10 Facts About Canadian identity

Canadian identity refers to the unique culture, characteristics and condition of being Canadian, as well as the many symbols and expressions that set Canada and Canadians apart from other peoples and cultures of the world.

Question of Canadian identity was traditionally dominated by two fundamental themes: first, the often conflicted relationship between English Canadians and French Canadians, stemming from the Francophone imperative for cultural and linguistic survival; secondly, the close ties between English Canadians and the British Empire, and the gradual political process towards complete independence from the "mother country".

The Metis are an indigenous people whose culture and Canadian identity was produced by a fusion of First Nations with the French, Irish and Scottish fur trade society of the north and west.

Main crisis regarding Canadian identity came in World War I Canadians of British heritage were strongly in favour of the war effort, while those of French heritage, especially in Quebec, showed far less interest.

Much of the debate over contemporary Canadian identity is argued in political terms, and defines Canada as a country defined by its government policies, which are thought to reflect deeper cultural values.

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We should not even be able to agree upon the kind of Canadian identity to choose as a model, let alone persuade most people to emulate it.

The Canadian identity government spent $28 million on three years of bicentennial events, exhibits, historic sites, re-enactments, and a new national monument.

The indulgent attitude taken towards cultural differences is perhaps a side effect of the vexed histories of French-English and Aboriginal-settler relations, which have created a need for a civic national Canadian identity, as opposed to one based on some homogenous cultural ideal.

John Ralston Saul, Canada's approach of not insisting on a single national mythology or Canadian identity is not necessarily a sign of the country's weakness, but rather its greatest success, signalling a rejection of or evolution from the European mono-cultural concept of a national Canadian identity to something far more "soft" and less complex:.

Critics of the idea of a fundamentally "liberal Canada" such as David Frum argue that the Canadian identity drive towards a more noticeably leftist political stance is largely due to the increasing role that Quebec plays in the Canadian identity government .