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From Gord to Gordie A Tour of Canadiana From Gord to Gordie: A Tour of Canadiana

Douglas College Professional Writing Editorial Team: Megan Carey, Erik Johnson, Lauren Kelly, Sarah Khan

With special thanks to Laura Neilson Bonikowski, Associate Editor, The Canadian Encyclopedia

Authors: Stephen Azzi, Jeff Bateman, Robert Bothwell, Paul Buteux, James Defelice, John English, Lois Kernaghan, Bruce Kidd, John Kirton, James Marsh, John Ross Matheson, Steve McLean, Laura Neilson, Bruce Peel, J. Thomas West

Design: Cody Klyne

Cover: Erik Johnson and Cody Klyne

Printer: Douglas College Printshop

Published with The Canadian Encyclopedia’s permission to use copyrighted material.

Copyright © 2013 by Douglas College Professional Writing for The Canadian Encyclopedia and its contributors.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of The Canadian Encyclopedia.

Typeset in “Delicious” and “Fontin” Copyright © 2013 by Jos Buivenga (www.josbuivenga.demon.nl)

ISBN: 978-1-896019-35-2

This booklet was produced by students of the Print Futures: Professional Writing program at Douglas College, New Westminster, British Columbia. www.douglascollege.ca/pf Reference in the Age of Information 6

The Tragically Hip By Jeff Bateman 7

Sarah “Sass” Jordan By Steve McLean 8

Dan Aykroyd By James Defelice 9

Avro Arrow By John Kirton 10

Bomarc Missile Crisis By Paul Buteux 11

Canadian-American Relations By John English 12

Laura Secord By Laura Neilson 14

Lester Bowles Pearson By Robert Bothwell 16

Flag Debate By John Ross Matheson 18

Emblems of Canada By Bruce Peel 19

Bluenose By James Marsh 21

Angus Walters By Lois Kernaghan 21

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame By J. Thomas West 22

Thomas Charles Longboat By Bruce Kidd 23

Gordon “Gordie” Howe By James Marsh 24 Reference in the Age of Information

urning to online resources for consumable facts has become a Thuman reflex. If we want to know who won the Stanley Cup in 1915, we reach for our phones. When we forget the name of the guy who pounded in the last spike, we flip open our laptops. Online reference sites—accessed free or by subscription—have evolved into bulging hubs of accessible information. They cover an array of interconnected topics and have become ubiquitous in our daily lives. Perhaps this connectivity reflects some greater association shared by all areas of knowledge and those who pursue it. Or maybe it is just about convenient facts. Either way, confirming a name, a date, or the history of the infield fly rule has never been this easy—or this fun. And so, the idea for this book arose from the enjoyment that we, the editorial team, have all found in getting lost among the strands of loosely connected reference articles. Surely we’re not the only ones. The interconnectivity of online reference articles has altered the way we think about information and remember details, and the speed of the Internet has made every tangent a possibility for new discovery. But journeying through these pages is always done best with an awareness of the source’s intrinsic variability. This is because, for many online references, what is fact today, may become another user’s edit tomorrow. So, as an online reference, The Canadian Encyclopedia stands apart. While it features the usability and interconnectivity of other online reference sites, its contributors comprise thousands of journalists, academics, and experts from across the nation. The Canadian Encyclopedia also has a full-time editorial staff, confirming facts and preserving objectivity. Even after we’ve considered its trustworthiness and accessibility, another attribute muscles its way forward: The Canadian Encyclopedia tells Canada’s stories with a Canadian voice. From Gord to Gordie merely brushes shoulders with the depth of content residing in The Canadian Encyclopedia. It’s meant to give readers a sampling of the interesting and entertaining articles on the encyclopedia website. Because of space, we’ve had to abridge some articles. But we think that this book shows how the facts and stories in The Canadian Encyclopedia’s reference articles contribute to the ongoing preservation of Canadian culture and identity.

Page 6 The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie The Tragically Hip

he Tragically Hip is a rock group, Canada. The Hip has toured routinely Tformed in Kingston, Ont, in since its foundation, and helped 1983 by Rob “Bobby” Baker (guitar), pioneer the now commonplace Gordon Downie (vocals), Johnny Fay “festival tour” concept with a series of (drums), Paul Langlois (guitar), and Another Roadside Attraction national Gord Sinclair (bass). The Tragically tours; over the years, these outings Hip’s name was inspired by a segment have involved the likes of Midnight in ex-Monkee ’s Oil, , , children’s video, Elephant Parts. After Traveler, and . developing a hometown fan base with The group has staged numerous an independent mini-album, the group fundraising concerts for Camp Trillium, signed with MCA Records Canada in an recreation and support 1988. (1989) featured top- centre for children with cancer. ten rock radio singles “Blow at High The Hip’s version of Gordon Dough” and “.” Lightfoot’s “Black Day in July” Road Apples (1991) established was a highlight of the multi-artist the Hip (as fans invariably call recording Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon them) as Canada’s top rock band; Lightfoot (2003). The following spring, their raw, energetic meld of blues, Canadian rock radio immediately rock, and challenging lyrical content hailed the return of the Hip in its most took shape in concert favourites dynamic blues-rock guise by giving such as “,” “Twist My heavy airplay to “Vaccination Scar,” Arm,” and “Cordelia.” Subsequent an upbeat track in the classic Road albums have included Fully Apples vein that featured driving slide Completely (1992), Day for Night guitar and a characteristically oblique (1994), Trouble at the Henhouse (1996), lyric from Downie. the concert recording Live Between While the Hip have so far been Us (1997), Phantom Power (1998), unable to make commercial headway and Music @ Work (2000). Downie in foreign markets, their popularity released a solo album, Coke Machine in Canada was once more underlined Glow, in 2001. made a cameo by Hipeponymous, a greatest hits- appearance as a squad in the plus-DVD package that became an –directed comedy Men with immediate bestseller in 2005. The Brooms that same year. , double-CD portion of the produced by (Genesis, set featured material selected by the the Police), was released in 2002. A band’s fans, while the DVD captured a year later Downie released his second 2004 concert at the Air Canada Centre album, Battle of the Nudes. in . While US success has proven Noted Canadian producer Bob to be elusive, the Tragically Hip has Rock (Metallica, Our Lady Peace) an exceptionally loyal audience in was behind the console for World

The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Page 7 The Tragically Hip

Container. Released in 2006, it was a was nominated for Rock Album of the forceful return to basics that spun Year at the 2010 Junos. Also in 2010, off the number-one Canadian single Downie released his third solo album, “In View” and earned the band a 2007 The Grand Bounce, which he recorded nomination as Group of in Kingston with the Country of the Year. The band launched their Miracles, the backing band that had hometown’s new downtown arena, worked with him on his previous the Kingston Regional Sports and solo albums. In October 2012 the Hip Entertainment Centre (a.k.a. the released Now For Plan A, produced by K-Rock Centre), in 2008 with a career- (Billy Talent, Metric, and spanning set highlighted by a guest ). appearance from long-time Hip fan on harmonica. We Are Author: Jeff Bateman The Same was released in 2009 and

Sarah “Sass” Jordan

arah “Sass” Jordan, singer, songwriter (born in , , S23 Dec 1964). Sass Jordan moved to as a child and first gained notice as the bass player in the band The Pinups when she was still in her mid-teens. She later worked as a session singer in another local group called The Box before releasing her Tell Somebody solo debut album on Aquarius Records in 1988. The album was certified platinum and Sass Jordan won the Most Promising Female Vocalist Juno Award in 1989. In 1992 she released Racine, which again reached platinum status in Canada and earned Jordan the title of Female Rock Artist of the Year by the American music magazine Billboard. Jordan moved to Los Angeles, where she recorded 1994’s Rats album, before returning to Canada in 1996. While Racine and Rats were both released on major US labels, Aquarius put out the subsequent Present (1997) and Hot Gossip (2000) albums. After selling almost half-a-million records in Canada, Sass Jordan gained more acclaim south of the border starring as in the off-Broadway play Love Janis. Jordan returned to the Canadian spotlight in 2003 as one of the judges on the popular talent-search TV show . With Jordan’s profile being at its highest point in a decade, Aquarius released Sass...Best of Sass Jordan, a greatest-hits album featuring two new songs, in the summer of 2003. Former Tragically Hip manager and Jordan’s fellow Canadian Idol judge became her manager. Jordan recorded some of her more laid-back 2006 album, Get What You Give, in Nashville with Canadian producer/musician . In 2009, Jordan released From Dusk ’Til Dawn on the Kindling Music label. Jordan was made honorary colonel of the Canadian Forces 417 Combat Support Squadron based in Cold Lake in September 2012.

Author: Steve McLean

Page 8 The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie The Tragically Hip Dan Aykroyd

aniel Edward Aykroyd, comedian, film Love at First Sight (1974). Other Dactor, screenwriter (born in films include Steven Spielberg’s 1941 Ottawa, 1 July 1952). Dan Aykroyd (1979); Neighbors (1981); Twilight Zone: majored in sociology and was active The Movie (1983); Ghostbusters (1984), with student theatre groups at as actor and co-screenwriter; Indiana Carleton University. He later became Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984); a member of the Second City comedy Dragnet (1987); My Girl (1991); Celtic troupe in Toronto. He gained major Pride (1996); Grosse Pointe Blank (1997); television exposure in his variety of the animated Antz (1998); and Susan’s characters created for Canadian Lorne Plan (1998). Michael’s between Aykroyd won an Emmy Award 1975 and 1979, including Elwood in 1977, which he shared with his co- Blues and Beldar, one of the alien writers on SNL. coneheads. He played Elwood in the He has become associated with highly successful film version of the winemakers, partnering with Niagara Blues Brothers (1980), opposite the late Cellars in 2006 and releasing his John Belushi, an actor with whom he Signature Reserve wines. His 2005 was often associated. He reprised the Signature Reserve Vidal Icewine received Aykroyd won an Emmy Award in 1977, which he shared with his co-writers on SNL.

character in Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) the 2008 Ontario Wine Award for Wine as well as co-writing the screenplays of the Year. Dan Aykroyd received an for both films. honorary doctorate of literature from Aykroyd returned to Canada from Carleton University in 1994 and was Hollywood to star in the CBC miniseries named a member of the Order of The Arrow (1997), his first Canadian Canada in 1998. In 2002, he was inducted production in more than twenty into Canada’s Walk of Fame. years. He played Crawford Gordon, the president of A.V. Roe Canada Ltd., who Author: James Defelice created the Avro Arrow. Dan Aykroyd has demonstrated his range and versatility as an actor in numerous films, culminating in the role of Miss Daisy’s (Jessica Tandy’s) son in Driving Miss Daisy (1989), which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He made his debut in the Canadian

The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Page 9 Avro Arrow

vro Arrow (CF-105), an advanced, doubts mounted as the government’s Asupersonic, twin-engined, all- order shrank to one hundred and weather interceptor jet aircraft unit costs rose. In October 1958, to developed by A.V. Roe of Canada cut costs, the new Conservative from 1949 until the government’s government terminated Canadian fire controversial cancellation of the control and missile development, and project in 1959. Encouraged by A.V. renewed efforts to sell the aircraft Roe’s success in developing the Avro to the US, just when the US was CF-100 Canuck and recognizing promoting Bomarc Missiles, and the the need for an aircraft to counter USSR’s launch of an ICBM missile was the threat of Soviet bombers over raising doubts about the priority of the demanding Canadian North, the Soviet bomber threat. enthusiastic RCAF officers, defence After export efforts again failed, scientists, and defence-industry the project was cancelled on officials had persuaded the Liberal 20 February 1959. A.V. Roe bitterly government by December 1953 to fired fourteen thousand employees; authorize two prototype airframes in the government ordered all plans anticipation of a production run of up and prototypes destroyed; and many to six hundred aircraft costing Canadians bemoaned the devastation $2 million apiece. of Canada’s aircraft industry, the Canada was also forced to resulting flight of scientists and develop the Arrow’s engine, fire engineers to the US, and Canada’s control, and missile systems, and renewed dependence on the US for estimated costs rose to $12.5 million interceptor aircraft. per aircraft. Test flights indicated that with the proper engines the plane Author: John Kirton could become the world’s fastest and most advanced interceptor. However,

Page 10 The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Bomarc Missile Crisis

n the fall of 1958 Prime Minister IDiefenbaker's Conservative government announced an agreement with the US to deploy in Canada two squadrons of the American ramjet- powered "Bomarc" anti-aircraft missile. This controversial defence decision was one of many flowing from the 1957 NORAD agreement with the US. It was argued by some that the surface-to-air guided missile, with a range of 640 km, would be an effective replacement for the manned Avro Arrow, which was also scrapped. Fifty-six missiles were deployed at North Bay, Ontario, and La Macaza, Quebec, under the ultimate control of the commander in chief, NORAD. Unfortunately, the Canadian government did not make it clear that the version to be acquired, the Bomarc B, was to be fitted with nuclear warheads. When this became known in 1960 it gave rise to a dispute as to whether Canada should adopt Bomarc warheads were delivered nuclear weapons. In the end the to their sites on 31 December 1963. government could not bring itself Nevertheless, the decision was made to accept nuclear warheads for the reluctantly, and in 1969 Prime Minister Bomarcs, a reluctance that contributed Trudeau's new Liberal government to poor Canadian-American relations in announced that Canada would this period. withdraw its armed forces from their With the Conservatives' fall in nuclear roles. As part of this process, 1963 and the Liberals' return to power the Bomarc missile was phased out of under Prime Minister Pearson, a service by 1971. decision was finally made to accept nuclear warheads for Canadian Author: Paul Buteux nuclear-capable forces, and the

The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Page 11 Canadian-American Relations

hroughout history, Canadians existence of Canada by the United Thave struggled to stay true to States. Thereafter, Canada's concern their identity. In these efforts to stay about the American military threat autonomous and different from the diminished rapidly. There were fears US, American and Canadian relations of American interference as Canada have been uneasy. established sovereignty over the Canada's nationhood is in many Northwest, but by the late 1890s both ways a by-product of the American nations looked back at three decades Revolution, when the victory of the of remarkably little conflict. Thirteen Colonies led to the exodus of Loyalist Americans to British North y 1965, relations had deteriorated America. Many brought with them a Bsignificantly as Prime Minister deep distrust of the United States and Lester Pearson and Canadians found its political system. Many American it difficult to give the United States revolutionaries thought the revolution the support they demanded during The tensions of the Bush years were rooted in specific events, but also reflected the long tradition of Canadian nationalism and the sense of Canadian distinctiveness. was incomplete while Britain retained the Vietnam War. In 1967 the Canadian any North American outpost. Conflict government openly expressed its seemed inevitable, and the Napoleonic disagreement with American policies Wars spilled over into North America in Southeast Asia. Canadians generally in 1812. The War of 1812 was fought became less sympathetic to American defensively by the British and half- influence and foreign policy. A heartedly by the Americans. nationalist movement demanded that Both sides welcomed the Treaty American influence be significantly of Ghent, which brought some reduced. The first major nationalist settlement of outstanding problems initiatives occurred in cultural between British North America and affairs, but those most offensive to the United States. Following the Americans, such as the National Confederation, the 1871 Treaty of Energy Program, were economic. Washington was signed, in which In 1984, the election of Brian the United States acknowledged the Mulroney's Conservatives signalled a

Page 12 The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Canadian-American Relations reconciliation with the United States, ambassador publicly rebuked Canada one that led to the weakening of and when some Canadian officials nationalistic legislation and agencies made derogatory remarks about the such as the Foreign Investment United States president. The situation Review Agency (FIRA). further deteriorated when Canada After protracted negotiations, announced in 2005 that it would the two governments reached a not participate in the United States tentative trade agreement on program to build a ballistic missile 3 October 1987. This agreement defence system. The inauguration became the central issue of the of Barack Obama as United States Canadian general election of 1988 president in January 2009 encouraged which the Mulroney Conservatives hopes for improved relations between decisively won. The trade agreement the two countries. quickly came into effect, and The tensions of the Bush years Canadian-American economic were rooted in specific events, but relations were fundamentally also reflected the long tradition of changed. Canadian nationalism and the sense The trade agreement did of Canadian distinctiveness. Still, not end disputes, in part because it is difficult to imagine a future promised agreements on subsidies relationship different from that of and countervail did not materialize. two proud sovereign nations living Moreover, the disparity in size peacefully and trading constantly with between the two partners meant each other. that on truly controversial issues in the United States Congress, such Author: John English as softwood lumber, the Canadian Revised by: Stephen Azzi government had to give way. Nevertheless, trade between the two countries grew dramatically with the United States taking 80% of Canada's exports by 1995 and Canada receiving 70% of its imports from the United States. These figures led many observers to conclude that Canada had cast its fate to North American winds. Some spoke of an inevitable political integration as a result. Relations worsened again during the presidency of George W. Bush. After the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001, Canada committed troops to the international Campaign Against Terrorism in Afghanistan. When the Americans extended the war to Iraq in 2003, Canada refused to take part in the new campaign. The tensions became public when the United States

The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Page 13 Laura Secord

aura Secord, née Ingersoll, Loyalist, troops and James still recuperating, Lmythologized historic figure (born the Secords were forced to billet in Great Barrington, Mass, 13 Sept 1775; some American officers in their home. died in Chippawa [Niagara Falls], Ont, In some way, Laura heard that the 17 Oct 1868). During the War of 1812, Americans were planning an attack Laura Secord walked thirty kilometres on British forces at Beaver Dams. from Queenston to Beaver Dams, near Since James was unable to make the Thorold, to warn James FitzGibbon journey to warn FitzGibbon, Laura set that the Americans were planning out on her own, taking a circuitous to attack his outpost. The story route through inhospitable terrain of her trek has become legendary, to avoid American sentries and being and Secord herself mythologized in helped by a group of Canadian history. men she encountered along the Laura Ingersoll was the daughter way. She reached FitzGibbon at his of Thomas Ingersoll, an American who headquarters in the house of John De had sided with the Patriots during Cou, probably on 22 or 23 June. The exact details of Laura Secord’s efforts to reach FitzGibbon and sound the alarm are uncertain, but they have been made part of Canadian mythology and employed to foster Canadian nationalism.

the American Revolution (1775–83). On 24 June 1813, American troops Ingersoll moved his family to the under Colonel Charles Boerstler Niagara Peninsula in 1795 and ran a were ambushed near Beaver Dams tavern at Queenston. The site of his by three hundred Caughnawaga who farm is today the town of Ingersoll. were joined by one hundred Mohawk In 1797, Laura married James Secord, a warriors led by Captain William Queenston merchant. Kerr. FitzGibbon arrived with fifty soldiers from the 49th Regiment and arly in the War of 1812, James was persuaded Boerstler to surrender. The Ea sergeant with the 1st Lincoln official reports of the victory made no Militia. He was wounded at the Battle mention of Laura Secord. of Queenston Heights; Laura rescued him from the battlefield and took he exact details of Laura Secord’s him home to nurse him through Tefforts to reach FitzGibbon and his recuperation. In June 1813, with sound the alarm are uncertain, but Queenston occupied by American they have been made part of Canadian

Page 14 The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Laura Secord mythology and employed to foster learned of her long walk while on a Canadian nationalism. Secord has visit to Canada. Secord had prepared been memorialized in books, plays, a memorial describing her service and music, and even a postage stamp. placed her signature among those Historian Pierre Berton asserted that of War of 1812 veterans who had her story would be “used to underline prepared an address to him. After his the growing myth that the War of 1812 return to England, Albert sent her a was won by true-blue Canadians.” The reward of £100. She died in 1868, story of Laura Secord has been told aged ninety-three. in several renditions, with dramatic embellishments, including a cow that anadians are familiar with the she supposedly took with her and CLaura Secord candy company, but milked in front of American sentries are uncertain of its association with before releasing it into the woods, and her. In 1913, Frank P. O’Connor, the having made the walk through dense founder of a small candy business in underbrush in her bare feet. Toronto selling hand-made chocolates, Secord herself never revealed chose Laura Secord as the name for how she came to know of the his company because she “was an icon American plan, and while she did of courage, devotion and loyalty.” take a message to FitzGibbon, it is uncertain if she arrived ahead of Author: Laura Neilson Aboriginal scouts who also brought the news. FitzGibbon’s report on the battle noted: “At [John] De Cou’s this morning, about seven o’clock, I received information that… the Enemy… was advancing towards me…” However, FitzGibbon did provide written testimony in support of the Secords’ later petition to the government for a pension, in 1820 and 1827. In the latter testimonial, he wrote that Secord had come to him “on the 22nd day of June 1813,” and “in consequence of this information” he had positioned the Aboriginal warriors to intercept the Americans. In 1837, he testified that Laura Secord had warned him of an American attack, but he provided no specific date, and he wrote, he said, “in a moment of much hurry and from memory.” Laura Secord’s petition for a military pension was refused. The only recognition she gained in her lifetime for her arduous journey came late in her life. In 1860, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII),

The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Page 15 Lester Bowles Pearson

ester Bowles Pearson, "Mike," Lstatesman, politician, public servant, prime minister (born in Newtonbrook, Ont, 23 Apr 1897; died in Ottawa, 27 Dec 1972). Pearson was Canada's foremost diplomat and formulated its basic post–WWII foreign policy. A skilled politician, he rebuilt the Liberal Party and as prime minister strove to maintain Canada's national unity. After taking his BA at the University of Toronto in 1919, Pearson was undecided on a career. He tried law and business, won a fellowship to Oxford, and was hired by the University of Toronto to teach history. In 1945 he was named Canadian ambassador to the US and attended the founding conference of the United Nations at San Francisco. In September 1946 Pearson was summoned home by Prime Minister King to become deputy minister (or undersecretary) of external affairs. He took strong interest in the UN By the time NATO was in place, but also promoted a closer political Pearson had left the civil service for and economic relationship between politics. In September 1948 he became Canada and its principal allies, the minister of external affairs and US and the UK. Pearson's work subsequently represented Algoma East, culminated in Canada's joining NATO Ontario, in the House of Commons. As in 1949. He strongly supported a minister, he helped lead Canada into Western self-defence organization, the Korean War as a contributor to although he hoped that its existence the UN army and, in 1952, served as would persuade the USSR that president of the UN General Assembly, aggression would be futile. where he tried to find a solution to the conflict. His efforts displeased the

Page 16 The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Lester Bowles Pearson

Americans, who considered him too inclined to compromise on difficult points of principle. His greatest diplomatic achievement came in 1956, when he proposed a UN peacekeeping force as means for easing the British and French out of Egypt. His plan was implemented, and as a reward he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957. Pearson took office 22 April 1963. His government was expected to be more businesslike than Diefenbaker's but proved instead to be accident-prone in aborting its first budget. Much of Parliament's time was spent in bitter partisan and personal wrangling, culminating in the interminable flag debate of 1964. Pearson's attempts in his first term to conciliate Quebec and the other provinces with "co-operative federalism" and "bilingualism and biculturalism" were superseded by a firm federal response to provincial demands and by the Quebec government's attempts to usurp federal roles in international relations. For all its superficial chaos, the Pearson government left behind a notable legacy of legislation: a Canada Pension Plan, a universal medicare system, a unified armed forces, a new flag and a revised Transport Act. Its approach to the problem of Canada's disadvantaged regions was less thorough and its legacy, such as the Glace Bay heavy-water plant, decidedly mixed. Not all of these initiatives proved fruitful and some were costly, but they represented the high point of the Canadian welfare state that generations of social thinkers had dreamed about. In retirement Pearson worked on a study of international aid for the World Bank and on his memoirs.

Author: Robert Bothwell

The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Page 17 Flag Debate

he debate over the proposed Tnew Canadian flag opened in the House of Commons on 15 June 1964 and ended by closure on 15 December 1964. Canada’s official flag from 1867 had been Britain’s Union Flag, although the Red Ensign with the Canadian badge was regularly flown for qualified purposes. In 1925 Prime Minister Mackenzie King appointed an armed services committee to investigate possible designs, but it did not report. In 1946 a committee of both Senate and Commons presented Pearson insisted on a design denoting a design with the Red Ensign charged allegiance to Canada, devoid of with a golden maple leaf, but it was colonial association. After prolonged, not adopted. The issue was raised rancorous debate, the issue was again by Lester Pearson, as leader of referred to a fifteen-member all-party the Opposition in 1960 and as prime committee that recommended a minister in 1963. John Matheson, MP, design inspired by the Royal Military sought strict adherence to the colours, College flag theme, red-white-red, red and white, and the maple leaf but with one red maple leaf in a emblem authorized by George V on white squared centre. Debate in the 21 November 1921 and advocated by House continued until Léon Balcer, A. Fortescue Duguid. Alan B. Beddoe a prominent Conservative MP from added two blue bars to what became Quebec, invited the Liberals to invoke known as the “Pearson pennant.” This closure, which would limit speeches proposed design, three maple leaves to twenty minutes and force a vote. on a white centre square with blue After some 250 speeches, a vote bars on each side, was introduced to was taken on 15 December 1964 Parliament in June 1964. at two a.m., and the committee’s The ensuing controversy raged recommendation was accepted 163 not over whether there should be to 78. Senate approval followed on a new flag, but on its design. The December 17. The royal proclamation French Canadian members followed was signed by Her Majesty on 28 the debate with keen interest, while January 1965, and the national flag feelings ran high among many was officially unfurled on 15 February English-speaking Canadians. John 1965. Diefenbaker demanded that the flag honour the “founding races,” with the Author: John Ross Matheson Union Jack in the canton of honour.

Page 18 The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Emblems of Canada

he design is traditional, with the by width, with a white square in the Tshield displaying the arms of centre the width of the flag. England, Scotland, Ireland, and France Before 1965, Canada did not have to symbolize Canada’s European an official flag. During the French founders. Underneath the four regime the flag flown was the royal quarters, on a white field, is a sprig banner of France. After 1760 the flags of three maple leaves to indicate most commonly flown were Great the new nation of many peoples. Britain’s Union Flag (Union Jack) and Originally green, in 1957 the leaves the Canadian Red Ensign. The latter officially became red, a common was the flag of the British merchant autumnal colour, and thus were marine, red, with the Union Jack in in accord with Canada’s national the canton (near the staff). In 1892 colours, red and white. The crest and the British Admiralty authorized its the shield’s supporters are strikingly use, with the addition of a shield for similar to the royal arms of Great Canada in the fly, on vessels registered Britain. The motto A mari usque ad in Canada. mare (“From sea to sea”) is from the In 1924 a Canadian order-in- Bible’s Psalm 72:8, “He shall have council decreed that the flag could dominion also from sea to sea, and be flown over Canadian government from the river unto the ends of the buildings abroad. The Red Ensign was earth” (King James Version). later carried by Canadian athletes at In 1987 a ribbon with the motto the Olympics and by Canadian troops of the Order of Canada, Desiderantes in World War II. In 1945 another order- meliorem patriem (“They desire a in-council approved the flying of the better country”), was added to the flag over federal buildings within arms of Canada. Canada. To many Canadians the Red Ensign was the national flag, and this he red and white flag featuring a led to intense feeling when Parliament Tstylized maple leaf was proclaimed proposed to replace it with a new Canada’s national flag by Queen design. Elizabeth II on 15 February 1965. Its adoption was the culmination of he Beaver, the most significant of many years of discussion, hundreds of Tthe fur-bearing animals sought designs, and the heated “flag debate” in the fur trade, was identified early in Parliament. The proportions of as an emblem suitable to represent the flag are two by length and one portions of the vast territories that

The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Page 19 Emblems of Canada

in the nineteenth century became long the St Lawrence, the leaf Canada. In 1621 King James I granted Aof the indigenous common Nova Scotia to Sir William Alexander. maple, with its distinctive shape and In 1633, when Alexander became beautiful autumnal colouring, seems Earl of Stirling and Viscount Canada, to have been considered as an emblem his new arms featured a beaver to by 1700. When the first Saint-Jean- symbolize his fiefdom in the New Baptiste society was founded in 1834, World. the maple leaf was made its emblem. From 1678 the Hudson’s Bay In Toronto the 1848 issue of Reverend Company (chartered 1670) possessed John McCaul’s literary annual, Maple an armorial seal charged with Leaf, referred to the leaf as the chosen four beavers and separated into emblem of Canada. In 1860 the leaf compartments formed by a Saint was incorporated into the badge of George’s cross. About the same time, the 100th Regiment (Royal Canadians), Governor Frontenac of New France and that year the leaves were used suggested the beaver as a suitable extensively in decorations for the emblem for the colony, but arms Prince of Wales’s visit. were never authorized. In 1690, to By royal warrant on 26 May 1868, commemorate Frontenac’s successful the designs of arms granted to Quebec

Today the beaver, noted for its industry and perseverance, qualities considered suitable for a nation to emulate, decorates the reverse of the Canadian five-cent coin.

defence of the Quebec citadel against and Ontario each incorporated a sprig the naval attack by Sir William Phips, of three maple leaves. The maple the Kebeca Liberata medal was struck. leaf was the badge of the Canadian It bore a representation of France as Expeditionary Force in World War I. a seated woman, and of Canada as a When national armorial bearings were beaver at her feet. assigned in 1921, a sprig of leaves was The use of the beaver as a an important feature, and in 1965 Canadian emblem declined in the the maple leaf became the dominant second half of the nineteenth century, element in the new national flag. perhaps because Montreal ceased to In 2011 the Canadian government be a major fur entrepôt. The animal’s selected the maple leaf tartan to emblematic importance was revived be Canada’s national tartan. The by Sir Sandford Fleming when he tartan design, featuring a distinctive designed Canada’s first postage stamp, green and red pattern suggesting the 1851 three-penny beaver. Today the shifting hues of autumn leaves, the beaver, noted for its industry and was designed in 1964 by Toronto perseverance, qualities considered garment maker David Weiser as part suitable for a nation to emulate, of the lead-up to Canada’s centennial decorates the reverse of the Canadian celebrations. five-cent coin. Author: Bruce Peel

Page 20 The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Emblems of Canada Bluenose

he Bluenose, Canada's most famous Tship, was launched at Lunenburg, NS, in 1921, and named with the common sobriquet first applied by T.C. Haliburton to natives of NS. The schooner was designed by William J. Roue to fish the Grand Banks and to race. Skippered by Captain Angus J. Walters against the fastest American schooners, it won the International an ignominious end, sold in 1942 to Fisherman's Trophy, emblematic a West Indies trading company and of the sailing championship of the wrecked off Haiti in 1946. A sculptured fishing fleets of the North Atlantic profile of the Bluenose has been in 1921, 1922, and 1923. Its only defeat reproduced on the Canadian dime was by the schooner Gertrude since 1937. A replica, Bluenose II, was L. Thebaud in the Lipton Cup in 1930, built in the same Smith and Rhuland but it outraced the Thebaud for the shipyards in Lunenburg and launched Fisherman's Trophy in 1931 and 1938. in 1963 amid nostalgia for the lost The Bluenose also held the golden age of sail. record for the largest catch of fish brought into Lunenburg. It came to Author: James Marsh

Angus Walters

ngus Walters, fishing captain (born in Lunenburg, NS, 9 June 1882; Adied there 11 Aug 1968). Walters went to sea in 1895, beginning as a deckhand for his father, who had pioneered Lunenburg’s involvement with the Banks fishery. Walters’s ability to find fish and to get the most speed out of his vessel led to his selection in 1920 as skipper of the Bluenose, then under construction. He bought a controlling interest in it and then insisted on certain structural modifications. Under Walters’s command, the schooner achieved fame on the Grand Banks and in the International Fisherman's Trophy races 1921 to 1938. He and his ship became inseparable in the popular imagination, but the decline of the salt fishery and the outbreak of WWII forced the retirement of both vessel and captain in 1939. Walters bought out the other shareholders, but was then forced to sell the Bluenose in 1942. The loss of the vessel and his death marked the end of an era in Canada's fishing tradition.

Author: Lois Kernaghan

The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Page 21 Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame

anada's Sports Hall of Fame is champion hydroplane Miss Supertest. CCanada's national museum of sport, The Hall of Fame is administered dedicated to preserving and increasing by a small staff responsible to a Canadians' awareness of their sport board of governors and also has heritage. Founded in 1955 through representatives from coast to coast. the efforts of Harry I. Price, a former It charges no admission fee, being assistant athletics commissioner of supported by government grants and Ontario, it is located in the centre of public and corporate donations. It is Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ont. open to the general public throughout Its current exhibit area covers the year. In 1997, the Hall of Fame's nine hundred square metres, houses board of governors announced that over three thousand artifacts, and is the museum would be moved to visited by an estimated three hundred Ottawa to reside in the former federal thousand people annually. The Hall Government Conference Centre. of Fame maintains a substantial Shortly after the announcement, the archive of sport, including nearly forty government cancelled these relocation thousand historical photographs. It plans in favour of a new site, the also publishes a quarterly newsletter former home of the Canadian Museum and conducts educational programs for of Contemporary Photography, but school-age children. these plans were also cancelled. The annual election of Relocation, and subsequent growth of honoured members draws the the Hall of Fame, was at a standstill most public attention. Chosen by a until 2008 when it announced that it selection committee of twelve, with would be relocating to Calgary at representatives from every province, Canada Olympic Park in approximately men and women are elected to 2012. two categories, Athletes or Builders. Author: J. Thomas West Normally, athletes are only elected after a three-year waiting period from their retirement from active competition. Nearly four hundred Canadians have been so honoured. Among the most interesting inductees are Canada's greatest thoroughbred, Northern Dancer, the racing yacht Bluenose, and the world

Page 22 The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame

Thomas Charles Longboat

homas Charles Longboat, distance runner (born in Ohsweken [Six TNations IR], Ont, 4 July 1887; died there 9 Jan 1949). Largely because of his ability to dominate any race and his spectacular finishing sprints, Longboat was one of the most celebrated pre–WWI athletes. He won the Hamilton Around the Bay Road Race (1906), the Boston Marathon (1907), the Toronto Ward’s Island Marathon (1906–08), the World's Professional Marathon Championship (1909), and broke numerous records. He was one of the most sought after performers in the brief (1908–12) revival of professional racing that followed the controversial 1908 London Olympics marathon, in which Longboat and Dorando Pietri collapsed, likely from drug overdoses. Longboat's desire to train himself led to several well-publicized conflicts with managers. Despite constant and sometimes racist criticism, he stuck to his own methods. He bought up his contract in 1911 and ran better than ever. In 1912, he set a professional record of 1:18:10 for fifteen miles, seven minutes faster than his amateur record. Longboat raced successfully during WWI while serving as a dispatch runner in France. After the war he lived and worked in Toronto until 1944, when he retired to the Six Nations Reserve.

Author: Bruce Kidd

The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Page 23 Gordon “Gordie” Howe

ordon “Gordie” Howe, hockey finest athlete ever to play hockey. Gplayer (born in Floral, Sask, 31 Mar He possessed great physical strength, 1928). Dubbed "Mr. Hockey," Gordie stamina, and speed, and his wrist Howe boasts a record of thirty-two shot was clocked at 183 km/h. outstanding seasons in hockey that His professional totals, including may be the most remarkable example playoffs, are 2421 games, 1071 goals, of longevity in professional sport. 1518 assists, and 2589 points. Though He played junior in Saskatoon and the NHL does not recognize his six Galt, Ont, before turning professional seasons in the WHA, his NHL scoring with Omaha and joining the records for goals (801), assists (1049), Red Wings in 1946. His career started and points (1850) stood until finally slowly with seven, sixteen, and surpassed by Wayne Gretzky in 1989. twelve goals in his first three years. It is unlikely, however, that Howe's In his third year he suffered a severe records for most seasons (26) and head injury after colliding with games (1767) will ever be matched. Gordie Howe was doubtless the finest athlete ever to play hockey. He possessed great physical strength, stamina, and speed, and his wrist shot was clocked at 183 km/h.

Ted Kennedy and crashing headlong In 147 playoff games Howe scored 68 into the boards. goals, 92 assists, and 160 points. Howe He won the Art Ross Trophy dominated his sport as much by his (leading scorer) four straight years intimidating strength as by his skills; 1951–54, and again in 1957 and 1963; he also accumulated 2419 minutes in the Hart Trophy (most valuable player) penalties. in 1952, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1960, and 1963; Long considered one of hockey's and was an NHL all-star twenty-three great ambassadors, he is a member times. Howe retired from Detroit in of the Hockey Hall of Fame and 1971, but returned to hockey in 1973 Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, and to join his two sons, Mark and Marty, was appointed to the Order of with the WHA Houston Aeros. He Canada in 1971. Howe became upset finished his career at age fifty-two with the NHL's administration of the with the Hartford Whalers of the NHL pension fund for older players and in 1980. was instrumental along with Bobby Gordie Howe was doubtless the Hull and Carl Brewer in the players'

Page 24 The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Gordon “Gordie” Howe successful suit against the league in has officially spanned six decades, the 1990s to gain control of the excess longer than any other player in the monies the pension fund produced. history of the sport. In 2007, the Red This suit produced some $40 million Wings honoured Howe by erecting to supplement the pensions of retired a 3.5-metre tall statue of him in players. play at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena. He Howe made a brief return to continues his involvement in the hockey in 1997 at age sixty-nine game, mainly as part-owner of the when he was signed to a one- WHL's Vancouver Giants. game contract by the International Hockey League's Detroit Vipers. Author: James Marsh Therefore, Howe's professional career

The Canadian Encyclopedia | From Gord to Gordie Page 25

About The Canadian Encyclopedia

he Canadian Encyclopedia is the Tlargest reference work compiled and written by Canadians. It is a program of the Historica-Dominion Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to building awareness of Canadian history. Since its publication in book form in 1985, The Canadian Encyclopedia has provided the most comprehensive, objective, and accurate source of information on Canada for students, readers, and scholars across Canada and throughout the world. The full text of The Canadian Encyclopedia and its related resources has been made available online by the Historica Foundation as a public service since 1999.

The encyclopedia was a bold statement about the country, an assertion and perhaps the closest thing we had to an expression of the Canadian identity.

Editor-in-Chief, James Marsh From Gord to Gordie: A Tour of Canadiana takes the reader on a journey across Canada—spawned by a search through The Canadian Encyclopedia. It started with a random question: If we begin with from the Tragically Hip, where would the links take us? What would we discover about Canada? Unsuspecting connections ultimately linked Gord Downie to Gordie Howe, with a myriad of stops along the way. How is Sass Jordan connected to the Tragically Hip? What does Dan Aykroyd have to do with winemaking and the Avro Arrow? What is the Pearson Pennant?

Read on to find out. Enjoy the tour.