Canadian Identity Research Articles

EXPRESS: From the Margins to the Mainstream: Entrepreneurial Theorization and the Spread of a New Collective Identity within a Mature Organizational Field

We study the effects of entrepreneurial theorization on the spread of a new collective identity within a mature organizational field. Mature fields are characterized by dominant logics, entrenched practices, and stable patterns of interaction, resulting in isomorphism and inertia. Yet, mature fields do change, often as a result of entrepreneurial activity. Whereas prior work has focused on the creation of “oppositional” niches within mature fields, we focus on an identity movement that transforms the core of a field. We do this within the context of the Canadian wine field, a field that remained stable from the end of Prohibition through the 1970s. For decades, large incumbents projected a European identity for their wines and gave these wines “faux” European names. In contrast, pioneering entrepreneurs projected a distinctly Canadian identity for their wines, an identity that was ultimately adopted by incumbents. In this way, domestic wine in Canada became tied to place rather than divorced from it. We show how entrepreneurial theorization of the “Canadian wine” identity by small producers and identity pioneers spread to the center of the field, and how the effects of theorization depended on the authenticity of these theorizers. We also suggest that an identity movement that engages incumbents rather than seeks to create an oppositional category is more likely to reach the center of a mature field.

The M in Multiculturalism Stands for Myth: The Performative Idealization in Canada’s Multicultural Policies

As described on the Government of Canada’s online database, the Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1988 is a piece of federal legislation intended to recognize multiculturalism as a fundamental characteristic of Canadian society and to preserve diverse cultural identities (Ministry of Justice, 2014, p. 1). Despite this promise, the Canadian government has failed to adequately recognize the various cultures that have been assimilated and destroyed in the name of preserving the Canadian identity. Further, many of these communities suffer from the results of institutionally constructed hate that has been directed towards them to this day. Examining the origins of Canada as it developed through the lens of Chinese Canadian and Indigenous communities, this paper will examine how assimilation is encouraged for members of these groups and new immigrants in present-day Canada, most notably in Quebec. By looking at the past and present contexts of Indigenous and Chinese Canadian communities as well as assimilation tactics in Quebec that prevent various emerging cultural identities from developing, this paper will argue that multiculturalism is sold as a performative idealization in Canada.

Canadian Broadcasting Policy, Capitalism, and CanCon

In April of 2023, Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, was given Royal Assent to amend Canada’s 1991 Broadcasting Act to regulate transnational, American-based online streaming services that lack intrinsic reason to enhance and foster conceptions of a distinctive ‘Canadian identity.’ Under this contentious new scope of broadcasting legislation, alongside radio and television, Internet streaming services are now required to, among other things, make maximum or predominant use of Canadian creative resources in the creation, production, and distribution of programming or otherwise contribute to those Canadian resources in an equitable manner, as well as support the production and distribution of original Canadian content (CanCon) in both official languages. From a critical political economic perspective, this introductory paper explores how Bill C-11 is a legislative measure aimed at countering the economic and cultural hegemony of online streaming giants, which predominantly disseminate American and other global content. As set forth in Section 3(1) of the 1991 Broadcasting Act, the Canadian broadcasting system should safeguard, enrich, and strengthen the cultural, political, social, and economic fabric of the nation; however, cultural objectives cannot be met without first achieving economic objectives. This paper argues that the Online Streaming Act seeks to safeguard Canada’s cultural industries by ensuring that CanCon is prioritized and protected against the encroachments of a relentless capitalist market driven by transnational corporations, which necessitates a delicate balancing of economic and cultural objectives.

‘Canadianism,’ the Welfare State, and policy growth

This paper will explore Canadianism and its relationship to Universal healthcare. Canadianism, a term derived for the purpose of this text, is used to conceptualize an ‘Idea’ born out of Canadian identity and Economic Nationalism during commonwealth movements of the later 20th century. The Idea is studied to understand how Canadian civil society favors Universal systems, particularly in this paper healthcare, over private initiative. This paper will assess the roots of the privatization debate and argue the rivalrous nature between Canadianism and New Public Management [NPM]. A key deliberation will be had on the significant role that ethics plays in Canadianism, and how this had success in limiting the influence of NPM on Healthcare. This paper will also examine a current ‘privatization’ case, Bill C-60, and its potential threat to Keynesian Economics’ opportunity-for-all approach to healthcare. A second key deliberation will be had on the concept of ‘Trust,’ how it informs Canadianism and why this makes Bill C-60’s discourse convoluted. Conclusively, a discussion will be had on the issues with Canadianism in healthcare discourse through considering semantics and policy growth. The limits of Canadianism will be briefly highlighted. This paper finds that Canadian is essential to comprehend when considering why healthcare reform in Canada is difficult to manage.

Memory, Identity and Cross-Cultural Communication: The Evolution of the Image of Chinese Railway Workers in Canada and the Reconstruction of Multiculturalism

International migrants confront many new challenges from the impact of global populism and geopolitics, but we also see the growth of a new identity culture. The Chinese community in Canada constructs its identity through the collective memory of the image of Chinese railway workers, and realizes the cross-cultural communication of a new identity culture in the course of the interaction of symbolic cultural practices. Since the 1980s, the image of Chinese railway workers has changed from “the indispensable evil” to “pioneers in nation-building” and “a tragic group subjected to injustice.” This is a product of the collective memory of the Chinese ethnic group’s pursuit of identity in Canada’s multicultural reconstruction. The Chinese ethnic group has reshaped an image of Chinese railway workers that has been widely disseminated through cross-cultural means. They have aimed at gaining social acceptance and fundamental recognition of a Chinese-Canadian identity with the help of their “native cultural heritage and historical resources” in Canada. The construction of this identity culture through collective memory has consolidated the foundations of multiculturalism.

A Comparison of Stephen Harper’s and Justin Trudeau’s Arctic Narratives: Toward a New Geography of the Canadian North

This article intends to compare the political narratives on the Canadian Artic produced by the governments of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper (2006–2015) and Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (2015–2023), with a specific focus on the identity dimension of these two sets of political narratives. Harper’s Arctic narrative, served by a unique personal commitment of the PM, promoted a radical shift from the historic Canada centred on the Laurentian region to a new Arctic Canada and in so doing, created a new political geography of Canada. In Justin Trudeau’s Arctic narrative, priority was given to reconciliation through the development of state-to-state relations with Indigenous communities. Embodied by the person of Governor General Mary Simon and concretized by the cooperative approach of Trudeau’s Arctic and Northern Framework, this new agentivity of Northern Indigenous peoples has ushered in a new decolonial geography of the Arctic. Unexpectedly, these successive official narratives of Arctic Canada have proven complementary in striving to move the center of gravity of the country north, thus creating new perspectives on Canadian identity and political geography.

캐나다의 정체성과 캐나다 문학에 형상화된 야생동물

This paper examines the representation of wildlife in Marian Engel’s Bear as a departure from that of wildlife in realistic animal stories in Canada. Canada’s vast wilderness serves as a green space to escape civilization, to explore the self, and to provide solace and renewal. Engel’s Bear firmly stands in this tradition, and this book occupies a central place in Canadian identity and in the Canadian literary imagination. In Engel’s Bear, amazingly complex textual qualities can be noticed. This complex textual grain subverts the stable paradigm that human language can reflect the lives of wildlife. The diverse discourses found in the colonel’s library amplify the meaning of Lou’s bear to an overwhelming degree and make its meaning uncertain. The numerous images and stories about bears are juxtaposed and superimposed like a mosaic, making it difficult to determine the meaning of the bear that Lou encounters. Engel’s Bear is a remarkably successful retelling of a Canadian wildlife story that draws on Canadian artistic traditions with disturbing resonance.

“We’re sinking”: a qualitative interview-based study on stakeholder perceptions of structural and process limitations to the Canadian healthcare system

BackgroundDespite longstanding efforts and calls for reform, Canada’s incremental approach to healthcare changes has left the country lagging behind other OECD nations. Reform to the Canadian healthcare system is essential to develop a higher performing system. This study sought to gain a deeper understanding of the views of Canadian stakeholders on structural and process deficiencies and strategies to improve the Canadian healthcare system substantially and meaningfully.MethodsWe conducted individual, ~ 45-minute, semi-structured virtual interviews from May 2022 to August 2022. Using existing contacts and snowball sampling, we targeted one man and one woman from five regions in Canada across four stakeholder groups: (1) public citizens; (2) healthcare leaders; (3) academics; and (4) political decision makers. Interviews centered on participants’ perceptions of the state of the current healthcare system, including areas where major improvements are required, and strategies to achieve suggested enhancements; Donabedian’s Model (i.e., structure, process, outcomes) was the guiding conceptual framework. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and de-identified, and inductive thematic analysis was performed independently and in duplicate according to published methods.ResultsThe data from 31 interviews with 13 (41.9%) public citizens, 10 (32.3%) healthcare leaders, 4 (12.9%) academics, and 4 (12.9%) political decision makers resulted in three themes related to the structure of the healthcare system (1. system reactivity; 2. linkage with the Canadian identity; and 3. political and funding structures), three themes related to healthcare processes (1. staffing shortages; 2. inefficient care; and 3. inconsistent care), and three strategies to improve short- and long-term population health outcomes (1. delineating roles and revising incentives; 2. enhanced health literacy; 3. interdisciplinary and patient-centred care).ConclusionCanadians in our sample identified important structural and process limitations to the Canadian healthcare system. Meaningful reforms are needed and will require addressing the link between the Canadian identity and our healthcare system to facilitate effective development and implementation of strategies to improve population health outcomes.

Myth, identity and ableism: Jericho March becomes Canadian Marathon of Hope in the Freedom Convoy

The aim and means of the Freedom Convoy are instructive for understanding how ableism is promoted in Canadian society today. As an example of such promotion, the author considers the Jericho March that took place during the Freedom Convoy Trucker Protest in Ottawa. The organizer of the Jericho March described the Convoy’s aim as an end to all public protections against the spread of COVID-19, and the discourse used by the organizer prior to the Convoy aligns with the kind of ableism that characterizes this general aim. The organizer’s description of the Jericho March as the Convoy participants’ ‘Marathon of Hope’ also aligns with other appropriations of Terry Fox’s iconography within the Freedom Convoy. After situating the Jericho March within more aggressive tactics used by Convoy participants, the author synthesizes theoretical perspectives from Fiona Campbell and Keiji Nishitani to think about what kind of Canadian identity the march promoted. From these considerations, it seems that myth can be used by individual organizers in Canada today to actively promote and perhaps even shift the boundaries of structural forms of oppression.

“Canada Is Where You Belong. Poland Is The Past”: Images of Polish History and Culture in Heather Kirk’s Warsaw Spring

Polish characters appear in both mainstream Canadian books and children’s literature, but they usually function as either side characters or antagonists. The fiction of Heather Kirk is a noteworthy exception. This Canadian writer, who spent two years in Warsaw in the late 1970s working as a lecturer at the University of Warsaw, devoted her first two young adult problem novels, Warsaw Spring (2001) and A Drop of Rain (2004), to Polish Canadians and Polish history and culture. The article argues that in Warsaw Spring Kirk shows that the teenage protagonist has to experience the history and culture of the country of her ancestors before she can incorporate it into her own transcultural repository of memory. The article demonstrates how the experience of traveling to Poland and meeting with the representatives of the older generations, often survivors of the Second World War and communism, influences the formation of the protagonist’s Polish Canadian identity and cultural memory. Finally, the article shows that despite Kirk’s praiseworthy attempts to introduce young readers to Polish history, the way she portrays Poland is problematic because the country emerges as an exotic, post-Second World War heritage site of memory for Eva, a Canadian teenager whom all of the novel’s Poles seem to treat as superior.

Narrative strategy of life story in the literature of Margaret Atwood

The subject of the research in this article is the narrative strategy of life description in the work of Margaret Atwood. Margaret Atwood (b. 1939) is a well–known modern Canadian writer, poet, and literary critic. The work of M. Atwood is considered in three main directions: the search for Canadian identity in the works of M. Atwood; the women's question and theories of feminism in the works of M. Atwood and speculative (conceptual) fiction in the works of M. Atwood. It is these three areas that the largest number of scientific papers about the Canadian writer are devoted to. Based on the life and creative path of M. Atwood, these three highways are justified. But behind them, the basis of the writer's work is lost – the narrative structure, to the study of which M. Atwood devoted many of her literary works. Based on the best practices of foreign and domestic narrative researchers, as well as on the research of M. Atwood herself, in this article we describe how a multi-level narrative of biography unfolds in the writer's fiction, implying a division into narrative layers. Each narrative layer is responsible for a certain time: the past, the present and the timelessness. The relevance and novelty of this article lies in an attempt to describe the narratives of M. Atwood, in isolation from the three main paths, and highlight the features of the narrative of the biography, which is key to the author's works. Thanks to the strategy of biography, the Canadian writer explores the nature of human memory, thinking, and fantasy. By placing the main character, the narrator, at the center of the narrative, M. Atwood allows her characters to independently analyze their own actions, their past, which brings her characters closer to real people. The characters of the writer, like real people, have general ideas about how a story should be built, a story and use literary techniques in talking about themselves. But, gradually opening up, the characters are the narrators of M. Atwood turns to a frank conversation, discarding literary decorations. The approach to the work of M. Atwood from the point of view of narrative, narratology helps to open new facets in the work of the famous author, to emphasize and actualize many artistic features of M. Atwood's books. Atwood, who remain in the shadows with a cultural and ideological approach.

The Business of Art Therapy: Exploring Art Therapists’ Professional Sustainability in Canada Through Extrinsic Factors and Systems of Influence (Le marché de l’art-thérapie : exploration de la durabilité professionnelle des art-thérapeutes au Canada au travers des facteurs extrinsèques et des systèmes d’influence)

This integrative literature review explores Canadian art therapists’ difficulties of finding and maintaining sustainable employment. When conceiving of what contributes to maintaining sustainable employment, the intersection of art therapist, art therapy culture, and business skills were considered. The goal of this literature review was to understand potential challenges that new and current art therapists may find by collating literature into main key categories that explore extrinsic systems of influence. In this study, extrinsic systems of influence are described as influences outside of an art therapist that contribute to a Canadian art therapist’s experiences of achieving sustainable employment. The literature was categorized into the following extrinsic experiences: gender, social action, activism, advocacy, feminism, psychology of identity and brand, and socialized health care. Two main conceptual recommendations were generated from the review. The first is that using a lens of the psychology of identity and brand can create a unified and inclusive art therapy identity in Canada. This lens can contribute to art therapists more concisely communicating a message of unique values, identity, and benefits. The second finding is that establishing provincial psychotherapy/counseling therapist regulatory colleges will bring recognition and inclusion in healthcare funding in the future. The implication of these two recommendations for future study is to evaluate and assess art therapists’ value offering messaging and employment in mental health care in Canada.

Making kin: Indigenous relationality in promoting public and political knowledge about religion

Religion is a problematic category when understanding the different sociopolitical dynamics that impact and influence settler Canadian identity and society. However, against the modern western struggles around religion, like that of religion and non-religion, anti-Indigenous racism and Indigenous elimination remain a constant and unifying factor of settler colonialism. Yet Indigenous knowledges are framed by what is called religion through relationality, which informs situated knowledges, the ethos and world views, and the governance of distinct yet related nations/peoples who are human and other-than-human. The problem is that discussions on the intersectional nature of religion and relationality fall short of a critical treatment. This article outlines the issues of settler colonialism in perpetrating Indigenous dispossession, and asks scholars of religion to focus on how ‘making kin’ supports a critical disruption to settler-colonial definitions of religion that promotes public and political understandings of Indigenous relational knowledges.

Reshaping the Ways of Commerce and Civilization: Modern Construction Machines and the Building of Canada’s Mobility Infrastructure, 1860s–1920s

The importance of mobility in Canada’s history can hardly be overstated. The built waterways, railways, and roadways that allowed for the movement of peoples, goods, and ideas within the country have long been considered cultural icons conveying collective ideas of Canadian identity. Yet, little has been written on the history of the modern construction machines that made this mobility infrastructure possible after Confederation, along with their designers, manufacturers, and operators. This article helps fill that gap by examining the technological development, manufacturing, and commercialization of earthmoving equipment in Canada (especially Ontario) in the 1860s–1920s, a period of great construction activity, including two of the world’s largest civil engineering and earthmoving projects and one of the fastest-expanding road networks in North America. It discusses the role of the federal, provincial, and municipal governments in developing, adopting, and disseminating this technology, and their ultimate reliance on American manufacturers despite the National Policy’s protectionism. This article supports the argument that technological development in Canada during the Second Industrial Revolution was continentally integrated in ways that involved technological dialogue with American companies, associations, and publications. While this manufacturing sector became dominated by American corporations by the First World War, the extent to and manner by which that happened varied depending on the type of machinery and the construction sectors in which they were used. The technological transition from steam-powered machines to electric, gasoline, and diesel motors and how it impacted Canadian manufacturers are also discussed.

Unveiling the Veiled Narratives

Critical Indigenous scholars have extensively examined the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women/Girls (MMIWG) along the Highway of Tears (HoT) in British Columbia and have linked the phenomena to varying underlying colonial structures.[i] However, these analyses often overlook the central role of settler-colonialism in imposing patriarchal ontologies, which perpetuate ongoing Indigenous femicide. To address this theoretical oversight, this document adopts Linda Smith’s framework of ‘gendering’ as a means of decolonial praxis[ii] to incorporate feminist social reproduction theory into the discourse of Critical Indigenous scholars’ commentary on MMIWG. The aim is to shed light on how the problem of MMIWG is rooted in the imposition of colonial, patriarchal ontologies that disrupt matriarchal social reproduction along the HoT. Furthermore, this document argues that a critical examination of how settler-colonialism disrupts matrilineal social reproduction should occupy a more central position within postcolonial discourses focused on addressing MMIWG along the HoT as per considering the higher matrilineal governance of nations along the HoT.[iii] Ultimately, this document argues that a more comprehensive understanding of settler-colonialism’s impact on displacing Indigenous matrilineal social reproduction should be given greater emphasis when discussing the causal factors surrounding MMIWG along the HoT. By addressing the theoretical oversights and incorporating a gendered analysis within a decolonial framework, the paper aims to advocate for more effective approaches to address the issue.
 
 [i] Lawrence, "Gender, race, and the regulation of native identity in Canada and the United States.” 4-31.
 [ii] Smith, "Twenty-five indigenous projects.” 75-90.
 [iii] Nyce, "Family of Louisa Oyee: A Matriarch in the Nisga'a Nation.” 5-15.

Hockey White in Canada

While multiculturalism and hockey are two features that are often said to define Canadian identity, they do not often overlap. This paper explores the Twitter discourse surrounding Harnarayan Singh’s 2021 debut sports broadcasts on Hockey Night in Canada and Sportsnet. Singh is the first Sikh person to call play-by-play in English in a national broadcast. We analyse this against the backdrop of racist remnants of colonialism in hockey resulting in the current majority presence of white players and sportscasters. Viewers’ reactions to Singh’s broadcasts mostly demonstrate positive alignment with Singh and support for inclusivity in hockey, however we find a pattern of race-related ideological assumptions embodying the existing tensions between movements to increase diversity in hockey while acknowledging a historic culture of racism in the sport.

Mapping Immigrant Children’s Ethnoracialized Identities in Canada: K–5 Muslim Students Share Stories with their Mothers

This study investigates the schooling experiences of K–5 Muslim immigrant children to address the underexplored area of post-migration schooling within the Canadian context. Centered on the stories K–5 children share with their mothers, the study focuses on students’ identity formation, sense of belonging, and academic performance. Theoretically grounded in critical race theory and decolonial education as conceptual frameworks, the research explores the multi-dimensional experiences of immigrant children, moving beyond the monolithic narratives often enacted by dominant power structures. Utilizing a qualitative methodological approach, the study engages 10 Muslim-identifying mothers in semi-structured interviews, revealing insights about the role of mothers as knowledge holders and validating K–5 immigrant students’ schooling experiences. Findings indicate key themes including subtractive teacher practices, subversive allyship, racialization, marginalization, and the interplay of identity and religion. The study proposes targeted recommendations for school-based supports, teaching practice, and programs of teacher education to address post-migration schooling challenges.

Truth, History, and a Canadian Identity: Philosophy and the Murdoch Mysteries, Seasons One to Nine

Truth, History, and a Canadian Identity: Philosophy and the Murdoch Mysteries, Seasons One to Nine

Identity of Canada in the Arctic region based on the Northwest Passage

The Northwest Passage (NWP) is a sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. In fact, the NWP is a series of short routes passing through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Since all routes pass through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the Canadian Government insists that these are the «internal waters» of the state. There are many controversies in this regard. The dispute between the United States and Canada over the legal status of the Northwest Passage has been the subject of political and popular debate for fifty years. According to Canada, the Northwest Passage is Canadian, and this issue is not even subject to discussion, so there are no disputes from Canada’s point of view. The article considers the problems of formation and prospects for the development of relations between states in the zone of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. The relevance and demand of the transport route in the north of the Western Hemisphere, which is a direct competitor to the Northern Sea Route in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, are noted. The problems of the indigenous peoples of the Canadian Arctic are touched upon, as well as possible ways to solve them through the prism of the national identity of the Canadian state.

Acculturation gaps among Afghan refugee families in Canada: Implications for family relationships, adaptation outcomes, and subjective wellbeing of emerging adults

The present study applied and extended the Acculturation Gap-Distress Model to a sample of Afghan emerging adults and their parents living in Canada. Using two different methods to operationalize the “gap”, the impact of acculturation gaps on family relationships, adaptation outcomes, and subjective wellbeing of Afghan emerging adults was examined. Acculturation was evaluated concerning both Canadian and Afghan cultures, and independently for the language, identity, and behavioural domains of acculturation. The following three themes emerged in the results: a) Emerging adults’ proficiency in the Farsi language and higher identification with Afghan culture are important factors behind their family relationships, adaptation outcomes, and subjective wellbeing. b) Parents’ identification with the Canadian culture is an important factor behind emerging adults’ psychological adaptation and subjective wellbeing. c) The parent-emerging adult gap in Canadian identity acculturation was the only consequential gap associated with emerging adults’ lower reports of family cohesion.