Canadian Culture 2006

better really late than never at all

2006-04-30T00:44:00.000-04:00

the parts of the class i enjoyed and got out the most during the class was everything from world war one to the modern day. mainly becasue everything that happened before the first world war i didn't care about, especially the inuits (not interested). i thought your breadth of knowledge was good, also taking into acount that most professors teach from power-point. i also enjoyed the movies...obiously who doesn't like the movies. also, how you picked out the odd things in history that were actually relevant to the class...sometimes.

the aspect of the class that i didn't like was the blog, because it is hard for me to keep up with them. also the monatony of lectures, although it is a part of college lift, i think if we could have done something different from time to time that would have made the history of cnada alot more interesting, becasue we all know at some points it needs all the help it can get...

to better the class just change up the types of lectures, maybe bring in stuff from canda...or maybe have a class a week where we focus on the stereo types of canada, you could even tie them into the class and discuss if there is any historical significance to them...but that's about it..

CPR- Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.

2006-04-28T09:40:00.000-04:00

The CPR was begun in 1881 in an effort to link both Canadian coasts, with their headquarters in Calgary, Alberta. They specialize in shipping freight over their 14,000 miles of track across both Canada as well as the United States. Before 1978, CPR used to also transport passengers, however this service hgas since been discontinued. In 2001, they finally became a independant and publically traded company on both Toronto and New York's stock exchanges under the symbol CP. I chose the Canadian Pacific Railway because the CNR was already selected, and I thought that this would be a nice contrast.

Links Used:
http://www.geocities.com/sssmre/C-Heralds/canadian-pacific-railway-5.gif
http://www.globeinvestor.com/snapshots/20000780.htm
http://www8.cpr.ca/cms/English/General+Public/default.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Railway

My last humanities class ever...

2006-04-28T06:21:00.000-04:00

and it had to be this one!!!!!! Oh come on now, I'm just kidding. I love Canadians. They're awesome. So are donuts.

1. What I enjoyed most about this class was the atmosphere. Do you have any idea how boring this class would be if someone like (insert boring professor here... I would say names but would probably get in trouble)...... I like being able to openly share opinions. Also, I like how you tend to pick out the weird and obscure things about history. Although I was sometimes bored, I can't say that I didn't find something humorous in every class.

2. What I enjoyed least about this class was the incessant repetitive boring names/events. Yes, some people call that history but I call it........ well maybe I shouldn't say it. After all, there are small children in our class. Every has probably said it already but I thought this would be more of a culture class, with more emphasis on Canadian life, not Canadian history. And if history at all, at least from like 1900 on.

3. Every week have a different theme. For example, one week: vanilla sprinkled donuts; next week: chocolate sprinkled donuts.... no seriously though wouldn't theme week be fun? You could try out different Canadian themes and everyone could express themselves and their opinion about Canada. Also, show some more movies. Everyone likes a good laugh about our neighbors to the north.

"...With nasty sharp pointy teeth!"

2006-04-28T01:44:00.000-04:00

So yeah, about them giant beavers...

Okay, so maybe the living ones weren't that big. They probably looked more like this...

And were about this big...

The beavers are estimated to have weighed 218 kg, at a length of 2.5 m. And have really big teeth!

You really would need a holy hand grenade to take one of these monsters out!

http://publish.edu.uwo.ca/marshall.mangan/Travelpics/Picpage5/Picpage5.htm
http://www.collectionscanada.ca/settlement/kids/021013-2061.1-e.html
http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/giantbev.htm http://www.allthepages.org/archives/travel/

Final blog

2006-04-28T00:30:00.000-04:00

1) I enjoyed a lot of the class. I thought that the course itself was pretty interesting when it started. I thought that the lectures were very informative and easy to follow for the most part. I signed up for this class thinking that it would be fun and it was fun for the first half of the semester and I think if I had a different professor for this course I wouldn't of made it through. You keep it interesting while still giving important information.

2)Well I didn't really have any problems with the course until after spring break. The main thing was that it was the same thing every day. It got to be way too repetitive. I guess it was hard to find lots of interesting things that happened in Canada but it just simply became boring because of a lack of variety.

3) I would try to lecture two days a week and do something different on the third day to add some variety. I think I would also the whole picture thing from the very beginning. I think It would have helped to know where everything was in Canada so maybe a little geography quiz in the first couple weeks.

Course Reflections

2006-04-28T00:29:00.000-04:00

1) What I enjoyed most about this class? I enjoyed the fact that I know more about Canada than I ever thought I would. The more cultural sections of the lectures were much more interesting but I also realized that I wouldn't even understand them without the help of the history. I also enjoyed the humor injected into the lectures.

2) What did I least enjoy? I least enjoyed the quizzes. I am not good at history, I don't remember names and things as well as I should. Multiple choice doesn't seem to go too well with the cultural aspect. I felt overwhelmed with the amount of information in most class periods. After a while the political groups and people begin to run together.

3) Suggestions? Many people will probably hate me for this but I'd rather have short answer questions than multiple choice, or some compromise, on quizzes. I thought the midterm exam was well done. The material seems to lend itself to writing more than memorization, as far as the cultural side goes. Another suggestion would be to incorporate more culture into the class if possible. The history is definitely important and a 50/50 split seems to be a good mix of history and culture. Another thing that would probably help is an occasional handout. List the First Nations tribes, at least the important ones, and just a small bit of information on each; the same thing for political parties. Sure we can do this on our own, but like I said, after a while it all runs together and its hard to sort everything out.

4) Surprises. I did not expect the blog assignments to be so interesting. Many people groaned but I thought it was some of the most interesting Canadian related work I've done. These are a good idea and should be continued.

So... What did we learn about again?

2006-04-28T00:07:00.000-04:00

What did I like about this class? I liked it for the reason I signed up to take it: It was a wonderful opportunity to learn about a topic that never really gets mentioned elsewhere, and really a topic which is something that so few people know anything about. I enjoyed learning about the giant beavers, the quirky French dialects, and all the other tidbits of culture and history of that quasi-mythical land called Canada. I liked the fact that I finally learned how Canada went from French to British. I liked the self discovery aspect covered by the blogs, forcing me to look for what I might otherwise consider impossible to find(as if I could have even considered Canadian history at all to be possible before this class). Oh, and random ranting, random ranting is always fun to listen to. And the definitive near lack of anything mathematics related, I liked that. Very much.

What didn't I like? Politics. For having such a dysfunctional government, there was so much focus on politics, after a while it was like that was the only thing that ever happened in Canada, bad boring politics. I mean, I know there isn't that much to Canada, but still, even hearing about some guy's life in the middle of nowhere is better than politics. Oh and the 5 books we got for the class, we only really used 3 of them (I say that like a bad thing... Honestly some of those books are really boring. I'd rethink how much depth the class gets into, and revise the literature for the class. For a two semester class, perhaps the Thorner books are more useful, as there is more time to analyze their depth, but the pace was so fast, we just never got to them. (Though I wish we had gotten to 'Fire and Ice', it seemed like a really insightful book, if not from a historical perspective than a sociological view.)).

What would I change? Hmmmm... I guess the main thing I would try and do is make the class more Civ-ish. In the Civ classes, we spent a fair amount of time going over the literature of the age of study. In our class, we mentioned several notable authors, but seeing what they had written would have been insightful(especially considering that most of them wrote about life in Canada). What else... A bit of Geography in the beginning would have been really nice (it is such a massive influence on society, especially in earlier history). I realize that some politics is necessary, but a little more tie into its effect on society would be nice. More movie nights would be nice (early reruns of 'Hockey Night in Canada' anyone?), as would more pictures (I'm still waiting to see this fabled giant beaver!).

And just for the record, I have to agree with my classmates that:
A) Prof. Ruane is an awesome teacher
B) Lots of notes/names/dates/places suck
C) Maps and pictures are helpful
D) The last 100 or so years are way more interesting than the 300 before them (but the 10000 before that are still ok)

What else can I say? I don't know... It was an interesting class, not the best, but definitely not the worst. With some improvements, this could easily be a very promising class. Especially for an inherently boring topic like the history of Canada. I mean, its Canada for cripes sake, nothing ever happens in Canada!

...Right?

My I Love Canda rant!

2006-04-27T22:52:00.000-04:00

When I signed up for this course, I was actually excited about it. I know other people have said this too but it's so important - we never learn about Canada, and that's not fair to us or to Canada. I was looking forward to some new information, not just the same old stuff I learned all through grade school. I also knew that having Ruane as a professor meant I was going to have fun, even if the material turned out not to pique my interest (it worked in Civ2, it could work again, right?). The thing I ended up enjoying most about this class, much like I expected, were the random yet insightful stories that occasionally pop up about certain events or characters in Canadian history - Laura Secord, Louis Riel, Letitia Youmans - all pretty good stories. I also really enjoyed the outsider-insider view of an American in Canada, albeit on a college campus, Ruane provided. The stories, especially the relevant ones that really put us in touch with Canada's civilization and culture today, were what made the class worth showing up to.

I loved the little stories and unique bits of information, but they dry lecture material in-between
harder to bear. There were so many details about so many people that seem not to have done anything of any lasting historical significance that I just kept on writing until my pens were out of ink and I realized I had no idea what had been said or what I had written in the last 5 minutes. It was difficult for me to see what parts of Canadian History I really should be taking with me when I leave this class, and didn't give me a chance to see clearly, comprehend, or appreciate what Canadian culture was and is. I know that to some extent unique Canadian culture was a long time coming, but it needed to be a more prominent figure in the lectures, not random, semi-significant historical figures.

I know- harsh. Who knew I could be so mean? But true. It was easy for me to see how difficult deciding what became lecture material and what was left on the proverbial cutting-room floor was difficult. If this class were to be taught again, the first thing I would do is focus more on overall themes and major, Canada-altering events in basically everything up till Confederation. And don't leave the culture stuff out - maybe still only tidbits, only the really interesting stuff, but enough so that we have a more comprehensive idea of who the Canadian people were, not just what was happening to the country they lived in. And focus more on what's happened culturally in the last 50 years or so - like in the American History classes I've taken, the last 50 years are SOOOOOO culturally rich and amazing and yet breezed over because time runs out in the course to talk about it. If the class focused more on culture, and the average Canadian rather than just the famous ones throughout the class, I think a lot more students would get what they were looking for out of the class.

In short - like the topic, loved the stories, I think Ruane is a great teacher (and not just because you're grading this), and this class could definitely be made into something we would enjoy with a little more culture and a little less... boring dead people.

Final Thoughts...

2006-04-27T20:36:00.000-04:00

1) For this class, I enjoyed learning the cultural differences and similarities between Canadians and Americans, as well as all of the issues with Quebec’s identity. It was cool to see the development of today’s Canadian society, and how their past closely mimics our own in many ways. How media and American media shaped their society, and their struggle to have their own cultural identity, not America’s. I also enjoyed listening to Quebec’s struggle to keep their own French identity, if they love being French so much and the language, then move back there!
2) What I didn’t like about this class was the boring, dry history. Despite How To Be A Canadian’s attempt to show that Canada has a vibrant exciting history, their seemed to be a lot of time when nothing exciting at all happened, just boring day to day activities. While I guess it was important to the development to their identity, it was dry and boring.
3) I would recommend that this class not be taught again. The material just was not very exciting, and I think this was evident by class moral. But if it were to be taught again, I would try to focus on modern Canadian history (WW2- today). Then go back in history to pull up relevant information as to why certain events are occurring. At the very least, quickly brush over their pre WW2 history in a couple of weeks in the beginning to set up today’s culture and society.

Why so blue panda bear?

2006-04-27T20:30:00.000-04:00

1. The class was for the most part very enjoyable for this past semester. The simple trivia about Canada made the class interesting. Of course, you can't make a whole class about simple trivia. The move help break things up about mid semester and having this blog assignment allowed for a more creative approach on our side. Your humor made the classes to go by, and you were willing to level with us on certain areas of Canada. You spoke frankly about subjects that other professors would blush about. You certainly achieved the best professor rating at my FIT career. You actually put your lecture down and asked us what you could do it improve this class. It floored me to find out that there is a professor that wanted to actually change the course to make it more enjoyable. I don't know if you do that for every class, but that was amazing. Makes us see first hand that we are paying for an education that just doesn't spoon feed us info.

2. The quizzes. Plain and simple. Although, it was probably me and my ability to not study right, your quizzes completely took my by surprise left me for dead. I just don't seem to do to well when you have to read on your own and then take a quiz on it. Maybe a study sheet that would point you in the right area for study. The last thing would be the book load. The five books and having to keep up on all of them provided a couple of hurdles through the semester. The notes were that bad, but I soon learn that not everything that came from that podium was worthy of writing. That's about it.

3. If I were the instructor, I would try to refrain from reading from notes. For me, I know it would be difficult to do, but standing in front of the class and interacting with them more would be a priority. Makes it as if we are traveling with you in Canada's history. That would be about it. You were the best, most easy going professor that I have every had here at FIT. I would take the class again if I had the chance.

Fo Shizzle

2006-04-27T19:43:00.000-04:00

1). Your enthusiasm for the subject is what I most enjoy about the classes you teach. I have enjoyed the classes that I have had with you as my instructor because of your ability to keep me interested in the topic at hand. Also, the fact that we had blogg assignments instead of an actual term paper was a good idea. I believe I learned more about Canadian culture by doing the blogg assignments than by just writing a term paper. The reason being is that the blogg assignments forced me to search the internet for random things about Canadian culture and cities. While searching for the answers to the blogg questions, I would stay on one page and read what it had to say about a particular event or time that was not part of the assignment. It expanded my learning, requiring me to find the answers to many questions, rather than keep me focused on the answer to one big question like a paper would do.

2.) What I least enjoyed were the cramps that my hand would experience from such furious note taking. But another thing I did not like about the class was that there was not much talk about its culture. I know that this has been said but I must agree. I wanted to know what made Canadians tick, why there seems to be so much animosity between our two nations. The subjects found in the books would have been perfect for teaching in class, along with a historical background on why this way of thinking came to be. I don’t ever plan on using the knowledge that I have gained on the history of Canada, but with my aspirations to work in the oil business were Canada is to become a key player in the future, Canadian culture lessons would have been of more value to me.

3.) I would teach “Fire and Ice” in the classroom alongside note taking. I found “Fire and Ice” to be a very provocative and engaging book that I would have used extensively for my culture section of the course if I were teaching. It explains the divergence of our two cultures from a Canadian, rather than an American perspective. The book taught me more about how Canadians see Americans than any of the note taking I did in class.

final thoughts....destroy all humans.

2006-04-27T18:08:00.000-04:00

1) as far as what i most enjoyed, to be honest it was breaking your stride at least once a class, to say something so wierd you would have to pause and address it in some way, which usually led to a short but funny tirade. other than that i at least know where canada is ont he map and if asked i can give a halfway decent account of what goes on in the frozen north.

2)the history of canda, and im serious, i know its harsh to say, but that was some damn boring stuff, and i do know there is nothing you could do about it. you are right though, we have no basis, its different saying "alexander hamilton" in the US, we should all know him, as opposed to saying "Poundmaker" who sounds like a 70's pornstar. i understand the history shapes the culture, but we spent too much time dickering around with obscure people that it seems we missed canadian culture itself.

3)i would make it about canadian culture alone, but with a touch of history; focus in on 4 topics to break up the semester, start with the basic history of canada, a week or two at most. then start into specific topics of culture; as in music, art, literature, give the history of those aspects and who influenced them. maybe its the engineer in me, but i would remember it alot more if it were more focused on subtopics and not all mixed togeather in a long history of canada. throw in some crayons and a map of canada and the students should figure out the rest.

i know everyone else is bitching about a map of canada, but take some initiative and look it up yourself if your that hung up on it. the last thing is that the book "how to be a canadian" was vastly underused in the class, it was funny and engageing, maybe every wednesday instead of notes have a discussion over the reading for that week in regards to canadian culture. well in any case, im graduating in a week, this is my last blog, and my last class with you, its been a good run, and your a good teacher, im sure you will jazz this up for the next round of kids, you seem to do that alot with the classes im in.....hmmmm..... alright, im going to tapps now.

Hivernades de Chicoutimi

2006-04-27T17:42:00.000-04:00

the most famous historical event that I can find dealing with the city of Chicoutimi was the flood i already talked about int he first assignment, thats right, im just so good that i answered two blogs in one, boyeah!

in regards to famous residents, there is no one, no one that google can find in anycase that isnt obscure in all sorts of regards. there is alot of speed-dating service in Chicoutimi apparently, but no one remarkable has shown up there yet either.

for famous events we have the "Hivernades de Chicoutimi " which apparently is a 10 day festival int he style of 100 years ago. time itself stands still as people dress in period clothing made of old burlap sacks and loinclothes; revel int he undercooked foods of the early 1900's, huzzah! you can ever ride on a dogsled and eat a giant blueberry pie, yes the "Hivernades de Chicoutimi " has it all folks!

http://www.bonjourquebec.com/magazine/en/evenements/06fev_carnaval_souvenir.php

Final Thoughts.........

2006-04-27T14:05:00.000-04:00

1) When first signing up for this class, I was probably coming from a different angle then the rest of the class, being from Canada. I thought this was going to be a good way for me to learn more about the country I was born in. Throughout school at home I always taught the history of the U.S. and not so much depth about Canada, so there was lots of historical facts I never heard about before, but could relate to. I enjoyed these blog assignments, because I could go back and read other students assignments to see their views on things I can relate to at home. I also enjoyed the more up to date information, as it was more relevant to me.

2) I thought there was to much emphasis on long time history of Canada. Some of the lectures just seem to drag on, and to me it didn't seem like it was going anywhere. There was also a lot to take in at one time, and short amount of time. I also didn't really enjoy the amount of notes that had to be taken, sometimes I would just get lost in the notes, rather then actually understanding the information.

3) If I was teaching this class, I think I would add more student work and maybe a couple small projects, or more homework assignments. This might help bring things together. If possible I think I would try to add more video and picture to lectures. I would also just try to briefly touch on the history, and move on to more up to date issues in the country. I would probably also avoid quiz's and just stick assignments, mid-term, and maybe a final.

Last Blog Assignment

2006-04-27T14:04:00.000-04:00

1) What did you most enjoy about the class? Why?

I enjoyed the atmosphere of the class, due in a large part to your teaching style and approach to the material. This class had potential to be extremely dry, but I think you as a teacher helped to keep it from sinking to that point. I hate to admit it, but I actually found most of the material to be at least somewhat interesting because I have almost no idea about the history or culture of Canada, so this introduction to a country and culture that isn't that foreign to us as Americans was intriguing for me. I also enjoyed the blog assignments because they were a good way for us to learn interesting things about Canada in a more flexible way and taking a little bit of each of our own personalities into account. I definitely enjoyed the times when we discussed more of the culture and daily life of Canadians as opposed to the historical events. It gave me insight to the "personality" of the country as a whole, rather than Canada just being a place on a map.

2) What did you least enjoy? Why?

I'd say that a lot of the older historical information that we had to learn was almost torture, and I understand that "it's history and history is just boring", but I think some of this material took on a whole new form of boring. There was also a lot of information we had to know for the tests, but I know you had little control over that, so it's not your fault. I'm a good student and usually do some of the best work in the classes that I'm in, but for some reason I performed disappointingly worse in this class than any other class I've taken in both of my semesters here.

3) If this class were to be taught again, what would you do to improve it if you were the instructor?

I'd try to make the information a little easier to grasp in the lectures with the aid of maps, diagrams, pictures, etc. I'd also look into getting a guest speaker or two who have lived in Canada for a length of time who could answer any questions that students have about culture or political events/policies.

last assignment

2006-04-27T14:01:00.000-04:00

1) What did you most enjoy about the class? Why?
To get a closer look into the Canadian culture and history. How Canadians
and Americans look at the same things, but see them completely different.
To also see the problems that Canada is facing in regard of internal as
well as external politics.

2) What did you least enjoy? Why?
There were a lot of names and places, only a few of us knew. The covering
of a couple of centuries in Canadian history and culture in just 2 to 3
weeks was just overwhelming from time to time. In the beginning, the
information we got was sometimes too much to absorb and to remember later
in the semester. This made the subject very often very difficult.

3) If this class were to be taught again, what would you do to improve it
if you were the instructor?
Show pictures of people and places, or even of historical events, or have a
geographic map of Canada available, so that the student can visualize the
different areas that you were talking about. This would have made it much
easier in the beginning.

"Ding Dong the Witch is Dead"

2006-04-27T13:53:00.000-04:00

This is normally where people suck up and say the thing they enjoyed the most was the couse information or the professor just becuase they cant think of anything else. Who am i to be different. The thing that i enjoyed most about this class would have to be you, Professor Matt Ruane. It is because of your enthusiasm and passion for history that i gain respect and knowledge on the subject, and you propel me towards my future. I just wanted to say thank you for not being a flake like other teachers that dont come to class or just dont care about teaching. The devotion that you show inspires everyone around you, even if you dont realize it.

What i enjoyed least about the class was the feeling in class on fridays or mondays when i realized i forgot to do the damn blog, again. It just really ticks me off when something so small and not very challenging slips your mind, which is focusing more on reading the book or other assignments. I think the blog assignments are a good idea, but damn it, i kept forgetting to do them. So, overall, I ejoyed doing the blog the least just on the fact that i never remembered to finish them on time.

If I was the instructor for the class and i could change and add a few things, i would change how we do notes everyday and add in a few reflection days using the overhead and projector. I would show more diagrams, maps, and eventually more movies because it would be a balance of visual and auditory learning. I would also add one or two outside lectures where we could enjoy the best days of the semester outside sitting in the shade instead of being in a classroom, only because not many other professors or teachers do that.

Canada is a different country...

2006-04-27T09:56:00.000-04:00

1) What did you most enjoy about the class? Why?

Well, I would have to say the most enjoyable parts of this course were the side discussions and comparison and contrast to the United States. Since many of the side discussions were a comparison and contrast of how we do things differently in the U.S., both are related. For example, when you talked about Student Government in Canadian Universities and how serious it is for them. I also enjoyed discussions about the Canadian constitution and how that is different from the U.S. A great example that I can remember is the basic principles of each constitution: Canada "Peace, Order, and Good Gov't" USA "Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness." In short, I found it very interesting to talk about the differnces and similarities between our country and Canada.

2) What did you least enjoy? Why?

The Quizes! I don't mind the idea of quizes, but I would like to see a detailed review session or discussion of the material to be covered. Especially since the possible material to be covered is so vast and also since the questions can be very detailed.

3) If this class were to be taught again, what would you do to improve it if you were the instructor?

I would have more discussions regarding the comparison and contrast between Canada's history/way of doing things and that of the U.S. I would also try to stress the really important notes that should be studied before quizes. Overall, the course was great! Other than a few minor items (such as quizes) there is nothing to complain about. The blog assignments were much better than a traditional paper. The blog allowed us the chance to learn more about various Canadian histroy and tidbits rather than concentrating on one specific thing as would be required in a traditional paper. I am glad that I took this course as my humanities elective because it's a shame that many of us have been to Canada and we don't even view is as leaving the U.S. It is its own country and a very different one at that.

last assignment...

2006-04-27T00:04:00.000-04:00

1) What did you most enjoy about the class? Why?
2) What did you least enjoy? Why?
3) If this class were to be taught again, what would you do to improve it if you were the instructor?

1. I most enjoyed the evolution of a new tribe, the evolution of a new country, its fundamental developments as well as the pure knowledge gained from facts. I have always enjoyed history classes. I believe history classes are a glimpse of our past and realizing the evolution of Canada is something unique and learning about this evolution was a fascinating experience. I also enjoyed the creative jokes, the comments made by both Dr. Ruane as well as some of our candid classmates in a bid to make the class that extra bit interesting. Learning about a new civilization is exciting in its own, the mentality of the people in those days reflects on our characteristics today and the they they lived their daily lives without the technology available to us today was simply genius-like. I loved the homework assignments, because it gave me an opportunity to explore Canada and its people, culture, events and construction from an out-of-class perspective and it got me learning a lot form a non-note-taking-basis, which really benefitted me. I believe I learnt more about Canada from the research I did to get my homeworks done than I could grasp in class. Of course, an overview of the notes meant that I understood the basics of the revolution.

2. I had a problem with the quantity of notes being given on a daily basis. It isn't so much of a problem as it is a hassle when studying for the exams. I would have definitely preferred slides, maps, movies, visual aids of the sort that perhaps could have aided my fellow visual learners like myself in the class. I appreciate the professor's efforts in trying to better the class by asking us what was wrong with the class. Indeed, very few professors take the time out to interact with their students and Dr. Ruane did a splendid job at addressing the problem. I also did not like the quiz methodology. I think it would have been better if we had essay questions since i believe I can score better and it is a flow with no exact correct answer. Most history exams have essays as the testing method and remembering exact pinpoint dates, names and events can be tedious for the amount of notes being given in class. Nonetheless, with the quantity of material to be covered, it was essential that notes be given, and I understand that, but defintiely, the bulk of notes was on the high side to memorize for a quiz.

3. I would improve on the visual aids for sure. I would also improve on the quantity of notes in teh class, perhaps skim over the bulky areas and concentrate on the more interesting aspects, like the living conditions of the people instead of concentrating on the method of governance of the Canadian government. Being the modern student that I am, I would love to know more contemporary Canadian history compared to the really archaic, and monotonous French rule over Canada. Yes, it is imperative to mention it, but it was done in excess, in my view. I believe also that the quizzes need to be shorter and a variety of questions need to be asked. Both True / false, multiple choice and an option of maybe 5 essay questions, with the student having a choice to answer maybe 2 out of the 5. The methodology for the midterm was fantastic, because it covered almost everything before the midterm exam itself and Dr. Ruane also told us what exactly to study because with such a bulky, quantity-heavy class, it is essential to realize that being a senior in college, it is very hard to memorize all the material being given. I remember i averaged over 8 pages per class in note-taking and that is simply a whole lot of notes.

last assignment

2006-04-26T22:42:00.000-04:00

1) I think the class started off fun, between the "How to Be a Canadian" book, and that crazy movie "Strange Brew". After reading the first few chapters of the "How to Be a Canadian" book, I got the impression that the class would be set up to be more of a light, fun class regarding the history of Canada. I thought that we would maybe spend more time comparing and contrasting the American stereotypes that were represented in the book with the factual history of Canada. Regardless, my favorite part of the class was the "How to be a Canadian" book. It was very informative, but also really entertaining to read.
2) Initially, I would have to say my least favorite part of the class was the extremely dry subject matter. However, I have to be honest that I wasn't expecting anything different, as the class covered an entire history in 16 weeks, requiring us to absorb a lot of information in a short time. Instead, I would have to say that my least favorite thing about the class was the amount of reading assigned.
3) I think the class could be improved by using the "How to be a Canadian" book as a template. I think I was expecting the class to envolve at least some of the familiar and shamefully amusing Canadian stereotypes that we as Americans hold, like in the book. Large amounts of information could of course still be covered, but in a more fun and memorable way. Also, like many other members of the class suggested, the use of visuals would be very helpful in making connections to things discussed in lecture.

Final blog: My thoughts about the class- Kya Harrell

2006-04-26T17:58:00.000-04:00

The class had some good moments, but my favorite part about the class since we are suppose to be totally honest would have to be all the Canadian jokes and stories you would tell us about your actual experiences in Canada. Not just the pissing on the cop story but all the stories you told about when you were there. It may not have all been what you expected to teach, but it is still considered Canadian history, because you were in Canada and it was history. There were parts of the lecture that I did really enjoy such as the First Nations lectures. How they lived and what they ate. (the nasty stews) I sure I would have enjoyed other parts that the other students enjoyed but I am not a sports fan, and I know hockey is a big part. (along with the bear and doughnuts. I do like doughnuts though)

The lectures were not boring, but most of the politics lectures was really not interesting to me. That's not because you did not teach it well, that's just me in general. I never liked taking any government class. There were too many names and I just began to confuse myself. I think that the middle was just not as interesting, but the beginning and the end was a whole lot better. I don't like the quizzes. I don't know how they were so hard when I studied for them. I really wanted a B, but this class makes me worry a bit.

If I were the instructor I would change a few things. I would use power point and blackboard so the students could keep up much easier. I would not put all my notes in there, because then nobody would even feel the need to come to class. I would put most of the notes on there so that people can keep up with me as I lecture. If I did not have time to write up power points I would just slow down my lectures so that the students who write really slow (Me) and can't keep up (Me again) will have time to take good notes and not just pieces of whatever is still in their head that they can remember. I also would show some pictures that would make lectures a little more entertaining. (Not saying watching a professor speak is not, but I would prefer some pictures every now and then) Also when there are pictures things become so much easier to remember. I would spend more time on Canada now rather then all of the class being history. ( If there is nothing really interesting now we can discuss Degrassi or instant star or something.) Last of all I would give a brief study guide for quizzes too because we cover so much information, and we don't really know what to study for the quiz. I look back on everything and I guess I am just doing something wrong, but I am just lost when it comes to the quizzes. I would have your personality because all the students love your class because you teach and you are so entertaining while you do it. This is one of the only classes that don't make me tired. You are more like one of the students. (not in a bad way) I think this was a good class in all. Rather I write slow or not I did learn a lot this semester.

Is it finally over?

2006-04-26T12:56:00.000-04:00

I was orginally really looking forward to taking another Ruane class. I've always had the most fun in your classes and managed quite well with the assignments. Then came History of Canada, and I just couldn't make myself find the interesting side of any of the lectures for the longest time. With the pages of notes, the pages of reading boring texts, and the endless amount of not understanding why Canada is so boring.

But there were some good moments. With a comedy text and no huge paper assignment I was relieved. I loved the idea of blog assignments, and very glad that it was something that wouldn't be so time consuming. Just a few minutes of searching, a little thought, and some typing and the assignment was done. Definitely the most fun thing about the entire class and easy project to do. There was no hassle of wondering if I put enough preperation into a ten page paper. It was just an okay, I have some time, find the info, and done. It was great.

I think there were some great ideas about how to change the class to make it better. But as you had mentioned it would be difficult to put a normally two semester class into one semester and note have pages of notes. I know all too well by now that history is a pretty boring subject if you're not truly interested in what you're learning, and I wasn't all that interested in Canada. However, visual aides or textiles would have made it a lot better. And these don't have to be via the internet with the school's inability to load webpages. I think that a small powerpoint presentation of pictures would have worked, and I know from experience that they're not that time consuming to make in about a half hour. That way you can cut and paste pictures from multiple websites into one presentation to be used at the end or beginning of class instead of during lectures.

Even with all the hectic "I hate Canada and notes" stuff I did come away with a new understanding of Canada and their lifestyle.

top 50

2006-04-26T09:44:00.000-04:00

Chose one of the top 50 Canadian companies and discuss the following in your blog entry.

General Motors

1) Briefly discuss the company's history.

General Motors Corporation, a US entity based in Detroit, traces back to 1897 when Olds Motor Company was set up by Ransom Olds and began to produce the Oldsmobile. Since then they have grown, through acquisition and partnership, to become the world's largest automobile company with over 362,000 employees and over $175 billion (US) in sales volume.

2) What do they make or do?
The General Motors manufactures automobiles and automobile accessories.

3) Where is the headquarter's located? Headquarter's are located in Oshawa, Ontorio.

4) Why did you chose this company over any other on the list? I already did a previous assignment on Oshawa and did alittle research on the company.

Pic http://www.mysteriesofcanada.com/Ontario/general_motors_of_canada.htm

last assignment

2006-04-26T09:22:00.000-04:00

1) What did you most enjoy about the class? Why? I enjoyed the classes enthusiasm towards the class and the interaction between you and you'r students. You made the class a comfortable envorinment to be in. The first impression I had when i came into you'r class was very good. You represent yourself as an understanding, and nice instructor that likes to be serious with our work but also try to make fun and entertaining, like the movies and conversations.

2) What did you least enjoy? Why? The thing i least enjoyed about the class would be all the lectures and note taking. I thought at times the lectures went pretty fast and it was kind of hard to keep up. I also felt it was hard to interpret that amount of information all at once, compared to other civilization and humantie classes i have taken.

3) If this class were to be taught again, what would you do to improve it if you were the instructor? The one thing the i would change to improve the class would just be to slow the pace down a bit. Like you said there is alot to cover, two semesters worth of information condensed down into one.

Final Comments - LZabik

2006-04-25T19:14:00.000-04:00

1. This semester I most enjoyed the book we read, "How to Be a Canadian." I thought that the book was very funny and gave insights into Canadian culture and highlighted differences from American culture. I also felt that the quizzes were fair and not overly difficult (except that last one).

2. I least enjoyed the strict chronological format of the class. Understandably, history must be learned from the beginning, but I would have enjoyed integration of major current events (such as elections) into the daily lectures as well. I also agree with Candace's comment of the lack of follow-up after the class made suggestions for improving the course. It seemed as though many great suggestions were made and none were acted upon.

3. Improvements for future semesters include: integration of current events to make the material more "real", integration of technology (internet, Powerpoints) , and also a full color large map that could be used on a daily basis.

Last assignment

2006-04-24T14:40:00.000-04:00

Ummm... This class was hard as hell. Since I transfered right before the beginning of the semester I thought between Italy and Canada, Canada was easier. Well, I was way wrong!! I didn't think it had that much of history. The thing I liked the most in this class is the rants and example you give about Canada. I also liked the movie, "Strange Brew". I thought the class was going to be like that.

The thing I liked least about the class was the notes and the test. That was the most notes I've ever taken in my life for a class. All those notes made it very hard to study, because I never knew what to focus on and there was way too many notes for me too guess right. I think my test scores reflect that. The only one that I did decent on was the midterm, because I knew what was going to be asked of us.

If I had to instruct the class I would have way way less notes. I would have more opportunities for my class to do projects and learn other ways then just notes. I would have some kind of study guide or study session to let them know what parts of the notes to study and what form the test will be in.

You definately knew your material, so you can't be knocked on that. THanks Carl

Last Assignment

2006-04-24T09:19:00.000-04:00

1. I enjoyed the first half of the class much more than the second. Even though the second half had both world wars and confederation, the first half was much more interesting to me. I like to think I am a history buff, so I loved learning how Canada was founded and what happened during the 100's of years that led up to it. I also enjoyed you as a teacher. Even though I like history, you made the dry stuff much more tolerable. It's a shame I only had one class with you.

I also enjoyed the movies that you showed us. They were both new for me and I enjoyed them. I think showing a couple more movies would keep the class interested and also would give the students something they can visually see what is happening.

2. Like I said in the first paragraph, I least enjoyed the second half of the class (especially all the politics). It might be because all the information in the first half was new to me, while I recognized a lot of the imperialism and world war facts. Who knows, this hatred of the second half could just be because I am so close to graduation, but I do know that I was a lot more interested in the beginning.

Some lectures seemed very long and boring while others kept the whole class on the edge of their seat the whole 50 min. I'm sure you know when the tough days are going to be. Maybe you should try a movie, or internet pictures, or skits (just an idea) to help lighten the mood.

3. Like Lyndsay said earlier, I would recommend a huge map that students can get a feel for where that item in history is happening. I also think you found a great tool in the "How to be Canadian" book. This is a really funny book that everyone can relate to. It provides the students the necessary background of everything to be Canadian. I wonder if there is a way to teach the class around that book where maybe you spend a few days on each chapter and then expand upon them (and explain) with other sources on those days.

And last but not least, I am shocked that everyone is not protesting that we haven't seen "Canadian Beacon" yet. This is what we college students expected to see when we signed up. It is a staple of how American's viewed Canada in the 80's. It would be a nice change in scenary too. Overall, I really did enjoy this class. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys history or is interested in Canadian culture.

better late than never, here comes "Chicoutimi"

2006-04-22T20:11:00.000-04:00

the great and all powerful city of Chicoutimi began as all great cities do, steeped in beaver pelts. thats right folks, initially setup in 1676 as a french fur trading post it was later "founded" by Peter Mcleod, who perhaps was a distant relation to the highlander? we may never know...

As far as importance of geography, Chicoutimi is loacted on the Saguenay river, with several bridges spanning its ferocious waters, gyar! The importance of this geography is the fact that the industrialization of Chicoutimi is based around the production of Pulp, thats right, Pulp. So, this made the river IDEAl for log transport to the "pulperie" from the sourrounding highlands.

Now in regards to a historeical fact there was a flood in 1996 that started with torrential rains that ended up being 8 feet of water rolling through Chicoutimi in a series of flash floods. 7 were dead, 16000 evacuated, 1.5 billion in damage. BUT! the good news was the flood covered up toxic sedement at the bottom of the saguenay river with new sediment, hooray mother nature!

Final thoughts

2006-04-21T20:06:00.000-04:00

Oh the history of Canada. As for what I enjoyed most about this class I don’t know if I can say exactly. To start off with, Canada is not the most interesting subject to learn or teach about, but you tried to make the class tolerable. The lectures were long and occasionally boring, paired with leaving everyday with a sore wrist, but I kept coming back for more. I suppose I enjoyed you Dr. Ruane most of all. Your determination to help us build a foundation for Canadian history made me want to learn. I know everyone will say that I am “kissing you’re a**” but I’m not. I definitely did not enjoy the quizzes or the midterm, but I did enjoy you coming into a class of 30 students who have no real desire or need to learn about Canada and teaching your little heart out.
Obviously, I did not enjoy the quizzes. Your lectures are very in depth and packed full of important information. It is impossible for us as students to study so much material for a quiz that is so vague. I study a lot for my quizzes, but you can’t tell because I perform so poorly do to the fact that there is too much information to study. I had no problem with the midterm because you gave us an idea of what we would be tested on. Another thing that I really did no appreciate was you coming into the class and asking us “what the he** is wrong with this class” and us giving you suggestions and then you not acting on them. You displayed two different pictures on two different occasions and that was it. I understand that it is hard to prepare all of the power point and find pictures while you are lecturing, but don’t ask for suggestions if you aren’t going to take them seriously. You also said you would try to make the quiz easier and in fact they were harder. Other than that I don’t have any other problems.
I included some suggestions throughout this blog, but if I were the instructor teaching this class I would have to say that maybe I would try to figure out a different way to teach some of the material. One of those ways would be with more projects to let the students teach themselves some of the more in depth histories about Canada. I would also add a test and take away 2 quizzes. This would help the student’s performance by informing them of what would be on the test to improve their grades.

aww the last one..

2006-04-21T17:20:00.000-04:00

1. What did I enjoy about the class the most... I, believe it or not, liked learning about Canada's history. Generally I knew it existed, the French were there followed by the British, it had the fur trade, and my grandma bought me a pair of earrings from there. Now I know a lot more, maybe not very specific things but a big outline. I found it interesting looking at history from their point of view as well, like the war parts. Cause I certainly know what was going on in America, but I never knew much of anything that Canada was doing.
2. What did I enjoy about the class the least... It was a lot of material in a short amount of time. Going into the class I expected for my hand to hurt afterwards. Everything just came at you and you had to write down what you thought was important, and while writing that you would hear another important point, and then you would forget what you were writing and then forget what the next point was.
3. If I were the instructor... nobody would take the class because I am a horrible teacher, but I guess I can pretend I am not. I would make it really random. Not take notes everyday. Have a map, because I still don't know where Quebec is or any of the other provinces. If it existed I would use a book that 3rd graders use, something little.. I remember having a tiny Florida history book in 3rd grade, so maybe each province has something like that... and if so I would totally use it. Not sure if I could get it past the people who tell you how to run a class... other than of course lie! That would make it simplier... maybe have pictures, big words. I'd make people do projects... on those big science boards that fold in three parts, get people in groups give them a province have pictures history people imporant dates. No presentations. Blog was a good idea though, I liked it. Have donut day. NO research papers also a good idea. And of course whoever had an A would not have to take the final... cause what better incentive is there than not taking a final! Perhaps bring in pamphlets of exciting things in Canada... the university you went to, amusement parks... I'm sure they have interesting things. I just don't know any.

Last Assignment

2006-04-21T14:32:00.000-04:00

1. The Pros:
- learning about Canada....I knew nothing about it.
- early history of Canada, focusing more on the Natives...I find this more
interesting than political bickering.
- fit nicely into my schedule...only one trip over to the school.
2. The Cons:
- some parts were dry...but that is hard to avoid in a history class.
- once again, political bickering....yeah.
- close to lunch time...thought about food.
3. Improvements:
- more pictures, especially a big map of Canada...hopefully the Humanities
dept. will agree.
- more focus on the earlier history
- this was a lot of information squeezed into one semester...if able break into
two semesters
- suggest to Canada they do more interesting things

Final Assignment

2006-04-21T12:20:00.000-04:00

This is the final blog assignment. It is due by Friday, April 28th at noon. If you have not completed other assignments, you need to finish them by the same time and date. Nothing will be counted after 1200 28 April 2006.

The final assignment is something personal and should be a couple paragraphs in length. It is important, perhaps the most important assignment of the class. I want to know the honest answers to these questions.

1) What did you most enjoy about the class? Why?
2) What did you least enjoy? Why?
3) If this class were to be taught again, what would you do to improve it if you were the instructor?

You should not simply ditto anyone else's comments.

Ottawa: (continued assignment)

2006-04-20T20:50:00.000-04:00

1. VolleyBall Summerfest: This is is the world's largest volleyball tournament with more than 25,000 players and spectators attending a gigantic beach party with funds going to local charities.
The Alcatel HOPE Volleyball SummerFest is an annual Ottawa event where more than 30,000 participants and spectators give all they've got for charity.
There are volleyball tournaments for players of every ilk. There's also food, concerts, people watching, sponsor kiosks, and lots of good feelings about helping others. More fun than most people thought possible in one hot summer's day make this a sold-out event every year.
Admission fee
There is an on-site admission fee for non-registered participants to access the licensed entertainment area. This fee supports HOPE charities and helps HOPE bring in top-name musical acts. (http://www.hopehelps.com/ottawa_page.cfm?ID=15)

2. Daniel Edward Aykroyd (born July 1, 1952 in Ottawa, Ontario) is an Academy Award-nominated Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter and musician. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of the Blues Brothers, and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter. (http://sa.hbs.edu/canadian/html/famous.html)

3. Tulip Festival Ottawa:

The Tulip Festival is a major cultural event held annually in Ottawa, Canada.
In 1945, the Dutch royal family sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa as thanks for having housed their queen and her daughters for the past three years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during the Second World War.
Most notable about their time here was the birth in 1943 of Princess Margriet to Queen Juliana in the Ottawa Civic Hospital. The maternity ward was declared to officially be a temporary part of the Netherlands, so that the the birth could claimed to have been on Dutch territory. In 1946, Juliana sent another 20,500 bulbs requesting that a display be created for the hospital, and promised to send 10,000 more bulbs each year.
In 1953, the display of tulips was formalised into the "Canadian Tulip Festival". Queen Juliana returned to celebrate the festival in 1967, and Princess Margriet returned in 1995 to participate in the festival on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Holland.
Although tulips are displayed throughout the city, the most prominent display is in Dow's Lake, at the foot of the Rideau Canal.
In addition to the tulip displays, the festival hosts music concerts as well as painting and craft exhibits. The 1972 festival saw Liberace give an opening concert, and at the 1987 festival, singer Alanis Morissette made her first appearance at the age of 12. The Trews first became widely-known after opening for Big Sugar at the 2003 festival.
(http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Tulip_Festival)

Victoria- Kya Harrell

2006-04-19T00:31:00.000-04:00

Sir James Douglas is famous in Victoria for making British Columbia what it is today because It was only a Fur trading post for the Hudson Bay company before Sir James Douglas helped established Victoria. When America was trying to spread their territory the British decided to make a boundary with a fort. When they established this fort on Vancouver Island the decided to make Sir James Douglas the Chief. Sir James Douglas only came to Victoria to take up a position as chief of the Hudsons Bay Company, but He eventually became the governor of and was eventually knighted before he died.

One of Victorias famous traditions is having tea in the Afternoon. This was started in Brittain by Queen Victoria, and eventually spread all over when the British began to immigrate to Victoria. Eventually it became tradition for all Victorians to have tea at noon. They also have tea gardens where the people of Victoria bring their tea out into the gardens.

A famous historical event in Victoria is the ceremony of the Flags. The ceremony of the flags began in 1967. At this event the Flags from each Canadian Province were carried around by the Royal Canadian army in the streets. This event was deceveloped to show the coming together of all the Canadian provinces.

http://www.tourismvictoria.com/Content/EN/601.asp

Winnipeg part 2 - Lindsay Zabik

2006-04-18T13:06:00.000-04:00

Anna Paquin Winnipeg Folk Festival

The most famous historical event to occur in Winnipeg was Bloody Saturday. After returning home from WWI, workers found labor wages and conditions to be dismal at best. Workers across Canada organized. On May 15, 1919, almost the entire workforce of Winnipeg went on strike. More than six weeks later, several leaders of the strike committee were arrested and sent to jail. Out of outrage over the arrests, the strikers took to the streets outside of City Hall. Royal North-West Mounted Police, backed by federal troops were sent in with orders to disperse the crowds. The non-violent protested were assaulted with clubs and fired upon. At the end of the day, one person was dead and many more were injured. The day became known around Canada as Bloody Saturday.

Anna Paquin is one of the most famous products of Winnipeg. The Oscar Award winning actress. Some of her most popular films include: The Piano, Fly Away Home, Amistad, Almost Famous, and X-Men 1 and 2. She currently resides in New Zealand.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival is one of the city's most popular annual events. Started in 1974, the first festival featured 50 acts on four stages. Today, the festival features over 300 artists and attracts over 55,000 people.

Images can be found at:

http://cdn-channels.netscape.com/gallery/i/p/paquin/20040122_kri_e66_518.jpg

http://www.philmultic.com/liufang/photos/fest3.html

2006-04-17T23:34:00.000-04:00

As far as I can tell, and this could be way off but its the best I've got, the most famous event to take place in Thunder Bay is the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railroad in 1875. The railroad initiated animosity between Port Arthur and Fort William, which did not settle until the almalgamation of Thunder Bay in 1970.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunder_Bay,_Ontario#History
Honestly though, I'd say the founding of the city is probably the most exciting historical event that's happened in Thunder Bay, save the fire at Fort William in 1903 that destroyed the records up until that point.

One of the more famous, at least in Canada, of the residents born in Thunder Bay is Elsie MacGill, "Queen of the Hurricanes." Elsie was an aeronautical engineer during the second world war who was responsible for a significant amount of aircraft construction during the war. In fact, Elsie was the first woman to graduate with an aeronautical engineering degree in 1929. What an inspiration!!
http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=17in40ni40w3i?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Elsie+MacGill&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc02a&linktext=Elsie%20MacGill

Thunder Bay is home to the Kite Festival, which in 2006 ranked as Number 3 on the Top 50 Festivals of Ontario, making it the fourth year in a row on Festivals and Events Ontario Top 50 list. “The Kite Festival is a magical, family event that kicks off a very busy summer festival season in our community," Recreation & Culture Division Manager Beverly Ball states. Certainly sounds magical to me!
http://www.thunderbay.ca/index.cfm?fuse=html&pg=3233

Something more interesting might be the Dragon Boat Festival, held in Thunder Bay every year to commemorate the life and death of Qu Yuan. Why the Canadians feel the need to explore their Chinese roots in the form of dragon boat racing, I have no idea. http://www.thunderbaydragonboat.com/history.html

the pictures above taken from:

http://www.thunderbaydragonboat.com/2005.html

http://www.thunderbay.ca/index.cfm?fuse=html&pg=3233

Halifax part 2

2006-04-17T20:02:00.000-04:00

One of the most historical events to happen in Halifax involves its ports and ships. Three Halifax ships were involved in the rescue and recovers after the Titanic started to sink. These ships brought back both victims and survivors. In three of the cities cemeteries there are many headstones lined up with the date of the crash written on them, April 15, 1912.
Also there are Titanic artifacts found in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. All of these artifacts were extracted from the water within weeks of the accident.
Something that is traditional for Halifax is its pubs. It is specifically known for its maritime style pubs.
Apparently the most famous people from Halifax, NS are the Acadians, because they are the only people I can find anything about.

Oshawa, Ontario 2

2006-04-17T09:39:00.001-04:00

One of the most famous historical events in Oshawa, Ontario; would the creation of the General Motors headquarters and assembly plant in 1876, which would spawn and promote other business and economic growth in Ontario Canada.

Robert Samuel McLaughlins Carriage Company began to manufacture Buick automobiles under the McLaughlin-Buick name, and in 1915 the firm acquired the manufacturing rights to the Chevrolet brand. Within 3 years his firm and the Chevrolet Motor Car Company of Canada merged, creating General Motors of Canada. Col. R. S. McLaughlin.

Cultural events associated with Oshawa would be, The Canadian-Croatian Folklore Festival is an event celebrating Croatian flolklore and heritage with a weekend of performances. Croatian groups from around Canada participate in the yearly event. The event is governed by the Croatian Folklore Federation of Canada, which was formed in 1973 to keep Croatian culture alive in a foreign country. However, it is the responsibility of the host group to organize the event, which is one of the largest in the Croatian-Canadian community. The event usually lasts up to three day.

info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian-Croatian_Folklore_Festival
Pic from: http://www.newsandevents.utoronto.ca/features/mclaughlin/bio.htm

My little peice of Edmonton

2006-04-17T00:44:00.000-04:00

For Edmonton, a couple of historic events took place. There was a mall that was built. A oil boom that occurred. Also a huge tornado that that took a good amount of lives. The most important date might be the day that Edmonton was recognized as a part of Canada. Now this entry doesn't explain the founding of it, but more of the transition of land from a lunatic to a governing body. In 1870, Edmonton, Alberta was a part of a trade agreement between Canadian parliament and Louie Riel. Riel's demands were met and a huge amount of territory was handed over to the parliament which included my community in question. The citizens of Edmonton didn't even know that the transaction took place among the two powers.

Now for the famous person. It took sometime because I wanted to find a historical figure that was famous and born in Edmonton. I gave up. I went with a celebrity that everyone knows and loves. The reason why he is famous is that he is a very talented and humorus actor. His profile is on this blog with a film library of severall films. His name is Michael J. Fox, and he was born in my community.

A cultural event that is worth noted for is an event of storytelling. T.A.L.E.S. holds an event in Alberta that helps encourage the community to storytell in front of an audience. All ages are allowed to particpate in this even and has been going on for 18 years. They mostly do this during festivals that involve entertainment. They also hold story telling through different mediums like television and radio. The point is that Edmonton looks to hold their traditions close by going back to the old way of communitcation. Through storytelling of old oral folk lore that can be passed on from generation to generation without the use of a save button.

Information from:
Edmonton resource page:
(http://www.edmonton.ca/portal/server.pt)
Another resource page:
(http://www.edmontonhistory.ca/)
T.A.L.E.S. Homepage:
(http://www.ecn.ab.ca/~tales/)

Hamilton, Ontario (cont...)

2006-04-17T00:11:00.000-04:00

Sources:
Picture 1: Nine-Hour Movement <http://www.canadianencyclopedia.ca/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005757>.
Picutre 2: Eugene Levy <http://www.zelluloid.de/filme/bilder.php3?id=3867>.
Picture 3: Battle of Stoney Creek <http://www.myhamilton.ca/myhamilton/CityandGovernment/CultureandRecreation/Arts_Culture_And_Museums/HamiltonCivicMuseums/Events/>.

The most famous historical event to take place in the City of Hamilton (Ontario) was the "Nine-Hour Movement" of 1872. This attempt by the Canadian workforce to reduce the number of hours of work per day to a maximum of nine (9) began in Hamilton in January. It quickly spread throughout all of Canada and lasted until June. During this time period it was not uncommon for Canadians to work 12-hour days. Although these protests were technically unsuccessful in its ultimate goal to reduce the number of working hours, it did bring light to the presence of labor movements and the working conditions they deserve. This "Nine-Hour Movement" was the beginning of many victories for the workers of Canada.

Hamilton is also the birthplace of many famous people. Perhaps the most famous is Eugene Levy, born on December 17, 1946. He is most well-known for his role as the father of Jim in the American Pie series of movies. He is also a well-known comedian and has had roles in many films.

A unique local cultural event associated with the City of Hamilton is the re-enactment of a famous battle during the War of 1812, the Battle of Stoney Creek. This battle is considered a significant turning point during the war by most Canadians.

Sources:
"Nine-Hour Movement" <http://www.canadianencyclopedia.ca/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005757>.
Eugene Levy <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0506405/>.
Battle of Stoney Creek <http://www.myhamilton.ca/myhamilton/CityandGovernment/CultureandRecreation/Arts_Culture_And_Museums/HamiltonCivicMuseums/Events/>.

Oil, Rodeos, and Mount Everest

2006-04-17T00:08:00.000-04:00

Two of the more famous historical events in Calgary's history were the discoveries of oil in 1914, in Turner valley, and in 1947, near Edmonton. These oil discoveries significantly increased Calgary's population and transformed its economy. Until the 1980s, the city relied only on oil and agriculture. Fluxuating gas prices forced the city to diversify its industries.

From Calgary's agricultural roots spawned the famous Calgary Stampede, "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth". This cultural festival takes place for 10 days in the month of July. The entire city is decorated in a western style while it's inhabitants celebrate with chuckwagon races, exhibitions, rodeos, costumes, and games.

Finally, one of Calgary's most famous people is Laurie Skreslet, who was the first Canadian to climb Mount Everest. In a team of 21 people Laurie began the trek up the mountain. Along the way 4 people were killed and Laurie suffered a few cracked ribs. Today he is a motivational speaker.

http://www.stampede.coolattractions.com/home.html
http://www.everesthistory.com/climbers/skreslet.htm

Return to Vancouver

2006-04-16T23:56:00.000-04:00

So for those who wanted to know more about Vancouver, here's some tidbits of information you probably didnt know.
Next to the burning of the city (as mentioned last time), probably the next most famous historical event to take place in Vancouver was the founding of Greenpeace in 1970. At the time the group organized to protest the United States's testing of nuclear weapons in Amchitka, Alaska, but over time the group has expanded to challenge other perpatraitors of environmental destruction.
One of the more famous residents to come from Vancouver is Hayden Christensen, a noteworthy young actor whose most famous role to date was the portrayal of Anakin Skywalker in the two latest installments of Star Wars.
As for cultural events and traditions, it seems the people of vancouver seem to keep a tight leash on those secrets. Because of the city's diverse population, there is very little that can be associated with Vancouver as a whole. But there are two things that all peoples of Vancouver do go out to see, the annual Dragon Boats Festival and the Lunar New Year's Day parade.

http://www.discovervancouver.com/gvb/history-of-vancouver.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenpeace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver
www.imdb.com/name/nm0159789/bio

Even more about St. Catherines-Niagara, Ontario!

2006-04-16T22:45:00.000-04:00

Aside from it's founding and its significance as the end of the Underground Railroad during the 1860s, St. Catherines can also be noted for its Welland Canals. In 1824, William Hamilton Marriot founded the Welland Canal company, and began construction of a series of canals designed to link Lake Eerie with Lake Ontario for easier trade. This was part of an overall Canadian trend in this time period of building up canals and railroads, in an effort to unify the Canadian territories.

Anyone remember "Strange Brew" from the beginning of the semester? Well, Doug McKenzie, otherwise known as Dave Thomas, was born in St. Catharines in 1949. In fact, his career began with SCTV, which was a Canadian Sketch-Comedy show. He also starred in the short-lived Dave Thomas Comedy Show, Grace Under Fire, and the motion pictures Rat Race and Brother Bear.

Looking for cultural events? You will definitely find that in St. Catherines; if you check the St. Catherines website, they actually have festivals & events for all four seasons. But to appeal to the masses, I'll focus on the wine festivals, which occur during the fall harvest. St. Catherines boasts many vineyards and world-class vintage wines. The Niagara Wine Festival runs September 22 through October 1 in 2006, and includes tours, tastings, concerts, food, shows, and what the St. Catherines website calls one of Canada's largest parades. It has been called Ontario's Cultural Event for the past 3 years, and was even named one of North America's Top 100 events by the American Bus Association in 2005.

http://www.stcatharines.ca/tourism/festivals_events_fall.asp

Kelowna, BC pt. 2

2006-04-16T21:03:00.000-04:00

Up until 1952 the city of Kelowna depended on transportation on the water, using Lake Okanagan as its channel way to the rest of the province and to the rest of Canada. When freight was to be shipped it had to be towed to either Pentiction or the Okanagan Landing. On September 11, 1952 the Canadian National Railway created a link t0 Kelowna along their railway path. The first locomotive arrived at 3:00pm and the town held a large party for the arrival, and it changed the city from there on. This allowed for the city of Kelowna to become more indepedent and they were now able to gain access to easier lines of transportation.
Major General Rodney was born in Kelowna and was Commander in Chief of the Second Canadian Division for World War 2. After returing from the war Rodney was an adlerman, and was Honorary Colonel of the B.C. Dragons until he died in 1953. He was a true war hero for Canada.
Since 1973 Kelowna celebrates Snowfest, during the third week of January. A wide variety of events take place throughout the area for locals and visitors to get rid of the winter blahs, and enjoy themselves in the fluffy white snow of Canada.

http://www.kelownabc.com/kelowna/kelowna7.php

Barrie again

2006-04-16T20:34:00.000-04:00

1. The most famous historical events that happen here center around the British military, particularly the fact that the War of 1812 gave British troops the opportunity to bypass American forces which were stationed in Detroit, expediting the movement of goods and supplies.
http://www.tourismbarrie.com/about-barrie-1/history-of-barrie/

However, the most amusing historical event to happen was an F4 tornado hitting Barrie in May 1985. A tornado in Canada...who knew? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrie%2C_Ontario

2. The most famous resident to be born in Barrie would have to be the founder Sir Robert Barrie. I could not find someone more recent. Sir Robert Barrie founded the city in 1832. He was in charge of the Canadian naval forces and wanted a place to port in southern Ontario.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrie%2C_Ontario

3. Barrie hosts six festivals every year; Barrie Dragon Boat Festival, Barrie Jazz and Blues Festival, Barrie Kiwanis Music Festival, Barrie Native Friendship Centre, Barrie Winterfest & The Festival of Ice, and Kempenfest. The Barrie Native Friendship Centre is a place for native families to meet and holds a Pow Wow during the first weekend in June. Kempenfest is held on the waterfront and hosts almost 400 artisans for a weekend in August.
http://www.tourismbarrie.com/arts-and-culture/festivals-1/index.cfm?i=444

Fun in Windsor

2006-04-16T15:48:00.000-04:00

There are many famous historical events that took place in Windsor, Ontario, but I believe the best one happened in 1904. The Ford Motor Company made its big move to Windsor in this year. The motor company was the largest industry to come to Windsor. This had a huge impact on the city of Windsor especially in the war times of WW1. The town took on the name of "Ford City" because of this industrial sensation. Ford helped the economy and the population of Windsor, grow into a well known city. Till this day Windsor is still an automotive manufacturing city.
The most famous resident to be born in the city of Windsor must be the lovely Eileen Regina Edwards, better known today as Shania Twain. Born on August 28th 1965 in Windsor destined to be a pop country star. She is well known for the country star who loves to bare her beautiful tummy. The independent star has sold over 18 million copies of her second album the woman in me, which is more than any other female country artist. Bringing world class music to Windsor. A fairly new tradition to Windsor, Ontario is Bluesfest. Bluesfest has been around since 1995, but it is a must if you are in the area during July. The festival brings in all sorts of musical talent especially blues musicians. It also features the famous Rib cook out, and Kidsfest. This festival includes local, regional, and international musicians.
http://www.thebluesfest.com/Windsor/about.htm
http://www.biggeststars.com/s/shania-twain-biography.html
http://www.windsorontario.worldweb.com/

Halifax, NS

2006-04-16T13:00:00.000-04:00

Halifax was founded on June 21, 1749. Although it was founded by General Edward Cornwallis, it was named after George Montagu Dunk (Lord Halifax), President of the British Board of Trade at that time. Most known for its important Naval location, the Seven Years' War and the War for American Independence both used Halifax as a Naval port.

The first newspaper in Canada, the Halifax "Gazette", appeared in 1752 and Canada's first Post Office began operations in Halifax in 1755.

The Halifax Explosion was one of the largest non-bomb explosion. It killed 2,000 people and injured thousands more.

One famous person from Halifax is Peter North. Google his name to find out why he is famous ;), Yeah... that one.

http://www.canadainfolink.ca/ns.htm
http://www.halifax.ca/community/history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_explosion
IMAGE: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Acadie_Sails_Halifax_2004.jpg/350px-Acadie_Sails_Halifax_2004.jpg

Action Week in Sydney

2006-04-14T19:56:00.000-04:00

"Action Week in Sydney"

The most exciting thing to take place in Sydney, Canada's history was the use of its port as a major center for shipping during WWII. Sydney is not to much of an exciting place both culturally and historically, but the use of its port during WWII gave the community the international spotlight until the end of the war. As for famous residents, Sydney does not really have any. But they did contribute one resident to the great cause of hockey sportscasting. Danny Gallivan was born in Sydney on April 11, 1917. He left the town and in 1953, started a 32 yr career announcing for "Hockey Night in Canada." The big festival for Sydney is "Action Week." It is a week filled with action, celebrating Sydney's heritage. The Sydney website states that Action Week is "the only week with 9 days of fun." AWESOME!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Gallivan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney,_Nova_Scotia

http://www.sydney.capebretonisland.com/action.html

http://members.shaw.ca/kimberleyw1/Photos/media/sydneyactionweek.jpg

Bonjour, Trois-Rivières!

2006-04-14T08:49:00.000-04:00

An important historical event in Trois-Rivières was, of course, the Battle of Trois-Rivières in 1776 where, in the midst of the American Revolution, Americans were trying to invade Quebec. The defeat of the Americans by the British made some realize what they should have been concerned with; "let us quit...and secure our own country before it is too late," -- John Sullivan. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Trois-RiviÃ¨res".

A famous person in history, Maurice Duplessis, was born in Trois-Rivières on April 20, 1890. Two weeks before the 1935 provincial election, he put together a partnership between the Action Liberale Nationale party and the Conservatives, creating the Union Nationale. In the August 1936 election, Duplessis and the Union Nationale won and ended the long-time rule of the Liberals.

When it comes to culture, Trois-Rivières has its own hockey team (big surprise, huh?), the Caron et Guay. They also have 2 galleries and a museum dedicated to the paper industry celebrating its part in the history of the city. There are also a number of beautiful old churches with elaborate architecture, and an annual fall food festival, Delices d'automne, in the streets of the downtown area.

Picture courtesy of: http://www.tourismetroisrivieres.com/en/photos.php?id=16

Kitchener part two

2006-04-13T13:19:00.000-04:00

Because of the deeply rooted German background. Kitchener's most famous cultural event is the Oktoberfest! It proudly boasts that it is the largest Bavarian festival outside of Munich, Germany. It is from october 6 to the 14 this year, so make your plans now because hotel rooms get booked up far in advance. Events include a fashion show, a drum corps/marching band show, a band "where Country meets Oompah," a Miss Oktoberfest contest, and tons more. Plus the most important part of the festival, the Festhallen where there is lots of beer and no kids. Also during the celebration is a televised parade on Canadian Thanksgiving, the only major one of its kind! http://www.oktoberfest.ca/
Although there are several famous hockey players, a metal band, and a boxer from Kitchener, the most well-known person from Kitchener (at least for this class) is William Lyon Mackenzie King. He, as everybody should remember, was the prime minister of Canada. The 10th and longest serving one at that, he was in office for a combined 21 years. He was with the Liberal party. Apart from his political life that we learned about in class, he was slightly nuts. An example would be his consulting the dead, including his dog and Leonardo da Vinci, for personal guidance, and only occasionally for political aid. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/primeministers/h4-3250-e.html
Apart from the various historical events I had in the last blog, Kitchener is home to the first ever "blue box" recycling program in 1981. Although I don't exactly know the particulars of this program, it spread from Kitchener to other countries, such as the UK and Australia. It now serves 40 million plus households throughout the world. Yearly they get about 2000 pounds of recycleable material.

link of William Lyon Mackenzie King http://data2.collectionscanada.ca/ap/c/c027645.jpg

Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada #2

2006-04-13T12:18:00.000-04:00

Aside from the founding of Sherbrooke, Quebec, the most famous event wasn't that far back in history. In 2002 the small city grew enormously with the merger of six surrounding boroughs, small townships. The population of Sherbrooke went from 75,916 to a whopping 141,200. Although this event only took place 4 years ago it is a historically important event to occur in Sherbrooke.

One of the most famous people to be born and raised in Sherbrooke is John James Charest (Jean Charest). He became the youngest Cabinet member in Canadian history under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, a Progressive Conservative, back in 1986. However, in 1993, the Progressive Conservative party only had two members elected. Jean Charest was one of the two. He became party leader in 1994. Charest set forth to revive the Progressive Party, under the Tories, and in 1997 the Tories won 20 seats in the House. In 1998 he left active politics and took up leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party. In 2003, under Charest's austere leadership, the Quebec Liberals gained the majority.

Sherbrooke still remains a farming communtiy and is vastly known for their dariy farms.

Works Cited:
http://www.arikah.net/encyclopedia/Sherbrooke,_Quebec (content)
http://www.arikah.net/encyclopedia/Jean_Charest (picture and content)

Toronto - "Yeah Baby!"

2006-04-12T09:40:00.000-04:00

1. Hockey fans all across Canada remember the opening of Hockey's Hall of Fame in Toronto. On June 18, 1993, the Hockey Hall of Fame opened their doors to the public. The new $35 million facility is 57,000 square feet, including 10,000 square feet in the magnificently restored historic Bank of Montreal building located on the corner of Yonge and Front Streets.

The new Hockey Hall of Fame is a world-class sports and entertainment facility that gives Canadians pride about having the Hall of Fame in Toronto and not in the United States (since hockey is Canadian). The Hall of Fame is also one of Toronto's prime tourist attractions, with over 500,000 visitors in its first year. The first Hockey Hall of Fame was built in 1945 in Kingston, Ontario.

2. Mike Myers (aka Austin "Danger" Powers) was born on May 25, 1963 in Scarborough (forms the eastern part of Toronto = "East Disctrict"), Ontario. He is an actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer. Even though he was on NBC's Saturday Night Live from 1989-1995, he is most famous for his role as "Austin Powers" (and Dr. Evil and Fat Bastard and Goldmember) in three of the funniest movies in the past ten years.

3. The biggest annual event in Toronto is The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). It is widely considered to be one of the top film festivals in the world and the premiere film festival in North America. When the film festival ends, the race for the Oscars begins.

It begins the Thursday night after Labor Day (first Monday in September in Canada) and lasts for ten days. Between 300-400 films are screened at approximately 23 screens in downtown Toronto venues. The large amount of public participation in this event makes it the largest film festival in the world.

Picture from: http://hollywoodcostumesandparty.com/austinpowers/austin2b.jpg

The History of St. John's Part Deux

2006-04-11T23:50:00.000-04:00

St. John's is the capital of Newfoundland, and is proudly proclaimed by its residents to be one of the oldest cities in North America. Remains of many wars fought between England, France and the United States can be seen scattered over the countryside in and around this popular city. One of the historical spots in St. John's is Signal Hill, which looks out over the harbor. Here, a decisive battle was fought which ended the Seven Years War. Significant as this was, Signal Hill is also home to another historical event that is perhaps more significant to our modern society. Signal Hill was the location of the receiving end of the first transatlantic message on July 25, 1920. This event opened up the lines of communication, allowing people to talk to others half way around the world. CBC broadcaster Rick Mercer was born in St. John's, and is a well recognized face in Canada. He has also been seen on several late night shows in the US doing stand up comedy. The famous hockey team, the Maple Leafs, was also born in St. John's, Newfoundland. Finally, the local cultural event or tradition associated with St. John's is their annual regatta, called the Royal St. John's Regatta. This event is known as the oldest annual event in all of North America, believing to have started in the early 1800's in this capital city. St. John's is one of the largest, most populated and historical cities in Newfoundland.

Why Regina is cool

2006-04-11T13:05:00.000-04:00

One famous, but also tragic historic event that took place in the community was on June 30, 1912. A cyclone hit Regina on a hot summer day. It killed 28 people, injured hundreds and destroyed about 400 buildings. Twenty-five hundred people were left homeless and there was more than $5 million in damage.

Leslie Nielson, is one of the few famous people that was actually born in Regina. He was born in 1926. He is very funny and is well known for his roles in the movies Airplane and all the Naked Gun movies. He's starred in many other movies and tv appearances. He recently starred in the movies: Scary Movie 3, Scary Movie 4 and Mr. Magoo.

A local cultural event that takes place each summer in Regina, is the "Trial of Louis Riel". Local actors re-enact this trial every summer. This became a tradition after Louis Riel was tried for treason and found guilty in 1885.

Saskatoon's Place in the World

2006-04-10T14:18:00.000-04:00

This is how boring Saskatoon really is. Its major historic event in the city was when Captain Horatio Hamilton Ross lost his $28,000 investment when it smashed against a pier of the steel Victoria Bridge and capsized on June 7, 1908, a year after the bridge was completed. Now that is really facinating. If one would discuss just outside of the city, the major historic event gets a little bit more important with the Riel rebellion and the Duck Lake incidents where the Federal Government steped in and controled a province through the use of force for the first time, which makes this area very significant in the history of the province of Saskatchewan. The most famous person to be born in Saskatoon and today is, and the only real reason why I chose to do this city, a newly discovered author named Yann Martel, who wrote Life of Pi. Yann Martel was born on June 25 1963 and he finished the Mann Booker Prize winning book Life of Pi in 2002. And Lastly, a local cultural event is Saskatoon Harvest Fest. Saskatoon Harvest Fest is a day long event held at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm park where families and communities get together to celebrate the "harvest" as part of their heritage in Saskatchewan. It includes traditional meals, parade, entertainment, street fair, trade show and family dance.

Saskatoon

2006-04-10T13:33:00.000-04:00

Saskatoon was first "discovered" by John Lake between the years 1882 and 1883 when he was representing the Temperance Colonization Society who's main purpose was to build a city based on the philosophy and ideals of the Temperance League, an organization which opposed the use of alcohol. Saskatoon has a very interesting climate and geography. Saskatoon is in a dry-prairie/savanna biome and experiences warm summers and very cold winters. Extreme temperatures range from -40°C in winter to 40°C (-40°F to 104°F) in summer. The city also has 7 river crossings, giving it the nickname "City of Bridges". A major historic event was just a few years ago when its main steel bridge (Saskatoon's first traffic bridge) "Victoria Bridge", opened in 1907 over the South Saskatchewan River, had been condemned on November 2nd, 2002 due to corrosion and will need to either be rebuilt or replaced altogether.

Sudbury, Ontario Featuring Alex Trebek

2006-04-10T12:35:00.001-04:00

The most famous historical event to take place in Sudbury, Ontario was the meteorite impact 1.85 billion years ago. This even was important because without this event, Sudbury would not have been settled/founded, since the meteorite deposited vast amounts of nickel-copper ore as mentioned in the previous blog posting. NASA trained in Sudbury because of the shatter cones that were created as a result of the impact, which gave the city a reputation of being a wasteland. Why else would NASA train for space missions there?
Alex Trebek is by far the most famous person from this city, and he is of course the host of "Jeopardy". With Sudbury, the most important cultural impact/tradition comes from the large francophone population. In fact, 30% of the city is a francophone, which is the largest such proportion in the entire Province. They consider themselves to be Franco-Ontarian, and Sudbury is the center of their cultural history, playing a large role in the development and maintanance of their cultural centers. A couple of these places are the La Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario and the Le Centre franco-ontarien de folklore.

Links Used:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Sudbury,_Ontario
http://www.realitynewsonline.com/images/trebek2.jpg

Sudbury, Ontario

2006-04-10T12:12:00.000-04:00

Sudbury Ontario was incorporated as a Canadian town in 1883, and finally a city in 1930, and is located in Northern Ontario. It is the only city in Ontario with two official names; Greater Sudbury (Grand-Sudbury in French), and just plain Sudbury. The name Greater Sudbury is slightly misleading, because it just refers to the one town of Sudbury, not the metropolitan area like Toronto and Montreal. Grand-Sudbury was founded by the CPR when it was discovered that the land contained vast amounts of nickel-copper ore. This natural resource has been Sudbury's reason for its boom and bust periods during the first half of the twentieth century. A meteorite from approximately 1.85 billion years ago is what caused the land to be rich in these minerals, and is home to a rare geological formation known as shatter cones. A little historical mark, Sudbury was the first city in Canada to install parking meters!

Links Used:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Sudbury,_Ontario
http://www3.sympatico.ca/iek.sak/Sudbury/SudburySummer.jpg

Edmonton, Alberta

2006-04-10T00:38:00.000-04:00

I am very surprised to find that no one in the class chose Edmonton, Alberta as their community. Being as late submission that this is, I will pick up what other classmates decided to leave behind.

Edmonton is said to be the 2nd largest city in Alberta. There was speculation on who actually found it, but some sources say a man was in the general area at one time who went by the name of Anthony Henday. Henday was an explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company which came to name the city Edmonton. The year of its creation was in 1975. The idea of its creation was on the basis of fur trade. The farther they had the outpost to the west the quicker they could retrieve the furs.

A historical event that is worth mentioning is the adoption of Edmonton into Canada. Its inception was the result of a compromise with Louie Riel's demands. Also, in 1948, a polo outbreak occurred there. One girl's journal entry came out expressing her sorrow for eating a fly that carried the virus.

The geography of Edmonton possess a wealth of oil within its border. The city of Edmonton is traditionally laid out like many other cities. A railway runs through the city allowing growth and production through the early years of conception. The CPR claims residency of the train station their in Edmonton.

Information courtesy of
<http://www.edmontonhistory.ca/>

Picture courtesy of
<http://www.4homex.com/images/20514e3.jpg>

Montreal

2006-04-09T18:11:00.000-04:00

1. Most Famous Historical Event.
With the Treaty of Paris in 1763, that ended the Seven Years’ War the colony of New France became a part of the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1775 an American Army marches into Montreal, and the city was captured and occupied. Benjamin Franklin, accompanied by other American politicians, came to the city to try to convince the local people to join the American Revolution. Finally, in the summer of 1776, the Americans leave the city that had already gained its present name of Montreal (wikipedia.org, geocities.com, vieux.montreal).

2. The Most Famous Resident.
For me the most famous resident to be born in the community is the actor William Shatner. He was born in Montreal on March 22, 1931. From 1966 to 1969, and in seven of the consecutive movies, he got most famous for his role as Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the television show Star Trek (wikipedia.org, bellaonline.com).

3. Local Event.
It is the comedy festival “Just For Laughs” or in French “Juste pour rire”. It is held each year in Montreal, and it is the largest festival of its kind worldwide. It began in 1983 as a francophone event. In 1985, it was the first time in English. It is broadcasted regularly on TV, and features comedians from all over the world (wikipedia.com).

Montreal – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal

Montreal Up and Down – Chronology. http://www.geocities.com/ericsquire/docs/mtlchronology.htm

Old Montreal / Centuries of History – A Fortified Town.
http://vieux.montreal.qc.ca/histoire/eng/forta.htm

William Shatner – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shatner

People – Canadian Culture. http://www.bellaonline.com/subjects/5149.asp

Just For Laughs – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_for_Laughs

New Assignment

2006-04-09T12:37:00.000-04:00

This assignment is due by Monday, April 17th at 10am.

Note there is no class on Friday, April 14th.

There are only 22 entries for the last assignment. For those of you who are having problems posting or who did not finish the last assignment, please do it as soon as possible. It is better to be late than not to submit an assignment. This is worth 25% of your grade, so please make sure you do all assignments.

The next assignment is rather interesting...and something continuing along the previous assignment. Using the city you chose for the last assignment, this time, you have a couple things to do.

1) What is the most famous historical event to take place in your community, beside the founding of the city? Why was it important?
2) Since so many missed this one from last week...Who is probably the most famous resident to be born to the community? Why are they famous?
3) What local cultural event or tradition is associated with your community?

Remember, links for any pictures you might use for the above are necessary.

Good luck.

Trois-Rivières

2006-04-07T21:30:00.000-04:00

Even though Trois Rivieres was officially founded in 1634, Jacques Cartier first stopped in the location in 1535, making it Quebec's second oldest city. The location was confirmed in 1603 by a geographer traveling with Champlain and had been called "Trois Rivieres" since then when the name was made official in 1931. Located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, it was conveniently used as a fur-trading post for the first couple of decades of its existence.

Picture courtesy of: http://search.hp.netscape.com/hp/boomframe.jsp?query=Trois-Rivi%C3%A8res&page=1&offset=0&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3Da696a4492f658c54%26clickedItemRank%3D10%26userQuery%3DTrois-Rivi%25C3%25A8res%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.tourismetroisrivieres.com%252F%26invocationType%3D-%26fromPage%3DHPSidebar%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tourismetroisrivieres.com%2F

Winnipeg, Manitoba

2006-04-07T16:24:00.000-04:00

Winnipeg

In 1738, Sieur de la Verendrye founded the Fort Rouge Post on the site of modern day Winnipeg. The city is located in the Red River Valley and was the site of the Red River Rebellion lead by Louis Riel.

In 1873, Winnipeg was incorporated as a city. The city is located at the south end of the Red River Valley and has a very flat geography. The heavy snowfall makes the area prone to flooding. Winnipeg is also a very cold city with the average temperature in the month of January being only 9 degrees!

image can be found at:
http://www.winnipeg-manitoba.com/Town/the-forks.htm

by Lindsay Zabik

St. Catharines-Niagara, Ontario

2006-04-07T15:01:00.000-04:00

St. Catherines began in 1790, when John Hainer and Jacob Dittrick bought land in the area. Since then, it has grown considerably and has developed a very rich cultural history; it is also a source of tourist attraction. It is unknown what the origins of the name St. Catharines are or who named the town, but the name preceded several community names including Shipman's Corners and The Twelve, and it has outlived the other names as well. St. Catharines was the end of the Underground Railroad, the network slaves used to escape the institution of slavery in the southern United States in the 19th century. It is still considered to be one of the most heritage-rich cities in Ontario. St. Catharines also boasts its historical buildings, many of which are now visited by tourists. St. Catherine even has a unique main street; it curves. This curved main road, which is one of the very few still in existence in a city, stems from Indian trails that existed in the area at the time and were a trade route between the Iroquois and the European settlers. For those interested in seeing the sites, St. Catherines has historical walking tours, as well as a trail system made for hiking or cycling. For those who are more interested in water, St. Catherines is located on the Niagara Peninsula, and therefore has many waterways throughout for water-loving tourists. And for those who just love golf (come on, we know you're out there) - St. Catherines has over 40 public golf courses just for you.

http://www.st.catharines.com/index.asp

Hamilton, Ontario

2006-04-07T14:44:00.000-04:00

Downtown Hamilton

Source: <http://www.scenichamilton.com/images/virtual/king-spring.jpg>.

Hamilton, Ontario was first founded as a police villiage in 1833 and was incorporated as a city in 1846. Its founder, George Hamilton (1788-1836), is of Scottish descent and was a well known politician. The city of Hamilton was the first host of the British Empire Games, which is nowadays called the Commonwealth Games. The city's background involving sports does not end with just being host. Hamilton has been the birthplace of many hockey players including Dave Andreychuk, Ken Dryden, Marty McSorley, Pat Quinn, and Steve Staios. Steve Christie, who holds the NFL SuperBowl record for the longest field goal kick is also a Hamiltonian.

The location of Hamilton is very significant to both Americans and Canadians. It approximately represents the half way point between the cities of Buffalo, NY and Toronto, Canada. It is also situated on the western most part of Lake Ontario. Being ranked one of the largest cities in Canada is an honor to all Hamiltonians.

Sources:

Wikipedia: Hamilton, Ontario <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton,_Ontario#Geography_and_climate>.
Wikipedia: George Hamilton <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hamilton_(politician)>.

It's Sydney Canada, Stupid

2006-04-07T12:28:00.000-04:00

Unlike its Australian cousin, Sydney Canada is a small and almost insignificant place. Located in Nova Scotia, Canada, Sydney has a population of 26,000. Founded by Col. Joseph Frederick Waller DesBarres in 1785, Sydney was given a much shorter and more important name than Joseph Fredrick Waller DesBarresville. It was named in honor of Thomas Townshend, who was the 1st Viscount Sydney. Col. DesBarres was named mayor of the new town by Lord Sydney and thus began the very exciting history of this small colony. At the outbreak of WWII, Sydney would become an important place for the first time in history. It's port was used by conveys who were shipping war materials to England throughout the war. Without Sydney's port, they might have had to use another port. The steel and coal industry in Sydney helped the war effort by providing much needed steel and coal to the war effort. A historical fact for Sydney was that in case the British Isles were lost in WWII, Sydney would be the fall back port for the majority of the British North Atlantic Fleet. Sydney is home to the "Sydney Tar Ponds." It is a hazardous waste site on the eastern shore of Sydney harbor. These Tar Ponds are a serious impediment to economic growth and evnironmental stability. The reason being is that it is costing a lot of money to clean it up, and the environment is not to keen about hazardous coal water. So visit Sydney, Canada in the spring. They have steel and coal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney,_Nova_Scotia

http://www.mv.com/ipusers/amy/pics/Sydney_photo.GIF

London, Ontario

2006-04-07T11:17:00.000-04:00

http://www.csj.london.on.ca/files_may05/flower.jpg
to be edited later
1) When was it founded? 1826, fork in the thames river, middlesex county
1a) Who founded the city? Alogonquin and Iriquios, named by Lietenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe
1b) Some significant historical fact about the community (an event, a famous person, etc.) April 13, 1845 fire destroys only fire engine, all of GM's locomotives built in London, Karen Dianne Baldwin 1982 Miss Universe 1st canadian, Frederick Banting co-discovered insulin, the band Kittie, Eric and Brett Lindros hockey, Jack Warner
2) Something significant about its urban geography or layout. Glacier, center of city around Thames
3) A representative picture of the city in spring time.

Kelowna, BC

2006-04-07T09:08:00.000-04:00

The city of Kelowna was founded in 1892, by Father Pandosy, Father Richard, and Brother Surel. These three Oblate Missionaries arrived to the Okanagan Valley in 1859, before establishing Kelowna. The original town area had a population of 600, andin 2005 the population was recorded just below 110,000. The name "Kelowna" was derived from local Indians who encountered huge brown bears in the area, with the settlement of people. Therefore, they took the native word for Grizzly Bear, Kelowna and named the area after that. In 1958 Canada's longest floating bridge was created connecting Kelowna to the opposite untouched side. The Okanagan Lake Bridge stretched 7/8 of a mile. Kelowna is famous and most recognized for being the center point along the Okanagan Lake stretching 100 miles from Pentiction in the south the Vernon in the north. The lake and city is surrounded with numerous sandy beaches, and with temperatures reaching into the 90's it makes for the perfect house boating location. During the summer time the lake is overflowing with boats and water enthused.

http://www.kelownabc.com/

Victoria British Columbia - Harrell

2006-04-07T08:31:00.001-04:00

Victoria British Columbia- Kya Harrell

Captain James Cook was the first European to come to Victoria in 1778, but Victoria was actually founded by the Hudsons Bay company in 1843. At that time Victoria was being used as a trading post for the Indians which they called "Rush of Water." June 1843 the city was officially named by the British queen as Fort Victoria. Victoria in 1852 only had a population of 450. When gold was discovered in British Columbia people from all over came to Victoria to try and get in on the money. Only in a matter of days 20,000 people showed up with their gear and tents. The city of Victoria was no longer a peacefull city, all that changed in hours.

In the early 1900's Victoria was the largest city in British Columbia, and is still the oldest in western Canada. Victoria is on the southern part of British Columbias largest Islands,Vancouver Island. Victoria is known for the great climate, opportunities, and the sites.
References: http://www.city.victoria.bc.ca/common/index.shtml

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.boomercafe.com/ALaCarte/victoria_pix/victoria_1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.boomercafe.com/ALaCarte/victoria.htm&amp;h=187&w=280&sz=14&tbnid=G9EqxJps0IJ4-M:&amp;tbnh=72&tbnw=109&hl=en&start=60&prev=/images%3Fq%3DVictoria

Sherbrooke, Quebec

2006-04-06T23:16:00.000-04:00

The city was founded in the 18th (1793) century by some American Loyalists. The village was originally named after a flour mill owner, Gilbert Hyatt (Hyatt Hills in 1802). However, the village was renamed in 1818 after Governor General Lord Sherbrooke. The city is located where the Saint-Francois and Magog Rivers meet, making it an agricultural center and home to many dairy farms. Sherbrooke grew in 2002 when six neighboring cities merged into a larger Sherbrooke.

Works Cited:
http://www.answers.com/topic/sherbrooke-quebec (content and picture link)

Ottawa: Capital of Canada

2006-04-06T22:33:00.000-04:00

Picture below is Spring in Ottawa.
Founded in 1855, Ottawa is the capital of Canada and is located on the banks of the Ottawa, Rideau and Gatineau rivers. It used to be called Bytown before. The site of Ottawa was explored in 1613 by Samuel de Champlain, who named the Rideau River and the Chaudière Falls, but permanent settlement was not established until the 19th century. Spring takes on special significance with the Canadian Tulip Festival, an internationally acclaimed event.

The Canadian Tulip Festival is an annual celebration of friendship and spring flavored with an international theme and symbolized by the tulip.The first Canadian Tulip Festival was held in 1953. The tulips have become an important symbol of international friendship and the beauty of spring. During the war, the Dutch royal family was hosted at Government House in Ottawa. Princess Margret was born at the Ottawa Civic Hospital. In the fall of 1945.Princess Juliana of the Netherlands presented Ottawa with 100,000 tulip bulbs. The floral gift that began in 1945 has established this region as The Tulip Capital of North America.

Ottawa Valley:

Remnants of the Valley’s history still stand in the numerous ghost towns along its old government settlement roads, signaled by simple plaques and crumbling graveyards. Each is tied, in one way or another, to the timber and agriculture industries that thrived in the Valley in the mid 1800s and sustained the area’s early pioneers

Halifax, Nova Scotia

2006-04-06T22:30:00.000-04:00

Halifax, Nova Scotia was founded in 1749 when Governor Edward Cornwallis created the first permanent British town there. Halifax is home to the worlds second largest natural harbor. In Terrance Bay there is a memorial to the SS Atlantic which wrecked there in 1873.

The area of Dartmouth is the home to the BIO which stands for Bedford Institute of Oceanography. The BIO is located at the base of the MacKay bridge where a wide range of projects in fisheries sciences, oceanography and hydrography take place. Another attraction in Dartmouth is the Black Cultural Centre of Nova Scotia. This museum tells the long history of the African-Canadian experience in Nova Scotia.

Another fact about Halifax is that they played a big role in the rescue missions of the Titantic. Three Halifax ships aided in the rescue.

the THUNDER from down under

2006-04-06T22:05:00.000-04:00

Thunder Bay, or Baie de Tonnaire, was established by French Couriers des bois, who transported furs and goods in the early 1800's. Thunder Bay, Ontario was officially created through a Provincial bill on May 8th, 1969. The first mayor of the town was Saul Laskin.

The city of Thunder Bay, among other things, was home to sporting events from the 1974 Olympic Winter Games, and also is home to a reconstruction of Old Fort William, the hub of the Canadian fur trade in the early 1800's, located in the east end of Thunder bay.

The Thunder Bay website has a really cool layout of it's economic development... the link is: http://www.thunderbay.ca/docs/business/493.pdf

Anyway... something significant about the urban geography... well Thunder Bay is located at the junction of Lake Superior and its tributary, the Kaministiquia River, which, as I mentioned, was an important fur trading post for the French. There is also particularly good silver mining in the area of the Sibley peninsula, which is right across from Thunder Bay. The easy access to the Kaministiquia River and Lake Superior made ship travelling easy, and while the CPR was brought to Fort William in the late 1800's, Thunder Bay served as a host to many railroad workers.

all information came from: http://www.thunderbay.ca/index.cfm?fuse=html&pg=313
picture came from: http://www.thunderbay.ca/media/hi_res/sealion_hi.jpg

Calgary, Alberta

2006-04-06T01:44:00.000-04:00

Calgary lies at the foothills of the Canadian Rockies on the high plains. It is the largest city in Alberta with a population (2005) of 956,078 people. The beautiful locale and large city draw many tourists.

The city of Calgary was founded in the 1870s as a post for the North West Mounted Police. In 1876 the fort was named fort Calgary after Calgary Bay on Scotland's Isle of Mull. This name was suggested by Colonel James F. Macleod. In the early 1900s oil was discovered in Calgary and created a large boom in population, even today the city as a very large growth rate.

The city itself is very diverse, it contains the third largest chinatown in Canada as well as a Little Italy. This cultrual section is located around the inner city area. In the suburban section is the Canada Olympic Park which houses the Canadian Olympic hall of fame. Calgary is also known for the "Calgary Stampede" which is an annual 10 day celebration with a rodeo, parade, concerts, games, and wagon races. Lastly, the city is a paradise for shoppers, it houses everything from gemstone shops to ethnic shops and has something for everyone.

Calgary Traffic Cams

Information:
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/calgary/calgary.htm
http://www.where.ca/calgary/
Image:
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/15976/index.html

Barrie, Ontario

2006-04-05T21:44:00.000-04:00

Barrie was founded in 1832 by Sir Robert Barrie. It is located on Kempenfelt Bay in southern Ontario. Barrie was in charge of the naval forces, and they frequently used the bay as a naval station. Barrie hosts a lot of tourism, with some events such as the Arts and Crafts festival which attracts over 300,000 people annually.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://sanddollar.homestead.com/files/Postcards/SPBarrieONB.jpg&imgrefurl=http://sanddollar.homestead.com/1worldlocation1.html&h=685&w=1001&sz=47&tbnid=_5h23CsbEp-zwM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=149&hl=en&start=5&prev=/images%3Fq%3DBarrie,%2BOntario%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26rls%3DHPIB,HPIB:2005-17,HPIB:en%26sa%3DN

Oshawa, Ontario

2006-04-05T09:44:00.000-04:00

Oshawa, Ontario was founded in the late 1700's. It started off as a transfer piece of the fur trade. As time went on it grew to become an industrial centre of manufacturing and exporting goods.
Oshawa gets its name from the Seneca native term for " crossing of a stream."
Its the place of the Canadian division of General Motors headquarters and major assembly plant, which has been Oshawa's lifeblood since 1876.

Oshawa remains in certain ways an urban centre unto itself, adjoined by several suburbs in its Census Metropolitan Area, which is entirely contained within the Toronto Area. Its industrial base and colourful labour history also make it an unusual kind of suburb. However, Oshawa is today considered part of the Toronto.

Pic from: http://www.grrsystems.com/Samples/LakeviewPark/200x150/LakeviewPark-Oshawa-Ontario-10.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oshawa,_Ontario

Regina, Saskatchewan

2006-04-04T12:36:00.000-04:00

On December 1, 1883 Regina officially became a town. It was founded by William Richard Motherwall. Over 20 years the population grew to 3,000 people. On June 19, 1903, Regina then officially became a city. In 1905, Saskatchewan became a province. A year later Regina was named it's capital. In 1885, Louis Riel was invited to help the Metis of Saskatchewan to build a headquarters in Batoche. As a result, the men of Regina formed a group called the "Blazers" to defend their small town of Regina against the Metis. The "Blazers" defeated the Metis and Riel was tried for treason, found gulity, and hanged inRegina. Today, each summer the trial of Louis Riel is reinacted by local actors of Regina. Regina is located in the center of grain-growing country. The land in Regina seems to stretch to the end of the Earth, where you can see the bright blue sky seems to touch the earth. The city of Regina is often the City on the Horizon.

Vancouver, BC

2006-04-03T23:15:00.000-04:00

On July 27, 1827, 25 men led by James McMillian of the Hudsons Bay Company established the first european settlement that would eventualy be incorporated as part of the city of Vancouver. Originally founded as a fur trading outpost, the settlement eventually shifted to a predominantly logging based industrial town. In 1884, the CPR decided to make the settlement the terminus for the CPR, and encouraged the growth of a city in its location to support the railway. As such, on April 6th, 1886, and with a population of 400 people, the city was incorporated into Vancouver. Two months later, the almost the entire city, consisting mostly of shacks at the time, was wiped out in 45 minutes by what would come to be known as the great fire. Only hours later, while the fire was still smoldering, rebuilding commenced. Afterwards the city experienced numerous economic booms, turning the backwood city into a thriving port city that is now home to over 1.8 million residents. Due to the city's prominence as a major pacific coast port, the city hosts a sigificant minority (29.9 %) of Chinese immigrants and hosts the second largest china town in North America.

http://www.discovervancouver.com/gvb/history-of-vancouver.asp
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=14293
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver

St. John's, Newfoundland

2006-04-03T19:04:00.000-04:00

Much like the early colonial settlers of the United States, a majority of the early settlers in Canada congregated along the Atlantic shores. There, they formed small, semi-permanent fishing villages, occupied temporarily throughout the years by European explorers seeking treasure and new land. The city of St. John's, being that it is farthest east in all of north America, was one of the first cities to be settled by the English. According to literature located on the city's government website, St. John's was named in honor of the Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist, as this was the very day in 1497, that John Cabot arrived.
Since 1497, St. John's has been home to many different cultures, including English, Portuese, French, and Irish. However, in spite of the multi-cultural history, fishing has always prevailed as a major economic activity for this merritime city. Its prime location and lucrative fisheries allowed the city to grow slowly but surely over the years, giving it the population to boast being one of the largest cities in Canada by the late 1600's. St. John's still holds this title, falling in second place as largest merritime city, and 19th in overall Canadian cities.
Over the past centuries, St. John's has been put to use for more than just fisheries, however. They were used as a base in both the War of 1812, and the American Revolutionary War by the British Navy. St. John's is also commonly visited by tourists looking to get a glimpse into one of the oldest North American cities. St. John's is even home to the oldest road in North America, called Water Street.

Picture retrieved from:
http://www.citymayors.com/gratis/canadian_cities.html
To view updated images of the city of St. John's in Newfoundland, visit the link below:
sky cam:http://www.ozfm.com/skycam.htm

Windsor

2006-04-03T16:28:00.000-04:00

In the year 1701 Sieur De Lamothe Cadillac founded Fort Pontchartrain on the Detroit side of the river, which later would become Windsor, Ontario. The City of Windsor, Ontario was founded in 1892. Before Windsor would become a city it would first be a Village in 1854 and then a Town in 1858. In the beginning, the foundation of Windsor was made up of a French population, which can be seen within the city still today. The street patterns throughout Windsor reflect a French method of agricultural land division. The farms that were settled in Windsor were butted up against the river, which made the farmland long and narrow. In 1854 something big hit the town of Windsor. The Great Western Railway chose Windsor as its stopping point. With the development of the railway this brought industrial development to the little town of Windsor. Sadly there were many fires and reconstruction of the downtown area so few original town buildings are still standing today.

For more about Windsor, Ontario:
www.citywindsor.ca

Kitchener

2006-04-03T14:29:00.000-04:00

Kitchener was once part of a tract of land that was owned by the Six Nations Indians. Around 1797, they sold 38,000 hectares (could be a lot... I certainly don't know) of their land to a Colonel Richard Beasley. Also around that same time some Mennonite German Pennsylvanians were looking for a place to call their own, where they would not have to be in the military or be persecuted for their religion. They caught wind of this land of Beasley's and purchased a portion of it by the end of 1800. Thus Kitchener was born! The German once-Pennsylvanian Mennonites really fancied this area and decided to unite and purchase the rest of Beasley's land. In 1816, the land became known as the Township of Waterloo and from then on it had a steady flow of German immigrants. By 1912, the urban center of the Township of Waterloo became a city, and fittingly it was named Berlin. However, WWI turned the happy city of Berlin into something evil... hence a name change was due! A British guy named Kitchener was honored with having the city renamed after him. Hooray for the good guys!
When the railroad came to Berlin/Kitchener it brought with it a flurry of industry. In as little time as a century, Berlin/Kitchener became a major center of industry in Canada, the Dominion of. There was even a button factory! Because of the factories, big buildings, and over-worked laborers there was a need to create zones for residential fun life and for industrial work life. The Adams-Seymour Plan took care of that and thought ahead too! The plan allowed for the expansion of the city past it's traditional, historical, and established city limits.

http://www.city.kitchener.on.ca/visiting_kitchener/history.html

http://www.gardenstructure.com/waterloo-decks/garden/gate-arbor-waterloo02.jpg

Montréal

2006-04-03T13:23:00.000-04:00

Montreal is the second largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec with an estimated population of 3,635,700. The city is the third largest French city after Paris and Kinshasa, and the second largest French- speaking metropolitan area in the world. The French language is most common, but many of the residents are bilingual (wikipedia.org).

1. History
On October 2, 1535, Jacques Cartier, the first European, entered the village of Hochelega, on the Island of Montreal. In 1611, Samuel de Champlain, arrived on the Island and established a fur trading post, named La Place Royale. Twenty-eight years later, in 1639, the first permanent European settlement was created by Jerome Le Royer, a French tax collector. On May17, 1642, a handful of French settlers and missionaries set up the mission named Ville Marie. They were determined to convert the Native American Indians to Christianity, but only the peace treaty in 1701 stopped the Native Indians’ attacks. In 1760, Pierre Francois de Rigaud surrendered to the British army, until that time the town was French. In 1763, New France became a part of the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1775, American Revolutionists held the city for a short time. By this time the city already had gained the name of Montreal, but only was incorporated as a city in 1832 (wikipedia.org).
The establishing of the headquarters of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1880 and the establishing of the Canadian National Railway in 1919 were big events in the history of Montreal. The Expo’67 and the Summer Olympics in 1976 add to the list of events. Forty years later, the city is seriously considering a bid to host the Summer Olympics in 2016 (wikipedia.org).

2. Location
Montreal is located about 168 miles southwest of Quebec City, the provincial capital, in the south western corner of Quebec. The city is situated on the Island of Montreal where the Saint Laurence and Ottawa Rivers meet. At one end of the St. Laurence Seaway lies the port of Montreal, which is the gateway that stretches from the Great Lakes up into the Atlantic Ocean, the connection to the international world (wikipedia.org).

Montreal is a growing international city, a dynamic center of commerce, industry, finance, and world affaires, and it is also a city with a great history that lives the motto: “Concordia Salus – Well-being through harmony” (wikipedia.org).

Montreal – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal

http://www.jmu.edu/international/images/progphoto_montreal_jazz_streets.jpg

Toronto

2006-04-03T10:48:00.000-04:00

Toronto, formerly known as "York" is home to more than 100 cultures and is Canada's largest city. The 4.7 million people that live there make Toronto the 5th largest city in North America (after Mexico City, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago). In fact, more people live in Toronto than in Canada's four Atlantic provinces combined.

The first people to settle Toronto were the Huron Indians. They named the area "Tor-on-toe" for their word for "meeting place." The first Europeans to come here were French fur traders, explorers, and missionary Catholic priests. A small French fort was built and was located on Toronto's west end, at the mouth of the Humber River.

The French then gave the fort to the British follwoing their defeat in the Seven Years War in 1763. Then in 1793, the British further fortified the fort calling it "Fort York." The small town of York was then planned and built furthereast on the north shore of Lake Ontario. It became the city of Toronto in 1834.

Today, 1/4 of Canada's population is located within 100 miles of Toronto and more than 60% of the population of the USA is within a 90-minute flight. As the capital of Ontario, Toronto is the industrial and business center for the country. The city is also home to the MLB's Toronto Blue Jays and the NBA's Toronto Raptors.

Other than the two official languages of Canada (English and French), Toronto has five other languages that are prevalent. They are: Chinese, Italian, Tamil, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Image from: http://www.coachtrips.com/tourImages/3643.jpeg

New Assignment

2006-04-03T10:04:00.000-04:00

Spring is coming to Canada...sometime soon, or maybe in a few weeks depending on where you are. There are numerous cities in Canada, ranging from the metropolis' of Toronto and Montreal to smaller communities like Sydney, NS or St. John, NB.

Here is a list of the 30 largest Canadian communities...

http://www.citymayors.com/gratis/canadian_cities.html

Choose one from the above list and write something about the city you choose.
1) When was it founded?
1a) Who founded the city?
1b) Some significant historical fact about the community (an event, a famous person, etc.)
2) Something significant about its urban geography or layout.
3) A representative picture of the city in spring time.

This is due by 5 pm, Friday April 7th.

Cirque Du Soleil

2006-03-31T18:04:00.000-05:00

Cirque Du Soleil - Lindsay Zabik

Cirque Du Soleil is Canada's top performing live performance company. Founded by Guy Laliberte and Daniel Gauthier in 1984. Laliberte spent the early 80s as a street performer in Quebec. Cirque evolved and grew from its humble street festival beginnings to become one of the most spectacular human circus shows on the planet.

Featuring no animals, Cirque focuses on mindbending acrobatics backed by live original music. Some of the Touring troupes include: Saltimbanco, Quidam and Verekai. A few resident troupes includes Orlando's La Nouba, Las Vegas's O and sensual Zumanity.

The company is private and doesn't publish financials, but Forbes estimates that in 2004, the company was worth $1.2 billion. The company is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

I chose Cirque Du Soleil because they really put on an amazing circus show without utilizing animals. They are proof that all performing arts aren't declining in popularity.

Image can be found at: http://www.logoboy.co.uk/page-contests-Cirque%20Du%20Soleil.htm
Forbes article can be found at: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2004/0315/100_print.html

CAE

2006-03-31T15:40:00.000-05:00

Source: CAE <http://www.cae.com/www2004/About_CAE/sim.shtml>.

Formally known as Canadian Aviation Electronics, CAE has grown and prospered into a global civil and military aviation supplier of flight simulators. The company was formed post WWII by a former Royal Canadian Air Force officer, Ken Patrick. He desired to "...create something Canadian and take advantage of a war-trained team that was extremely innovative and very technology-intensive" (www.cae.com history).

Since its inception, CAE has been known for their exceptional aircraft simulators. Origionally tailoring to the Canadian military, CAE now supplies aircraft simulation equipment to military forces and commercial airlines around the world.

CAE has received numerous awards including being ranked number one of the top 20 Canadian defense companies. With a workforce of over 5,000 employees in 17 different countries, Montreal, Canada still remains the site of CAE's corporate headquarters and primary manufacturing facilities. Revenues for fiscal year 2004 almost reached $1 billion Canadian dollars. In recent news, CAE is a chosen manufacturer of a full motion flight simulator for the new jumbo-airliner by Airbus, the A380.

My personal reason behind choosing this top Canadian company is due to its outstanding achievements since the very beginning and its relevance and critical role in aviation worldwide.

Sources:

CAE websites <www.cae.com>.

<http://www.cae.com/www2004/About_CAE/history.shtml>.

<http://www.cae.com/www2004/About_CAE/awards.shtml>.

Canadian National Railway (CRN)

2006-03-31T12:48:00.000-05:00

The Canadian National Railway or Canadian National Railways (CRN) is the largest railway and is currently the only transcontinental railway company in Canada, from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. Canadian National Railways was created between 1918 and 1923, comprising several railways that had bankrupted and fallen into federal government hands, and some railways already owned by the government. In 1995 the Canadian federal government privatized the company, which led to the expansion of the railway into the United States, owning several railways and using them for passenger transport until 1978. The Main usage of the railways that the Canadian National Railways own is for freight transport. The need for this company was paramount during the Winnipeg General Strike and the Red Scare; a time of civil unrest and foreign military intervention. The headquarters of the company is located in Montreal. I chose this company because of how it made Canada smaller and more united, from communication to transport speed, and that this company's railways set the stage for the growth of the economy of Canada.

CBC - "It touches the lives of our citizens on a daily basis."

2006-03-31T10:20:00.000-05:00

The CBC/radio-Canada was created in 1936 because of the growing influence American radio was having over Canada. It was to be distinctly Canadian and to be in both French and English along with several aboriginal languages, at least since 1991 when there company's policies were changed to reflect a new government policy. It provides radio, TV, and news to "inform, enlighten, and entertain." From - http://www.cbc.radio-canada.ca/about/pdf/CBCFacts.pdf . Of course their coporate policies are to provide the best service, the highest quality programming, to be well-managed, be good to its employees, and to make money too. Canadians pay around 30 bucks a year for this outstanding service. It's speciality programming includes a documentary channel! It's main headquarters are in "the heart" of Ottawa, on Queen Street to be precise. Then it has it's other locations in every region of the country, Maritimes, Quebec, Alberta, the North in general. I picked the CBC because everything else I looked up had no information that was easy to get at, and of course I love the CBC!

links for some stuff... http://www.cbc.radio-canada.ca/facilities/index.shtml
http://www.cbc.radio-canada.ca/home.asp

The Bank of Nova Scotia

2006-03-31T07:26:00.000-05:00

The Bank of Nova Scotia, aka Scotiabank, was founded in 1832 in where else but Nova Scotia. Despite their name, today's headquarters are located in Toronto. Starting just a couple of years after its founding, the bank quickly grew to develop offices in the US and overseas, and today they have 950 branches in Canada with 775 offices in 45 other countries. The bank offers a wide range of services including personal and corporate banking, investments, loans, and trusts among many others. I chose this company because I thought that a company originating in Nova Scotia rising to the top of the corporate world was impressive, compared to companies in more famously urban areas like Montreal, Quebec, etc.

Picture courtesy of: www.scotiabank.com

The Thomson Corporation

2006-03-31T06:54:00.000-05:00

The Thomson Corp. is one of the world's largest information systems providers/distributors in the world with headquarters in Canada, U.S.A., U.K., and Australia. But this global company began in 1934 when Roy Thomson purchased The Timmins Press and 20 years later he owned more newspapers in Canada than anyone else. The business has boomed ever since.
They are information providers for many industries including financial, healthcare, learning, legal, and scientific. In 2005 alone they brokered many deals across all of these areas. They partnered with ABC to provide ABC with historical footage for making educational shows; In partnership with Dow Pharmaceutical they passed to a new treatment for rosecea; with Merill-Lynch they opened up more workstations for people's use;etc.
Thomson is also a very charity oriented company, making typical donations but also encouraging employees to volunteer in the community, even offering incentives to those that do. And the Thomson Corp. Donated a little over $4 million(U.S) to help with Hurricane Katrina relief.

INTouch:one of the fastest growing canadian companies in the past 3 years

2006-03-31T02:05:00.000-05:00

24-7 INtouch (www.24-7intouch.com) is a multi-channel call center
outsourcing company that provides practical and affordable customer
relationship management solutions across various industries. Using the most advanced technology in the industry and Certified Sales and Customer Service Representatives, 24-7 INtouch is dedicated to helping clients increase their sales and strengthen their customer service. Currently, the company’s primary products are the outsourcing of inbound call center services and live online customer support solutions such as Live Web Chat.

Between 2002 and 2004, 24-7 INtouch experienced a period of accelerated
growth, with annual revenues increasing by 195% over the two years. This
period was characterized by an increase in call center staff and management, investment into the latest call center technology, and implementation of aggressive growth initiatives.

24-7 INtouch’s growth has continued over 2005, as the company has been
aggressively selling additional value added services supported by the call
center, such as live chat, merchant payment services, and web design
services. “We have worked extremely hard at growing our business at a fast, but manageable pace,” says Fettes. “Our momentum will continue over the next few years as we implement several new strategies to differentiate ourselves from the competition.”

Why eat a DONUT when you can eat a BIG WIENER?

2006-03-30T23:44:00.000-05:00

In 1834 the May family settled in Ontario, farming and raising livestock. The farm grew over the years, and during the Great Depression, Lawrence May "Bompy" started delivering eggs door to door to provide for his family. Bompy's sons soon joined this business, and the May farm began selling meat chickens out of a cooler in the back of Bompy's truck.

Maple Lodge Farms was an established company by 1955, and today continues to service Canada's craving for chicken from its headquarters in Ontario. The business is 100% family owned. Maple Lodge Farms provides enough chicken for every meal of the day, any way you like it. Some interesting facts, which I've taken directly from the site:

Maple Lodge Farms:
employs 2200 people
operates two facilities (one in Ontario and one in New Brunswick)
processes 400,000 chickens per day
delivers 2.5 million kilograms of chicken per week
export 17,000 MT of chicken products annually to 30 different countries

Some of the products you can sample include:
Bacon (never contains pork or beef!!)
Chicken deli meats
Fresh chicken
Fresh seasoned chicken... and more!

My personal favorite is the Big Original Chicken Frank or, as the French say, "Le Super Originale"

I say, if you're sick of Timbits, head on over to Maple Lodge Farms and indulge yourself with a nice Chicken Frank!

Of course I chose Maple Lodge Farms for the humor factor of the super chicken frank, it was only an added bonus when I realized the founder's name was "Bompy". Honestly, what were their parents thinking? Kyle you better put this one in the book...

Seriously though, Maple Lodge Farms ranks ninth on the top ten list of food production companies in Canada. They grossed a little less than $500,000 US dollars at the end of January 2005 (that was for a year). This info came from: http://www.globeinvestor.com/series/top1000/tables/sector/2005/food_production.html

Maple Lodge Farms info came from:
http://www.maplelodgefarms.com/en/products.asp?lID=74

Canadian Natural Resources Limited

2006-03-30T22:19:00.000-05:00

Canadian Natural Resources Limited(CNRL) began in Alberta in 1989, as a group of only 9 people. It is an oil and natural gas company that is still based in Calgary, Alberta, but now has grown to a corporation of about 2,500 employees. Its enterprise value has grown in the last few decades from about $1 million to about $22 billion, as its production of oil per day has increased from 1,400 to 530,000.

CNRL is one of the largest producers of natural gas in Canada, maintaining four natural gas areas in Western Canada and distributing its product throughout North America. It also produces crude oil and liquids; its current thermal oil production is 45,000 barrels per day.

Currently, the CNRL is executing its Horizon Project. This project is an attempt to extract oil in the oil sands of Alberta, which contain over 300 million barrels of oil reserves. CNRL is also a member of many groups in Alberta, including the Athabasca Regional Issues Working Group (RIWG). This organization is in place to make sure development of resources and oil extraction is done responsibly.

The CNRL caught my attention because of its quick climb to the top 50 Canadian companies after its founding in 1989. Of course, it is not surprising that a company in the oil industry would make a lot of profit and grow quickly, but how quickly it grew is still amazing. It is also interesting to see all the different endeavors this company, like other oil industry companies, is involved in, from natural gas to crude oil to oil sand extractions.

www.cnrl.com

Canpotax, potash & You!

2006-03-30T22:10:00.000-05:00

Canpotax is the worlds LARGEST exporter of "potash", what IS "potash" you ask? Well its fertilizer my good friends, made from a boring process of burning tree stumps which makes lye which is boiled down makes Potash. Ta-da, stunning in its simplicity, conplex in its power over living things.

The main headquarters of Canpotex is located at,
Suite 400, 111 – 2nd Avenue South
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Canada S7K 3R7

The main reason I chose this company is twofold, firstly I couldnt find any big canadien "adult product" companies, and secondly for the fact that the word "potash" is about as silly as it can get.

Eafle Professional Resources INC.

2006-03-30T21:42:00.000-05:00

Eagle Professional Resources ia a privately owned Canadian company focused on staffing services. They try to provide the best IT professionals that can meet the technological challenges of today. They were founded in 1996 and now have ten offices across the country of Canada. Their annual revenue has grown from $10 million to $87 million and that is why they are ranked in Canada's 50 best managed conpanies since 1999.
They now have around 90 employees which provied IT technology staffing for companies. This company is based in Ottawa, ON. and I chose them becuase I thought their growth was pretty intresting. They are almost making $1 million per employee, which I think it fairly amazing.

BOMBS AWAY!!!!

2006-03-30T21:02:00.000-05:00

I choose to do Bombardier Aerospace. This firm is the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, with a net income of $249 million for fiscal year 2005. Bombardier makes business jets, short-range airliners, and amphibious aircraft. Bombardier Aerospace also has a subsidiary company called Bombardier Traxx. They manufacture modular locomotives for transportation. They built up their empire by acquiring Canadair in 1986. After the acquisition, Bombardier acquired de Havilland Aircraft of Canada from Boeing. In 1989, they acquired Short Brothers Aircraft based out of Belfast, Ireland. They turned all three company's to profitability, and in 1990, Bombardier acquired bankrupt Learjet who were based in Wichita, Kansas. They are based out of Montreal, Quebec and is one of the largest company's in Canada.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_Aerospace

http://www.bombardier.com/index.jsp?id=3_0&lang=en&file=/en/3_0/3_0.jsp

Imperial Oil Limited

2006-03-30T20:42:00.000-05:00

Imperial Oil is one of Canada's most powerful corporations, and one of the leading company's in the oil industry not only in Canada, but around the world. Imperial Oil was created in 1880 when 16 oil refiners in London, Ontario. Fredrick Fitzgerald was the companies first president in 1880. There were two refineries one in London, and the other in Petrolia, Ontario. Early oil drillings started in Southwestern parts of Ontario, and the first head office was also in London at the time. Imperials first offical gas station is located in Leduc, Alberta. Today the company is responsible for deveolping and expanding the oil industry. The company pioneerd the development of the oil sands in Alberta. Imperial Oil has grown to be one of the largest producers of crude oil, and one of the major prodcuers of natural gas. Imperial Oil has also become the larget refiner and merketer of petroleum products. The company is currently producing 6% of the countries primary enegery source. Major offices for the company are located in Toronto, Montreal, and Canada. Recently in 2005 the headquaters for Imperial Oil relocated from Toronto to Calgary. Plants are located in Halifax, Sarnia, Edmonton, and Cold Lake.

I have chosen Imperial Oil, because of a personal relationship with the company. I am from Calgary and my Mother works for Imperial Oil in the human resource department for headquateres. I also chose this company for the fact that they support different charities around the country and have made some of the most significant donations to help others. In 2002 the company donated over $7.8 million to the community. Today the company donates through the Imperial Oil Foundation which contributed $6.7 million to more then 400 organizations.

http://www.imperialoil.ca/Canada-English/HomePage.asp

Gerdau Ameristeel

2006-03-30T17:57:00.000-05:00

In 1937, Ameristeel started off in Tampa. It was first Florida Steel Products, a construction industry. They started growing out of its local boundaries and expanding into other things like rail products, collated nails and wire mesh. They're headquartered in Brazil, Gerdau S.A. Gerdau S.A operates in South America and Canada. I picked this company because when I was looking them up I liked them because they made a big move from 2003 to 2004. They were ranked 931 out of 1000 Canadian companies. In 2004, they were ranked 43 out 1000 companies. The big move up from being a horrible company to getting in the top 50 made me choose them.

Learn to Golf in Canada

2006-03-29T18:14:00.000-05:00

Coming in at number 34 on PROFITguide.com's top 50 canadian revenue growths is a small company called GolfIQ. GolfIQ, based out of Calgary, Alberta, is a fairly new web based company run by golf teacher, founder, and CEO Scott Nichol, dedicated to selling products and services designed to aid people with their golf swings. From putting aides to course tips to personal lessons, this company prides itself on being able to help correct lousy golfswings across Canada.

I chose this company because it struck me funny that a couple guys in the middle of Canada telling people how to swing a stick is recognized as one of the top growing companies in Canada.

http://www.golfiq.com/index.aspx
http://www.profitguide.com/hot50/2005/hot50.asp?Rank=31

Schneider Food Company---- Kya Harrell

2006-03-29T17:32:00.000-05:00

Schneider Foods company was started in 1890 by John Metz Schneider. J.M Schneiders business started out very small. Schneider and his wife Helena started out making pork sausages and selling them at peoples doors in their town Kitchener in Ontario. After they began to make money they opened up their own shop.

Schneiders is one of the largest food companies in Canada, and they sell there products to food markets all over Canada and the united states. Schneiders is famous for their sausages, hams, bacon, and other meats.

I choose to do Schneider Company because I thought the research I found on banks and other companies like that was boring. Food companies are more interesting because I love food and I am learning something new about the food industry. I never really pay any attention to the meats I buy and since Schneider sales their products to food markets in the United States I may have already bought their product and did not even know about it.

The Schneider headquarters is located:

Schneider Foods
321 Courtland Ave. East
P.O. Box 130 Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2G 3X8

Reference:http://www.schneiders.ca/contact/index.html
http://www.schneiders.ca/index.html