Canadian Identity

The word “Canadian”, was first defined as “British”. The meaning of this word turned into “anti-Americanism” as the history developed (Wood, P.K. 2001)—Canadian identity was completely different from what America’s is, that people in Canada were politer, relatively more passive and they welcome new cultures into the nation (Arrison, S. 1999). This impression, however, has never stopped developing, even faster now as Canadian people came to realize that, beyond those traits which Americans do not have, they have other good characteristics that worth promotions. Personally, I hold that the overall image of Canadian identity needs to be changed, for a fact that an ambiguous national identity may have Canadian people misunderstood as well
Actually, the most easily overlooked part is that Canadian people have always been British. As a result of being a British colony dated back over 250 years ago, British culture has always been a dominant yet fundamental culture of Canada. In a general concept, people from the Great Britain are usually considered as polite, disciplined and respectful. These features have made Canada completely distinct, especially when compared to United States. John Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada (and a Scottish), once described himself as a “British subject” (Wood, P.K. 2001). As the history developed and more foreigners immigrated to this country, this part of Canadian identity has gradually faded and become much less symbolic (Cros, L. 2012). Nowadays, it still has its unnoticeable power, one that the mass public is unaware of: parts of authorities in Canada remain white-dominant, indicating the British gene in Canadian
The concept was first created out of political reason and was used by the elites in the society to mobilize the public to achieve certain political goal (Wood, P.K. 2001). From a psychological perspective, it was inevitable too. Anti-Americanism came for different reasons and has different impacts regarding Anglophone and Francophone people. For Anglophone Canadians, it was because of some subtle disagreements between them and Americans; for Francophone Canadian people, anti-Americanism arose from an attitude against United States laws and policies. Anti-Americanism was the hostility and distrust intensified by United States’ military actions (e.g. in Iraq). Today in Canada its influence has been less significant, since the relationship between two neighboring countries have been closer. However, it is possible that anti-Americanism may prevail again, when certain kinds of controversial policies are made in United States (Bow, B.