I know i'm like 5 days behind (never had membership) but Happy 150th Birthday Canada!

Yes, this is 150 years since confederation.
My Canada Day was a blast! I hope yours was as well Vulorian (I'm assuming from your post topic that you are also a canuck).

The best part is that festivals and celebrations are supposes to carry on all summer.

Chrissy Th'Blesser on Jul 6, 2017 wrote:

Indeed! Happy (Sorry it is a belated post) Sesquicentennial to our Northern neighbors and Canadian pirates The only one I know for sure is CdeWinter but congratulations to all Canucks.

Yea I'm Canadian too

anecorbie on Jul 6, 2017 wrote:

OK, I'm about to expose my ignorance of Canada, but why is Canada younger than the U.S.A.? Weren't these countries colonized at the same time? Wasn't Canada a country before the States gained their independence?

Oh, dear this will be a long post.
Short answer is it's complicated.
Long answer is as follows.

It's true that the oldest European settlements in N. America are all found in what is now the Canadian East Coast. There is the Viking settlement of Lans Aux Meadows in Newfoundland, and there is l'Habitation (the first permanent European settlement in North America) and Port Royal, the first English (Scottish) settlement in N. America (also the second permanent European settlement) which are both found in Nova Scotia. Canada has had permanent European settlement since 1605.

And ever since then, Canada has been called Canada by the settlers, with the French settlers being the first to refer to themselves and Canadian. Quebec City is the oldest city in N. America, established in 1608, 409 years ago, twice as old as the US. We also have the oldest and longest running company in North America, the Hudson's Bay Company incorporated in 1670. So Canada has been around for a long while, just not as a single country. For many years we were content to be just a grouping of British colonies.

Then in 1867, due partly to economic reasons, such as the failure of the first version of NAFTA (known by a different name then) as well as a very real fear of American Aggression (war of 1812, Fenian raids, Hunt Club incursions, American westward expansion, Manifest Destiny) and popular reaction to the American Civil War (and Britain's dealings in the the Civil War) the Canadian colonies of Canada, (now Ontario and Quebec) New Brunswick and Nova Scotia petitioned the Crown to allow the separate colonies to join as a single confederation called the Dominion of Canada, using a constitutional monarchy and parliament modeled after the British Parliamentary system.

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CdeWinter on Jul 7, 2017 wrote:

While confederation talks were held in Prince Edward Island, PEI did not join confederation until 1873, after Manitoba and British Columbia in 1870 and 1871 respectfully. Alberta and Saskatchewan were formed in 1905, and Newfoundland join in 1949. Our Northern territories were bought from Hudson's Bay Company by England and transferred to the Dominion in 1870.

So, in 1867 the Dominion of Canada was establish. But we were still a dominion, not a sovereign country. We had our own Parliament, and had control over domestic affairs, but England still decided our foreign affairs for us.

Which is why we joined the First World war under England's command as part of the British Army, known as the Canadian Expeditionary Force. But, due to our accomplishments during battles such as Ypres, (stopping the first gas attack, and being established as Britain's shock troops (Germany actually named us storm troopers) Somme, Passchendaele and of course Vimy Ridge (first time to fight as a cohesive Canadian force) England allowed Canada to have control over its own military just in time for us to enter World War To of our own volition.

Then, Finally in 1982. Yes, 1982, only 35 years ago. The Canadian Constitutional Act was finally passed, handing control of foreign affairs to the Canadian Parliament, and making Canada a sovereign nation with its own national anthem (had been God Save the Queen) and national flag (Maple Leaf instead of Red Ensign).

So, Canada is both older and younger than the US. We've been calling ourselves Canadian since 1605, but didn't achieve Confederation till 1867, and only became a sovereign nation in 1982. (which is why it is completely wrong to refer to July 1st as Canadian Independence Day).

Thank you very much for taking the time to explain this.

DariusMusk on Jul 5, 2017 wrote:

I know i'm like 5 days behind (never had membership) but Happy 150th Birthday Canada!

Happy Canada Day to all from Canada!

DariusMusk on Jul 5, 2017 wrote:

I know i'm like 5 days behind (never had membership) but Happy 150th Birthday Canada!

HammurabiOfBabylon is also Canadian.

CdeWinter on Jul 8, 2017 wrote:

In that case, you should make a trip upto PEI, it's a beautiful province. Especially during the summer. And you can visit Cavendish, and see Laura Maud Montgomery's farm, also known as Green Gables.

And there is also the confederation museum in Charlottetown. As well as the rest of a very beautiful maritime province.

I've read Anne of Green Gables, I liked it.

anecorbie on Jul 9, 2017 wrote:

It's a shame that the U.S. educational system doesn't include more about our historic links with Canada - it wasn't until recently that I saw a documentary about the War of 1812 that included the fact that U.S. citizens and later the army were trying to invade Canada & also trying to ferment rebellion among it's citizens ( they weren't interested ).
It's more common, at least in the area where I live, to include Mexican history & culture in the curriculum.

It is a bit shocking, considering how our two countries have influenced each other's history so much.