ORDINARY CANADIANS IDENTITY OF TIME AND PLACE By JIM HIGGINSON Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Executive Doctor of Management Project Advisors: Eileen M. Doherty and Paul F. Salipante, Jr. CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY May 1998 ORDINARY CANADIANS IDENTITY OF TIME AND PLACE Abstract By JIM HIGGINSON Previous studies on national identity have centred around national identity formation by individuals because of the influence of values and preferences; social connectedness through social interactions; and values orientation of individuals and groups and their ability to change. Talking to a cross section of ordinary Canadians in their own setting about their experiences, stories and thoughts on what is happening in Canada provides an opportunity to assess their thoughts and ideas about a unique Canadian identity. The design of the research is qualitative utilizing experience-based information gathering. Oral histories were conducted with 64 ordinary Canadians from all provinces and regions, ethnic backgrounds, ages and walks of life. The oral histories were analysed for emerging themes. Canadians are perplexed, within the vast geographic area, about their position in time and place. There is a feeling that they must continually attempt to define and redefine themselves in terms of their identity. Themes or categorization identified were: a) deference and conformity, b) complexity, c) historical dimensions, d) participation and patriotism, e) diversity, f) continuity, g) myth and reality, h) solitude and isolation, and i) relevance of time and place. The audience for this applied research project includes government policy makers, academic political scientists and target marketers. A future project in this area would include reenacting a similar project following the same methodology to determine whether the emerging themes and concerns identify change over time, and what are the lengths of those periods of time. ACKNOWLEDGEI\1ENTS I thank the many individuals who contributed directly or indirectly to this project. My soul mate Judy Langley who was my alter ego throughout the many steps of the project. My business partner and friend Mark McHugh who trusted my judgment and never questioned my commitment to our company First Avenue, the EDM program, or this project. David Lewis, PhD who shared his knowledge with me and discussed for many hours details about the history of Canada and Canada's place in the world . It made me realize how much I didn't know about my own country. Most of all he showed me how understanding history can explain much about why the present is the way it is and what the future may hold. Sue Pitts and Joanne Zigurella for reviewing many interview transcripts and encouraging me along the way. Ursula Janes for her editing assistance and easygoing nature. To all my network of contacts who assisted me in referring potential interview candidates. Of course my young children Laura Higginson and Jamie Higginson who endured my many absences from family life. Needless to say the 64 ordinary Canadians who provided me with a wealth of personal experiences and thoughts on Canada. Their full cooperation and candidness was appreciated and moving. It said an extraordinary and revealing thing about the unique Canadian identity. Thanks to Eiieen Doherty and Paul Salipante my advisors who encouraged me to pursue the oral history method and kept me on track throughout the project. TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Pg Abstract 11 Acknowledgements lV Table of contents V 1. Introduction a) Reflections on Canadians in the Contemporary World l b) Finding and Talking with Ordinary Canadians 4 2. Theoretical Background 18 a) National Identity 19 b) Social Connectedness 21 c) Values Orientation 24 3. Methodology 27 a) Recruitment of Interview Candidates 27 b) Findings 30 i) Gender ii) Province iii) Social Value Category iv) Founding Group Category c) Oral Histories 32 4. Framework for Analysis 37 Chart-Framework for Social Connectedness 43 5. Example of Oral History 44 Tara Melnikel 44 6. Interpretations 53 a) Deference and Conformity 53 b) Complexity 66 c) Historical Dimensions 78 d) Participation and Patriotism 94 e) Diversity 108 f) Continuity 117 g) Myth and Reality 127 h) Solitude and Isolation 133 i) Relevance of Time and Place 140 7. Conclusions 149 8. Appendix A) Example Oral History From Each Category 159 a) Deference and Conformity Maria Radford 159 b) Complexity Kenny MacDonald 176 c) Historical Dimensions Marcel Charpentier 184 d) Participation and Patriotism Jerry McCrae 199 e) Diversity Bernard Baskin 211 f) Continuity Elaine Crowder 228 g) Myth and Reality Ronald Landry 239 h) Solitude and Isolation Bonni-Anne Bender 256 i) Relevance of Time and Place Cora Fydek 271 B) Canada's Social Value Tribes 290 9. References 292 1. Introduction a) Reflections on Canadians in the Contemporary World As I gaze out over the freshly fallen snow in Artemesia Township in the snowbelt region of Southern Ontario I view the sagging evergreens and birch trees that are heavily laden with snow and ice. The thoughts that rush through my mind are that of openness and vastness. This vastness before me makes me think about a sense of place. So many ordinary Canadian people have told me about how much they love living in Canada and being Canadian that I am beginning to question everything I hear in the media about Canada being in a constant state of demise. I feel wonderful, comfortable and elated about the journey I have made across Canada visiting ordinary Canadians in their homes and businesses, talking to them about their experiences of growing up in Canada and their concerns about the future. Since Canada is a geographic entity rather than a ethnic or cultural entity, a sense of time and place is constant in peoples' mind. How to deal with this geographic vastness creates a sense of pride in being custodians of the rugged land in the northern-most part of North America. Most of the land is robust and the climate is intimidating but below the surface it is rich in resources and potential. Time and place creates, besides pride, an overwhelming sense of helplessness in defending it. In addition to Canada being a vast country much of the population is made up of newcomers who have little sense of the vastness but are full of the hope it will provide a future for them and their families. A sense of time is important for a country as young as Canada. Knowing that 2 everyday actions taken by Canadians will be precedent setting, a sense of time is contextually relevant. Canada as a self-governing nation is young. Full authority for granting citizenship and final legal determination through its supreme court dates back only to the late 1940s. Prior to that, important issues were settled or deferred to London to be confirmed in the context of membership in the British Commonwealth. A sense of time is current and youthful. Ordinary Canadians know that what they do today will affect them, their families and future generations. They know they cannot defer to history as much as other nations for precedents. Because of this they appear to be optimistically sceptical of every situation. Time is important for citizens of all nations but it seems to be more relevant for ordinary Canadians. Canada is a community of communities where Canadians feel safe and are civil to each other. However, those communities located in provinces and regions feel a sense of alienation among themselves and among groups because the perception, real or imagined, is that some are better off than others. Geography contributes to this along with a host of other differences ranging from regional to linguistic and cultural. Grasping the immensity of the country and its regional needs lead to a complex agenda of accommo-dation to all members. A sense of place is more tangible than its companion, a sense of time. Canadians are losing touch with their collective identity. Anxiety induced domestically, externally and personally is creating unease among the country's constituents. They are also losing touch with their individual identity because of the anxieties about values, about institutions, about understanding their place in the world j and about the future of Canada, and whether it will be as they know it now. These changes are perpetuated by globalization, speed of and variety of communication techniques, the phenomenon of instant gratification and subversive and pervasive marketing of brand names so that young people identify with names and styles rather than values and friendships. The journey I embarked on to talk to Canadians, between June 1996 and July 1997, from various age groups, regions, genders and walks oflife provided support for my analysis of what ordinary Canadians think about themselves as Canadians and why they feel that way. Later in this document, in Section 6B I elaborate on some of the experiences and thoughts related to me under nine thematic categories: o deference and conformity o complexity o historical dimensions o participation and patriotism o diversity o continuity o myth and reality o solitude and isolation o relevance of time and place. Canada is not broken and does not need repairing. It just needs a bit of caring. My feeling at the end of the journey is that there is indeed a sense of unique Canadian identity within the people who live in the geographic area of Canada. It isn't shouted 4 from the rooftops but there is that simple pleasure of belonging and of fellowship with other Canadians who have chosen directly or indirectly Canada as their home. b) Finding and Talking with Ordinary Canadians In June, 1996 I began my journey. I set out to meet my fellow Canadians to talk with them about their experiences and about what they thought about Canada.