Caitlin Henderson

What Canada Means to Me

Growing up, I took Canada’s place in the world, and my place in Canada, for granted. In

elementary school, I was more interested in the history of Ancient Rome or the Aztec Empire

than the unit on Canadian history. In high school, I took the required history course and no

more. This is not to say I wasn’t proud to be Canadian. I cheered for Canada during the

Olympics and I was sure, in a vague way, that Canadians were better than Americans.

I became more aware in my first time at college. I read the free subway newspapers and

stopped mixing up the names of political parties. One professor mentioned the inequality that

First Nations communities face. But again, the only history course I took was Art History and it

didn’t even cover Canada.

After college, things really took off. A silver lining of underemployment is having free

time. I started to read more news, at first to help my step-dad and then for myself. More

significantly, I began reading some comic series about history and current events. For the first

time, I developed an emotional connection to history. The silly adventures of historical figures

or anthropomorphized countries made the past seem real in a way that it had not before.

These stories tended to provide more entertainment than education, but the other fans

had a lot to share. Many of them were history students themselves. They talked about what the

comics got right and what they got wrong –since they got a lot wrong– and explained history in

depth with humour and passion.

These fans shared more than interesting historical facts; they shared new ways of

thinking about history. They argued about the differences between the state and the people

Caitlin Henderson

and whether nations were cultural or political entities. They talked about debates between

different theoretical perspectives on history. They wrote “What-if” stories about alternative

histories and so showed how the past is part of the present. Though little of what they wrote

was specific to Canada, it gave me a new perspective on my country.

To me, Canada is many things. It is both a geographic location and a political entity

performing a number of bureaucratic functions. More importantly, Canada is a story that

people tell each other about Canada and Canadians. It’s the story, and not the political entity,

that people become emotionally invested in. This story is informed by history, but not

necessarily faithful to it. The story is not always realistic, yet it has the power to shape reality.

Not everyone has an equal say in how the story is told. However, by becoming aware of the

story and the source material, you can become one its authors.