Dutch and Polish, numbered more than one million people each.
We now claim to be 39 per cent Roman Catholic, 28 per cent other Christian, 24 per cent no religion, 3.2 per cent Muslim, 1.5 per cent Hindu, 1.4 per cent Sikh, 1.1 per cent Buddhist and one per cent Jewish.
With the patriation of the Constitution in 1982, Canada shed the last vestiges of its colonial past—aside from the ceremonial recognition of the British Queen as sovereign, still somewhat of a sore point for some Canadians. That year, Dominion Day became Canada Day.
Tomorrow, many of the 36 million of us, who proudly call ourselves Canadian, will celebrate the nation, with good reason. For the most part, we are an inclusive, tolerant and open society, a model of democracy and governed by the rule of law. We enjoy extraordinary freedom and opportunity and have one of the highest standards of living in the world. We are, generally speaking, a joyful, polite, caring, humble, peaceful, educated and friendly people.
Canada Day evokes a groundswell of patriotism rarely seen this side of the border. We have plenty to be proud of. We deserve a day to wave our flag and feel good about us.
When the Ukrainian ambassador visited Yorkton recently, he reminded us there are many nations in the word, including his own, that aspire to be what Canada already is.
It is likely impossible to objectively say any one nation is the “greatest in the world” as some of our politicians are fond of boasting, but in an objective discussion, Canada would almost certainly be in the mix to challenge for that honour.
We should be mindful, however, that this country is not perfect. While we have made admirable progress, we are still a long way from being a truly egalitarian society. We have issues with poverty, justice, security, liberty, the environment and human rights.
We must never become complacent. We must never rest on our laurels. Each one of us can do more to lift up a fellow Canadian who has less.
These are, perhaps, considerations for another day.
Tomorrow, we party. Tomorrow, we wave the flag. Tomorrow, we show our pride.
Happy Canada Day to all.
