Canada’s Relations with Others and Identity

Canada trades with Cuba

1959-1963In 1959, Communists led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, and funded by the Soviets, overthrew the government and made Cuba communist. Canada was one of the only countries to continue trading with Communist Cuba, even though the U.S. did not like it. The U.S. still does not trade with Cuba.

St. Lawrence Seaway is built.1959The St. Lawrence Seaway allowed ships to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the middle of North America which made it easier to ship goods around the world. To make this happen, the government of Canada and the U.S. needed to work together since it went through both countries at different points.

Canada gets its own flag.

1965 – In World War One and World War Two, Canadian soldiers fought under the British flag. This did not make a lot of French-Canadians happy. It also made Canada look like it was part of Britain. Under PM Pearson, a new flag was chosen, the Maple Leaf.

AutoPact is signed which required a minimum amount of cars sold in Canada to be made here.

1965 – Canada and the United States signed an agreement that meant a minimum number of the cars sold in Canada by American companies had to be made in Canada.

Canadian Content Regulations

1970 – The Canadian government decided that all Canadian radio and TV stations had to play a minimum amount of Canadian music and TV shows. They hoped this would slow down the amount of American culture coming into Canada.

Summit Series

1972 – In September of 1972, most of Canada’s best NHL players played an 8 game hockey series against the Soviets. The Series was ties 3-3-1 going into Game 8 in Moscow. With a little over a minute to go, Canada’s Paul Henderson scored the game and series winner. It is usually referred to as the Greatest Goal ever scored. 75% of all Canadians watched the game.

Saturday Night debuts1975 – Saturday Night Live was created by Canadian Lorne Michaels. Michaels has run the show since then, except for 1980-1985, some of its worst years. SNL made stars out of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Will Farrell, John Belushi, Tina Fey, Adam Sandler, and Chris Rock among many others. Michaels also created Canadian comedy classics “SCTV” and “Kids in the Hall”.

Canada gets its own Constitution with a Charter of Rights and Freedoms

1982 – Before 1982, Canada had to get the permission of Great Britain to change how the government worked. Under PM Pierre Trudeau Canada got its own Constitutions which allowed Canada to do this on its own. The Constitution also included the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Free-Trade1989 – Canada signed an agreement with the United States that would lower the taxes on goods going across the Canada-U.S. border. As a result, the price of goods decreased and Canada’s exports to the U.S. also went up. In 1992 Mexico was added.

Split-run Magazine Publishing begins, forcing American magazines in Canada to include Canadian ads and content

1998 – The government of Jean Chretien began to require that major U.S. magazines, such as Time and Sports Illustrated, that are sold in Canada run separate Canadian editions with Canadian ads and Canadian article.

9/11

Sept. 11, 2001 – On Sept 11, 2001 the World Trade Center towers were destroyed by 2 airplanes hijacked by terrorists, as well as an attack on the U.S. military and an attempt on the White House. Dozens of airplanes were diverted from the U.S. to Canada. Canada’s military was also put on alert to provide humanitarian assistance. This also led to Canada’s involvement in the War in Afghanistan.

On Sept. 11, 2001 all airports in the U.S. were closed. Many international flights entering the U.S. were sent to Canadian airports like Gander, Nfld.