Posted 4/2/2022 by admin

Why Does Canada Love Hockey

HOCKEY AND CANADIAN CULTURE

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If you ask anyone in or outside Canada what makes that country different from other nations, it doesn’t usually take long for hockey to emerge as something that seems characteristically Canadian.

Canada’s greatest and most wide reaching export, hockey cannot be ignored in Canada, whether one appreciates the game or not. There are outdoor and indoor rinks in every community across the country; there is year-round media coverage of hockey; most Canadians alive at the time can tell you where they were when Paul Henderson scored the winning goal to beat Russia in the Canada/Soviet series; a hockey scene figures prominently on the back of the five-dollar bill; and, when asked in 2004 to come up with a list of the ten greatest Canadians of all time, millions of Canadians polled put both Wayne Gretzky and Don Cherry in the top 10. “Hockey,” writes novelist David Adams Richards, “is where we’ve gotten it right” (60).

But how does hockey connect to Canada today? How can an extremely multicultural country that has long considered itself as a peacekeeping nation still see itself reflected in one of only two sports (the other is lacrosse, Canada’s official national summer sport) in which fighting is an accepted and even lauded part of the game?

Why does everyone in Canada love hockey? I was born and I am currently living in Canada, and one might find it 'un Canadian' for me not to like hockey. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate hockey and everyone has a favorite sport. How seriously we take hockey. Canada and hockey have become synonymous with one another, but it’s for good reason. Though some hockey fans have recently suggested that ice hockey was created in Britain, not Canada, there is no question that Canadians have always been the most talented players. Gretzky, Orr, Lemieux, and Crosby are just a. All of us here at MHH love the sport of hockey. We each have our own reasons—the speed, the skill, the strategy, the strength, or that something else—that attract us to the game time and again.

I. Origins

In his introduction to the tenth-anniversary edition of Hero of the Play, poet Richard Harrison discusses the origins of hockey. There has long been a debate over whether hockey first developed and was played in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Kingston, Ontario, or Montreal, Quebec. More recently, there appears to be strong evidence that hockey was played even earlier by sailors stranded in the Arctic as part of Franklin’s ill-fated expedition to discover the fabled Northwest Passage.

In Harrison’s eyes, though, “[w]hat’s important isn’t where the origins of hockey is found in Canada, but how Canada finds at least a part of its origin in hockey” (16). Indeed, although historians and hockey lovers debate where the first game make have taken place, no one questions the fact that the game develops Canada or, perhaps even that Canada develops out of the game. As Harrison puts it,

“Hockey emerges in the Canadian past at the time the Canada we lived in then as separate communities was being made into Canada we live in now as a people. In mythic terms, hockey is one of the few things that could be said to be ours from the beginning of Canadian time.

And for all its simplicity, like all creation myths, hockey is also about Canadian light and Canadian darkness. All creation myths have a place for the way their people experience not just the light and the dark of the seasons of the day, but the light and the darkness in themselves. Hockey’s simplicity and childish roots offer us the play that we love for its own sake; its skills and speed give us what we admire in those dedicated to excellence. Its violence gives us a view into our own.” (Harrison 16-17)

Hockey is, in writer Morley Callaghan’s words, “the game that makes a nation” just as much as it may be a game the nation made.

II. The Nation(al) Game

Naturally, there is a lot at stake in Canada’s claim to be the “first nation of hockey,” to quote the rant from “Joe Canadian” in the 2000 beer commercial from Molson’s “I Am Canadian” campaign. You’ll see the words “it’s our game” in everything from commercials for beer and Tim Hortons to school textbooks. The notion that hockey and Canada are equal parts of one another helps advertisers, the sport of hockey in Canada, and broadcasters trying to increase their audience numbers.

There is plenty of evidence, of course, to suggest that not only was hockey Canada’s game at its outset but that it also remains that way today. One need only look at the fact that over 500,000 children, women, and men are registered each year in organized hockey in Canada. At the professional level, Canadians still make up over 50% of players in the NHL, more than two and a half times the number of American players in the league. What makes that number even more extraordinary is that Canada has only one-tenth the population of the USA.

Canada’s dominance in international competition over the years also supports this idea. While the men’s teams have won Olympic gold medals in 2002 and 2010, the women’s team has won gold in 2002, 2006, and 2010. The women’s team, along with that from the United States, have been so dominant in international play that there is pressure to have the sport removed from the Winter Olympics until players from other nations can catch up.

Television viewership of hockey in Canada also demonstrates Canada’s connection to the game. The 2010 Gold Medal game between the Men’s hockey teams from Canada and the United States was the most watched sports program in Canadian viewers, netting 13 million viewers at its peak. The following chart from the City of Edmonton’s water utility provides another way of demonstrating just how many people were watching the gold-medal game on February 28th.

Regardless of how strong the connection of hockey to Canada might be, the increasingly aggressive assertions that hockey is “Canada’s game” and no one else’s naturally rubs other countries (and many, many Canadians) the wrong way. Such rhetoric, which one hears employed mostly by advertisers such as Molson, Coke, and Tim Hortons and by some commentators, most notably Don Cherry, seems counter to the modesty and humility for which Canada is known. Brash self-confidence seems, to many Canadians, to be “un-Canadian.”

As Bruce Dowbiggin points out in his 2008 book The Meaning of Puck: How Hockey Explains Modern Canada, it is not a coincidence that the most revered hockey stars in Canada are the ones who are the most humble and, like Crosby and Gretzky before him, are quick to point to their teammates as the reason behind their individual success. Unlike the more individualistic culture of the United States, Canada and Canadians see themselves, for better or worse, as being more concerned with the success of the collective rather than the individual. As such, they can be quick to put in their place those who are deemed to think too much of their own accomplishments. Dowbiggin looks to an earlier book on hockey for an explanation of this tendency:

“Whatever the origins of Canada’s self-abasement, Peter Gzowski understood the syndrome in his 1982 book The Game of Our Lives. ‘We are not good with our heroes, we Canadians. Starved for figures of national interest, we, or our media, seek out anyone who shows a flicker of promise and shove them on to the nearest available pedestal. We leave them there for a while, and then we start to throw things at them'” (Dowbiggin 75-6).

III. National (Contra)diction

As Bruce Dowbiggin points out in The Meaning of Puck, one does not need to scratch far beneath the surface to see how Canada’s connection to hockey seems to reveal some strong contradictions about the country and the sport: “In its quick, brutal fashion, hockey is a perfect wedge in the emerging urban/suburban-rural split in Canada — the so-called Tim Hortons versus Starbucks. Hockey lovers regard urban Canadian culture as some extended episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, a fashion/design industry that keeps Canada out of wars and in designer jeans. If Canada were a TV program, it would be The Odd Couple. Hockey is Oscar, lounging in his underwear in his a fraying BarcaLounger. The rest of Canada is Felix, asking ask Oscar to pick up his pizza boxes, put on a clean shirt and take the empties back to the beer store” (21).

Although I would argue that Dowbiggin overstates this case – the lines between urban and rural Canadians are hardly as cut and dry as he proposes – it is important to remember that Canada is much larger than hockey; for all the Canadians obsessed with the game, there are just as many who focus on other parts of Canadian life, even if they do sometimes tune into the Stanley Cup Finals or the Olympic Gold Medal game. One of the most crucial differences of opinion among Canadians revolves around the role of fighting in hockey. Despite its well-deserved reputation in both World Wars as some of the fiercest troops on the battlefield, Canada has, over the last fifty years, become known around the world as a peacekeeping nation, a moderating force in international debate that sees war as the last and most unappealing option.

“How,” asks Dowbiggin, “does the nation that has (until the recent Afghan mission) cherished its image as an international peacekeeper reconcile its pacifism with the brutal, pitiless heart of hockey, its national sport?” (22). While some critics see the acceptance of fighting in hockey as an aberration that should be eliminated once and for all, others, like Don Cherry, see this as part of the “code” of hockey that is as much a part of the game as anything else. While he doesn’t openly come down on one side or the other, Harrison sees this issue as less of a contradiction than an indication of Canada’s complex relation with the game and its own history; Canada is a country that, at least among certain segments of its population, sees an importance in “smiling ugly.”

Canada is the second largest country in the world (after Russia) by land mass.
Canada has a total area of 9.9 million sq. km. and touches the Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic oceans (which is why its motto, “from sea to sea” is quite appropriate), making it the country with the longest coastline (243,791 km. long). It is composed of 10 provinces and three territories with Ottawa as its capital. The provinces are: Alberta (capital: Edmonton) , British Columbia (Victoria), Manitoba (Winnipeg), New Brunswick (Fredericton), Newfoundland and Labrador (St. John’s), Nova Scotia (Halifax), Ontario (Toronto), Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown), Quebec (Quebec City), and Saskatchewan (Regina). The three territories are: Northwest Territories (Yellowknife), Nunavut (Iqaluit), and Yukon (Whitehorse).
Land of Lakes
Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. At last count, there may be as many as two million, with 563 lakes larger than 100 square kilometres. Canada’s largest include Lake Huron (Ontario), Great Bear Lake (Northwest Territories), and Lake Superior (Ontario). Lake Winnipeg, Canada’s fifth and the world’s 11th largest, is in Manitoba.
Multicultural population
Canada is the first country in the world to adopt a policy of multiculturalism, embracing diversity and pluralism. Today, according to the Parliament of Canada’s Canadian Multiculturalism report, the country is home to people from over 250 ethnic origins. Around 6.2 per cent of the total Canadian population reported an Aboriginal identity and 22.3 per cent belong to a visible minority (2016 Census). The largest groups among these visible minorities come from Asia (including the Middle East), Africa and Europe. The largest individual source of immigrants is the Philippines, followed by India and China (source: Statistics Canada).
Democracy/Monarchy
Canada is a Parliamentary Democracy headed by a Prime Minister. However, it is also a constitutional monarchy with executive authority vested in the Queen. This means that the Queen is the head of state, while the Prime Minister is the head of government. A parliamentary democracy has three parts: the Sovereign (Queen), the Senate, and the House of Commons. Meanwhile, the government has three levels: federal, provincial and municipal. The federal government is based in Ottawa and is headed by the Prime Minister. Provincial and territorial governments are headed by premiers, while municipal governments are led by mayors (Read Canada’s three levels of government to know more).
Canada means village
The country’s name is derived from “Kanata”, a Huron-Iroquois word meaning village or settlement. Two Indigenous youths used this word to describe the settlement of Stadacona (now Quebec City) to European explorer Jacques Cartier. Cartier then used “Canada” to describe a bigger area beyond Stadacona. The use of this name soon spread throughout the entire region, surpassing its former name, New France.
The maple leaf and other symbols
Did you know that it took 40 years for the Canadian parliament to finally decide on a Canadian flag? The red and white flag with the prominent maple leaf was officially launched on February 15, 1965 (making Feb. 15 National Flag of Canada Day) after much debate and rigorous study (read 5 amazing facts about the creation of the National Flag of Canada to know the full story). But have you ever wondered why the maple leaf is so identified with Canada? Well, for years even prior to the coming of European settlers, Indigenous Peoples have been using maple sap as a food staple. Throughout history, the image of the leaf found its way into Canadian coins, emblems and coats of arms. The maple tree is also very important to Canadians and is the official arboreal emblem. Today, Canada continues to produce three-quarters of the world’s maple syrup output.
Meanwhile, the beaver as a national emblem dates back to the 1700s, when the lucrative trade of beaver pelts (for fur hats) put Canada on the map. The Hudson’s Bay Company honoured the animal by putting it in its coat of arms. Another Canadian symbol is the Maple Leaf Tartan designed by David Weiser which became an official symbol in 2011.
Canada Day
Canada Day commemorates the signing of the British North America Act (today known as the Constitution Act, 1867) which created Canada. The statutory holiday is celebrated every July 1st, and was for a time, called Dominion Day. It marks the anniversary of the Confederation of three British colonies into four provinces: The United Province of Canada (Ontario and Quebec), New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. To see how Canada Day is celebrated in various parts of the country, go to the official site.
“O Canada”
Canada’s national anthem, “O Canada” was composed by Calixa Lavallee with lyrics written by Sir Adolphe Basile-Routhier. Several versions have been made of the anthem, but the version used today was written by Robert Stanley Weir, a lawyer from Montreal. You can hear the anthem below (Youtube video by Canada Immigrant):
National dish: Poutine
Canada’s national dish originated from Quebec in the 1950s. Made up of a tasty mix of french fries, cheese curds and gravy, Poutine has been claimed by numerous people, but its inventor has never been confirmed. Anyway, canucks (a nickname for Canadians) have eaten the wonderful dish in more ways than one. Care for the traditional poutine? Or perhaps poutine with an international twist? How about going gourmet with foie gras poutine?
Inventions galore
What does basketball, the pacemaker, IMAX, and the Blackberry have in common? Yes, they were all invented by Canadians. Basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian PE instructor in Massachusetts who wanted to create a game that can be played indoors during winter. Meanwhile, the first pacemaker was invented by electrical engineer John Hopps, and the IMAX (for Image Maximum) was created by Toronto-based Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor, Robert Kerr and William Shaw. Lastly, the Blackberry cellphone is a product of Research in Motion (RIM), in Waterloo, Ontario. Want to know more Canadian inventions? Here are 19 things you might not know were invented in Canada.
National pastime
Hockey is the national winter sport of Canada while lacrosse is the national summer sport. To give you an indication of how much Canadians love hockey, the Canada-US Men’s Gold Hockey Game at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was the most watched television broadcast ever in Canadian history according to NHL.com. Meanwhile, the women’s hockey team has also been dominating the Olympics, winning gold medals, the most recent of which was at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games.

Sources:Government of Canada site, canadafacts.org., Environment Canada, aboutnews,Canadian Heritage (at the Government of Canada site), montrealpoutine, Historica Canada, National Research Council of Canada, IMAX.com, and brighthub.com.

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