Grade by Grade
A. Heritage and Identity · Communities in Canada, Past and Present

What Makes Canada Canada? Identities and Inclusion

A3.10 A1.1 A1.4About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can identify and describe fundamental elements of Canadian identities.
  • I can explain how physical, built and social features of communities contribute to identities in and images of Canada.
  • I can explain how different groups, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, have helped make Canada more inclusive.

Words to know

identity
Who a person, group or country is. A person can have many identities at once.
symbol
Something that stands for an idea, like the maple leaf standing for Canada.
physical feature
A natural part of the land, such as a mountain, lake or forest.
built feature
Something people have made, such as a building, bridge or railway.
social feature
Something about how people live together, such as languages, laws, values or sports.
inclusiveness
Making sure everyone is welcomed, respected and able to take part.
Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Part of Canada's Constitution (1982) that protects people's rights and freedoms from unfair government action.

Let's start with a question

If someone from another country asked you, "What is Canada like?", what would you say? Maybe hockey, snow, maple syrup, two languages, friendly people?

Now think: would everyone in Canada give the same answer? An Inuk in Iqaluit, a Franco-Ontarian in Sudbury and a newcomer in Mississauga might each answer differently. That is why we talk about Canadian identities, plural.

Strips of golden maple taffy cooling on snow in a wooden trough at a sugar shack.
Maple taffy on snow is a treat many people think of as Canadian, but different people across Canada might name very different things. AI-generated image

Fundamental elements of Canadian identities

  • Indigenous peoples and treaties: First Nations, Métis and Inuit are the first peoples of this land, and treaties are part of Canada's foundation.
  • Two official languages: English and French.
  • Multiculturalism: people of many cultures, faiths and backgrounds (official policy since 1971).
  • Rights and freedoms: the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) protects rights such as freedom of religion and expression, and equality, from unfair government action.
  • Democracy: Canadians elect governments at every level.
  • Shared services: for example, publicly funded health care, which many Canadians see as part of who they are.
  • Symbols: the maple leaf flag (first raised February 15, 1965), the beaver, the national anthem "O Canada" (made official in 1980; in 2018, the words were changed to "in all of us command" so they include everyone).
PhysicalBuiltSocialRockyMountainsGreat Lakesthe ArcticParliamentBuildingsCN Towerrailwaystwo officiallanguagesmulticulturalhockey
Three kinds of features that shape images of Canada: physical features (left), built features (middle) and social features (right), with examples.

Features and images of Canada

The features of Canada's communities shape how people in Canada and around the world see the country:

  • Physical: the Rockies, the Great Lakes, Niagara Falls, the Canadian Shield, the Arctic, maple forests. They give an image of Canada as a land of wilderness, water and winter.
  • Built: the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, the CN Tower in Toronto, the railway across the country, the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island. They show a country of connection and achievement.
  • Social: two official languages, multiculturalism, hockey and lacrosse, Indigenous cultures, peacekeeping. They show Canada as a diverse and peaceful country.

But an image can leave things out. Postcards of mountains and maple leaves do not show the Inuit communities of the North, busy multicultural suburbs, or the challenges some communities face.

Working toward inclusiveness

Canada was not always inclusive. Many groups worked hard to change that:

  • Women: the Famous Five, a group of women from Alberta, won the Persons Case in 1929, so that women counted as "persons" who could be appointed to the Senate.
  • Black Canadians: Viola Desmond refused to leave the whites-only section of a movie theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, in 1946. Her stand helped inspire the fight against segregation. She appears on the $10 bill (2018).
  • First Nations: Shannen Koostachin of Attawapiskat First Nation in Ontario campaigned for a safe, proper school for her community. After she died in 2010, at 15, the campaign "Shannen's Dream" continued, and a new school opened in Attawapiskat in 2014. Jordan's Principle (2007) is named after Jordan River Anderson of Norway House Cree Nation: it says First Nations children must get the services they need first, and governments argue about who pays later.
  • People with disabilities: Rick Hansen wheeled around the world in his Man in Motion tour (1985 to 1987) to raise awareness. Ontario's accessibility law, the AODA, was passed in 2005.
  • Many communities: Japanese Canadians won redress (1988), Chinese Canadians won the vote and an end to exclusion (1947), and First Nations people with status won the right to vote in federal elections in 1960 without giving up their status.

Each of these struggles made Canada more inclusive for everyone.

Working toward inclusiveness1929PersonsCase1946Viola Desmondtakes a stand1947Chinese Canadianswin the vote1960First Nationsfederal vote1985–87Man inMotion tour2005Ontario'sAODA2007Jordan'sPrinciple2014new school inAttawapiskatnot to scale: the dots are evenly spaced
Some of the struggles for inclusion from this lesson, in order. Each one made Canada more inclusive for everyone.
Worked example

Let's analyse a feature

How does the Canadian Shield and its lakes and forests (a physical feature) contribute to identities in and images of Canada?

  1. Describe the feature: a huge area of ancient rock, lakes and forest across much of Ontario and Quebec.
  2. Image of Canada: canoes, lakes, loons and cottages appear in paintings (like those by the Group of Seven), on money and in ads. It shapes an image of a northern, wild country.
  3. Identities: for many First Nations, such as Anishinaabe and Cree nations, this land is home and part of their identity; for many other Ontarians, summers by a lake are part of growing up.
  4. What the image leaves out: most Canadians live in cities in the south; the image does not show everyone's life.

The Shield shapes a strong image of Canada as a land of lakes and forests, and it is part of many people's identities, but it does not show every Canadian's experience.

Just for fun

Canada's national animal, the beaver, has orange front teeth! The colour comes from iron in the tooth enamel, which helps make them strong enough to chew through trees. 🦫

Worked example

Let's explain a contribution to inclusiveness

How did Jordan's Principle make Canada more inclusive?

  1. Problem: Jordan River Anderson, a First Nations child with serious medical needs, spent his short life in hospital while the federal and provincial governments argued about who should pay for his care at home.
  2. Action: his family, his community (Norway House Cree Nation) and many supporters pushed for change. In 2007, the House of Commons supported Jordan's Principle.
  3. Result: First Nations children are supposed to get health, education and social services first, without delays over who pays.
  4. Inclusiveness: it works toward First Nations children getting the same care as other children in Canada.

Jordan's Principle, won by a First Nations family and community, works toward equal access to services for First Nations children.

Many identities

You can have many identities at once: for example, Franco-Ontarian, Canadian, a soccer player and a big sister. Canadian identities are not one thing that everyone must share in the same way.

Hands-on activity

Make an identity map

You need: paper and coloured pencils.

  1. In the centre, draw yourself and write your name.
  2. Around you, draw circles for each of your identities: family, languages, culture or nation, community, faith (if any), hobbies, and Canadian.
  3. Around the edge of the paper, draw or write three features of Canada: one physical, one built, one social, that matter to you. Draw a line from each one to a circle it connects to.
  4. Write one sentence about a group that made Canada more inclusive, and how that change affects you or someone you know.

Share your map with your family, only if you want to.

Your turn

1

Name three fundamental elements of Canadian identities.

2

When was the maple leaf flag first raised?

3

Give one physical, one built and one social feature of Canada.

4

What did the Persons Case (1929) decide?

5

What does Jordan's Principle say?

6

What did Shannen Koostachin campaign for?

7

Why do we say Canadian "identities", not just "identity"?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is a symbol?

2

In what year did the Charter of Rights and Freedoms become law?

3

On which bill does Viola Desmond appear?

4

What was Rick Hansen's tour called?

5

What words were added to O Canada in 2018?

More practice: on your own

1

Is the Confederation Bridge a physical, built or social feature? Explain.

2

How can an image of Canada leave people out? Give an example.

3

How did Viola Desmond contribute to inclusiveness?

4

Why was the 1960 change to federal voting important for First Nations?

5

How does the Charter protect inclusiveness?

Challenge

1

Choose the element you think is most fundamental to Canadian identities, and defend it with two reasons.

2

Why might an Inuk in Iqaluit and a newcomer in Mississauga describe Canadian identity differently? Use two elements.

3

Shannen Koostachin was a student when she began her campaign. What does her story show about who can make Canada more inclusive?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is a built feature of Canada?

2.

Which is a social feature of Canada?

3.

When was the maple leaf flag first raised?

4.

Jordan's Principle helps make sure...

5.

The Famous Five won the Persons Case in 1929, which meant...

6.

Why do we say Canadian identities (plural)?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Canadian identities are made of many elements (Indigenous peoples and treaties, two official languages, multiculturalism, rights and freedoms, symbols) and are shaped by Canada's physical, built and social features (A3.10, A1.1). Many groups, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, have worked to make Canada more inclusive (A1.4).

How to help at home:

  • Ask your child what being Canadian means to them, and share what it means to you; welcome different answers.
  • Look at Canadian coins and bills together: what features and people do they show, and who is missing?
  • Read about Shannen Koostachin, Jordan River Anderson, Viola Desmond or Rick Hansen together.

Common difficulties:

  • Only symbols: identity is also about rights, languages, peoples and values, not just flags and hockey.
  • Thinking Canada was always inclusive: each right was won by people who worked for it.
  • Charter vs human rights codes: the Charter limits governments; human rights codes (like Ontario's) cover stores, landlords and employers.