I am Canadian. You have heard it before.
But what is a Canadian? And how do we differentiate ourselves from the other noble members of the North American community?
Well. It is in our art.
For one thing.
And if you live in Toronto, or can get to Toronto – make sure you visit the Royal Ontario Museum for Canada Collects .
Canada Collects – The treasures of a Nation celebrates the passion of Canadian collectors and their vision of a young Nation.
Assembling some of the most iconic historical Canadian artifacts in the country, Canada Collects is certain to strike a patriotic chord among many visitors.
From an early 1709 Hudson’s Bay Company map of the Hudson’s Bay and Straits, to the 1982 Proclamation of the Canadian Constitution Act, the exhibit touches on many aspects of the country’s political and social history. Other notable Canadian items include Lucy Maud Montgomery’s original manuscript for Anne of Green Gables (1905), Walter S. Allward’s powerful maquette, Justice (c. 1925-1930) for the Vimy Ridge Memorial, the first Canadian maple leaf flag (1965) and Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s birchbark canoe (c. 1968)
Having been on the Planet (and in Canada) for the duration I can attest to seeing the new Maple Leaf flying over my elementary school in 1965. I stood in a field at Beacon Hill Park in 1968 with my parents and sisters as Pierre Elliot Trudeau addressed a blossoming liberal nation.
Canada Collects runs until January 8, 2008. I will be there in June 2008 celebrating my Canadian heritage on the streets and in the cafes of Toronto – but this is not a reason for you not to attend!
For more details on the event, download this pdf