150th celebration

Happy Canada Day.

150th year?
I still remember the 100th -- doesn't seem that long ago.
But as I look back over the years it's amazing how much life has changed in those 50 years.
It was a much simpler life back then.
How did things change so much in these last 50 years?

Canada is a rather young country?
But it's been great living in Canada.
We often point at negatives, yet when one considers all the positives of our country -- there is really no other country where I would rather live.

Congratulations to all those Canadian citizens and those living in Canada.

Hard to believe Canada, as a nation, has only been around 150 years as the settlement of Canada started about the same time as the Pilgrims came to America.

Those dirty rotten Brits kept you guys under colonialism for a couple of centuries....

Actually the first European settlements in Canada date back to around 1000 A.D. when the Vikings settled in Labrador, northern Newfoundland. Though they didn't stay all that long.

500 years later in the 1500's French and English started arriving for fishing and trapping mainly.

Early 1600's the French began to establish more permanent settlements along the St. Lawrence River (Quebec -- Montreal)
It wasn't called Canada then, but NEW FRANCE.

There were also a number of French settlers in Nova Scotia, and by 1700's they had quite a settlement in (Acadia). English and French were fighting for control and in 1755 English won in that area, and forced the French to leave Acadia.

The Brits started settlements near the Hudson Bay, and in Acadia and Newfoundland. By this time the French had already celebrated their 150th Anniversary of settling in NEW FRANCE Canada.

But in 1759 the British conquer NEW FRANCE and change it's name to Quebec, however the French culture was deeply rooted (and still is today in Quebec) that's why all the labels on sale items have to be in both French and English all across Canada -- the French Canadians insist! They also keep threatening to split off from Canada if they don't get privileged treatment.

But back to the timeline--

Meanwhile, in the 1770's down South in the American colonies there is a major rebellion against British rule. The years around 1776 saw a huge flood of British Americans moving north into British territory.

1784: New Brunswick is split off from Nova Scotia to accommodate the loyalists' wishes for a separate province.

1791: Quebec is split into Upper and Lower Canada, the former to accommodate the loyalists' desire for a more "English" province.

1812 the Americans try to conquer Canada!
The British/Canadian Army drives them back deep into American territory -- even capturing the White House! But the conquered American territory is given back to the Americans and pre 1812 borders restored.

1867: Confederation of Canada is formed as Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia are all joined together to form Canada.

This marks the beginning date of what is now celebrated as the "birth" of Canada.

As to those "Brits" --
it wasn't until 1982 that they gave Canada total independence!

Canada Act, also called Constitution Act of 1982, Canada's constitution approved by the British Parliament on March 25, 1982, and proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II on April 17, 1982, making Canada wholly independent.
That was only 35 years ago!

dedication,

I'm pretty much aware of Canadian history. I have a few books on it. I was being tongue-in-cheek on my comment, especially about the dirty rotten Brits.... I'm not one of the socialists who finds all colonialism to be the depths of evil. If not for it there would be neither a Canada nor a US.

I also remember the 100th Canada Day celebration and agree that a lot has changed in 50 years.

There have been a lot of societal changes in both the US and Canada during the last 50 years.

I used to work for an SDA farmer during my high school years and then again in the late 70's. His brother also worked for him and used to mock me on a regular basis because I believed in Ellen White's writings. He would point towards society and say, what she says will happen cannot happen in our society. No one would let it happen, and I would just reply, it's coming. His reply to that would be that society would have to really change before her prophecies could come true.

I think about him every now and then and wonder, if he were still alive as he passed away in the early 80's., what he would think today after all the changes we've seen since then.

I agree 110%. In Canada's history we can see many contrasting ways of organizing power and governance; and it is still somewhat of a mystery how so many different entities and nationalities could converge and eventually form a nation called Canada.The struggles between Conservatives and Liberals of all stripes, still dominate the headlines, yet through it all materialized one of the best countries in the world to live in. Very much worth celebrating!