Everything you wanted to know about
Canada!
Architecture
Canadian architects have generally participated in global trends in
architectural styles. In the 1930s they adopted the modern International
Style of cubic forms, austere
surfaces, and large windows. In the past few decades they have helped to define
the Post-Modern movement, returning to historical elements such as classical
motifs and 19th-century decorations. Interesting examples of vernacular, or
folk, architecture—architecture designed by everyday people for everyday
purposes—abound throughout the country. So-called significant buildings, those
that exemplify particular movements or set new styles, are largely to be found
in Canada’s metropolitan areas, especially Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, and
Ottawa-Hull.
Copyright 2007 © All rights reserved. Designed By: Mays Domat
Many influential architects practice in Canada, but Arthur
Erickson and Moshe
Safdie are probably the best
known. Erickson’s dramatic designs began to achieve prominence in the early
1960s after his proposal for the Simon Fraser University campus was selected; he
is also well known for the University of Lethbridge, the Museum of Anthropology
at the University of British Columbia, Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto, and the
Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Safdie’s career was established with his
innovative design of Habitat at Expo ’67 in Montréal, and he has since worked
in a variety of international settings, including Israel, Iran, Mexico, and
Singapore. Aside from Habitat, his principal contributions to Canada have been
in important civic structures, particularly the National Gallery of Canada in
Ottawa and the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Québec. (See also Canadian Art and
Architecture: Emergence of Indigenous Canadian Architecture.)
Writers, Artists, and Musicians
The field of Canadian literature is large and complex, and includes voices from the various regions and many cultural groups of the country. Notable Canadian poets include Irving Layton, active since the 1940s, and Dorothy Livesay, who was most prolific in the 1970s and 1980s. Children around the world have enjoyed Anne of Green Gables, by L. M. Montgomery, a 1908 classic set in rural Prince Edward Island. Hugh Maclennan, Robertson Davies, and Margaret Laurence set new standards for Canadian fiction in the mid-20th century. Other important writers have followed, such as Margaret Atwood (novelist and poet), Gabrielle Roy, Anne Hébert, Marie Claire Blais, and Alice Munro. Many have drawn on their experiences as immigrants or members of minority groups in their fiction: Mordecai Richler (Jewish), Michael Ondaatje (Sri Lankan), and Neil Bissoondath (Caribbean) are just a few examples. (See Canadian Literature.)
The earliest works of visual art in North America were produced by indigenous groups. European colonists introduced their artistic traditions almost as soon as they settled in the land that became Canada. The defining moment for post-Confederation Canadian art, however, is generally acknowledged to have been the formation of the Group of Seven in Toronto during the 1910s and 1920s. The post-Impressionist images of elemental nature created by these painters have inspired generations of Canadian artists.
Other distinctly Canadian schools were the Canadian Group, the Contemporary Art Society, the Automatistes, and Painters Eleven. The Canadian Group, formed in Toronto in 1933, practiced regionalist painting, which took daily life as its subject matter. The Contemporary Art Society was formed in Montreal in 1940 to produce experimental work based on Parisian models. Among this group was Paul ةmile Borduas, who developed a spontaneous, abstract painting style. The Automatistes, who emulated his style, formed around him after 1945; they included the renowned abstract expressionist painter Jean Paul Riopelle. Painters Eleven, including Jock Macdonald, William Ronald, and Harold Town, were formed in Toronto in 1953 to produce abstract works in the cubist tradition. There are thousands of artists now at work in Canada, producing paintings, sculptures, and other media of great variety. Among the best-known are Michael Snow, Joyce Wieland, Greg Curnoe, and Bill Reid. (See Canadian Art and Architecture: The Present.)
Pianist Glenn Gould is probably Canada’s most widely recognized classical musician, particularly for his innovative interpretations of Bach. In the 1990s, guitarist Leona Boyd and opera tenor Ben Hoeppner were among the more visible Canadians on the international stage. In the past, Canadian popular-music artists looked to the United States as the primary market for their music; in fact, several, such as Paul Anka, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell, emigrated to the United States. By the 1970s, however, Leonard Cohen, Anne Murray, and other artists demonstrated that it was possible to reach an international audience from a Canadian base. In part, this was made possible by the CRTC requirement of 30 percent Canadian content on all radio stations operating in Canada. A thriving Canadian popular-music industry emerged in the 1980s and 1990s; a few particularly well-known Canadian performers are Bryan Adams, Céline Dion, k.d. lang, The Tragically Hip, and Alanis Morissette.
Theatrical and Musical Institutions
The performing arts in Canada are supported by government and private grants. The National Arts Centre in Ottawa, which opened in 1969, has a resident symphony orchestra and both French and English theater companies. Visiting opera and dance companies perform there, and in summer its terraces along the Rideau Canal are the scene of band concerts.
A number of major theater, opera, dance, and musical groups are found in the large cities; these groups also tour the provinces and travel abroad. The chief theatrical centers are the cities of Québec, Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver. The theaters of these cities make an effort to present new Canadian plays as well as imports and classics. Opera companies include the Canadian Opera in Toronto, two companies in Montréal, and six in the west—in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Saskatoon. Among the principal dance companies are the National Ballet of Canada, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montréal. The Toronto Dance Theatre, Les Ballets Jazz in Montréal, and a number of small companies present modern dance. The prominent orchestras include the Montréal Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, and the Vancouver Symphony.
There is also a thriving film industry in Canada that is bolstered by popular film festivals—the Toronto International Film Festival, Montréal World Film Festival, and Vancouver International Film Festival—as well as state support through Telefilm Canada. Canadian-born Norman Jewison, a prominent director in the U.S. film industry, returns to Canada periodically to develop work. Films by several Canadian directors are gaining international acclaim. These include Adam Egoyan’s brooding films, such as Exotica, and the products of Québec directors François Girard (32 Short Films About Glenn Gould) and Denys Arcand (The Decline of the American Empire; Jesus of Montréal; Love and Human Remains, written by Canadian playwright Brad Fraser).
Libraries and Museums
The federal government’s National Museum Policy of 1972 provides subsidies to regional and local museums and has encouraged and supported the growth of museums throughout the country. Canada has more than 2100 museums, archives, and historic sites, the most important of which are in the national capital region. These include the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Québec, which celebrates Canada’s multicultural heritage; and, in Ottawa, the Canadian Museum of Nature (formerly the National Museum of Natural Sciences), the National Museum of Science and Technology, and the National Gallery of Canada. The latter exhibits European art, a growing collection of Asian art, and a large body of work by Canadians.
The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto has collections of art, life and earth sciences, and materials typical of Canadian culture. Among more specialized museums are Upper Canada Village, a restoration of 18th- and 19th-century buildings in Morrisburg, Ontario; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Museum in Regina, Saskatchewan; and the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, which contains important displays of indigenous artifacts.
The National Library of Canada, in Ottawa, issues the national bibliography and maintains union catalogs of the collections of more than 300 other libraries. Its holdings, including a comprehensive collection of Canadian newspapers, exceed 14.5 million items. The Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, also in Ottawa, is the center for the dissemination of scientific and technical data. Provinces and cities have their own libraries. Particularly outstanding university libraries are those of the universities of Toronto, British Columbia, and Montréal.
Festivals
Canadians and visitors enjoy summer festivals, such as the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario; the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-lake, Ontario; and Cultures Canada, a series of multicultural events in Ottawa. Local traditions are preserved in a wide variety of events, including the Highland Games on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia; the Sherbrooke Festival de Cantons in Québec City, celebrating French Canadian culture and cuisine; the Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin, Manitoba; and Discovery Day in Dawson, Yukon Territory. There are also a number of music festivals in Canada. Montréal is known for its jazz festival, and Toronto and Winnipeg for their folk music festivals. In the fall, “Fringe Festivals” in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Victoria showcase new theatrical performances.
Canada has an advanced economy, and the majority of its citizens enjoy a high quality of life by world standards. Historically, much of this wealth has been generated through the extraction and processing of natural resources, especially fish, furs, timber, minerals, and farm produce. Increasingly, however, manufacturing and service activities have been added, and Canada now has one of the most complex economies in the world. Canada is also highly integrated into the global economy through trade, with 33.6 percent of its GDP dedicated to exports.
The Canadian economy has grown more rapidly than those of most other developed countries since the recession of the early 1990s. This success is due to several factors, including low inflation, low interest rates, and a low Canadian dollar (with respect to other major currencies), all of which helped exports to grow. However, this growth has not generated as many jobs as analysts expected. Canadian businesses have found ways to increase their output by introducing more efficient methods of production rather than hiring more workers. Also, the role of government in the Canadian economy has declined, and with it the number of jobs in the public sector. In 1996 Canada’s unemployment rate was over 10 percent, which is high for the OECD countries; the average among those countries for 1996 was just under 8 percent.
During the decade between 1986 and 1995, the Canadian economy grew 20.4 percent and reached a GDP of C$776.3 billion, representing a per-capita income of C$25,900. The mining, communications, utilities, trade, and financial services sectors grew the most rapidly in output, while employment growth was greatest in nongovernmental services. At the same time, the proportion of GDP accounted for by federal government expenditure decreased from 23.1 to 15.2 percent, the result of the sale of several large government-owned corporations as well as reduced program spending.
