El desarrollo de la cultura Canadiense

Canadian culture is a term that embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, humour, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Canada and Canadians. Throughout Canada's history, its culture has been influenced by European culture and traditions, especially British and French, and by its own indigenous cultures.[1] Over time, elements of the cultures of Canada's immigrant populations have become incorporated into mainstream Canadian culture.[1][2] The population has also been influenced by American culture because of a shared language, proximity and migration between the two countries.[3][4]

Canada is often characterised as being "very progressive, diverse, and multicultural".[5] Canada's culture draws influences from its broad range of constituent nationalities, and policies that promote a just society are constitutionally protected.[6] Canadian Government policies – such as publicly funded health care; higher and more progressive taxation; outlawing capital punishment; strong efforts to eliminate poverty; an emphasis on cultural diversity; strict gun control; and most recently, legalizing same-sex marriage – are social indicators of Canada's political and cultural values.[7]

Canada's federal government has influenced Canadian culture with programs, laws and institutions. It has created crown corporations to promote Canadian culture through media, such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), and promotes many events which it considers to promote Canadian traditions. It has also tried to protect Canadian culture by setting legal minimums on Canadian content in many media using bodies like the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).[8]

Contents [hide]

1 Development of Canadian culture

1.1 Historical influences

1.2 Evolution of legislation

1.3 Identity

1.4 Nationalism and protectionism

2 Symbols

3 Humour

4 Arts

4.1 Visual arts

4.2 Literature

4.3 Theatre

4.4 Television

4.5 Film

4.6 Music

4.7 Video games

5 Media

6 Sport

7 Cuisine

8 Outside views

9 See also

10 References

11 Further reading

12 External links

Development of Canadian culture[edit]

Historical influences[edit]

Main articles: Canadians and History of Canada

fur traders at work as depicted in 1777 by Claude J. Sauthier

For tens of thousands of years, Canada was inhabited by Aboriginal peoples from a variety of different cultures and of several major linguistic groupings.[9] Although not without conflict and bloodshed, early European interactions with First Nations and Inuit populations in what is now Canada were arguably peaceful.[10] First Nations and Métis peoples played a critical part in the development of European colonies in Canada, particularly for their role in assisting European coureur des bois and voyageurs in the exploration of the continent during the fur trade.[11] Combined with late economic development in many regions, this comparably nonbelligerent history has allowed Aboriginal Canadians to have a lasting influence on the national culture while preserving their own identity (see: The Canadian Crown and Aboriginal peoples).[12] Over the course of three centuries, countless North American Indigenous words, inventions, concepts, and games have become an everyday part of Canadian language and use.[13] Many places in Canada, both natural features and human habitations, use indigenous names. The name "Canada" itself derives from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word meaning "village" or "settlement".[14] The name of Canada's capital city Ottawa comes from the Algonquin language term "adawe" meaning "to trade".[14]

A Canadian war bond poster that depicts an industrious beaver a national symbol of Canada

The French originally settled New France along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and Saint Lawrence River during the early part of the 17th century.[15] Themes and symbols of pioneers, trappers, and traders played an important part in the early development of French Canadian culture.[16] The British conquest of New France and subsequent immigration, during the mid-18th century brought the large Francophone population under British rule, creating a need for compromise and accommodation.[1] The migration of 46,000 United Empire Loyalists from the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolution (1775–1783) brought American colonial influences. The Canadian Forces and overall civilian participation in the First World War and Second World War helped to foster Canadian nationalism,[17] however in 1917 and 1944 conscription crisis's highlighted the considerable rift along ethnic lines between Anglophones and Francophones.[18] As a result of the First and Second World Wars, the Government of Canada became more assertive and less deferential to British authority.[19]

Canada until the 1940s saw itself in terms of English and French cultural, linguistic and political identities, and to some extent aboriginal.[20] Legislative restrictions on immigration (such as the Continuous journey regulation and Chinese Immigration Act) that had favoured British, American and other European immigrants (such as Dutch, German, Italian, Polish, Swedish and Ukrainian) were amended during the 1960s,[21][22] resulting in an influx of diverse people from Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean.[23] By the end of the 20th century, immigrants were increasingly Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Jamaican, Filipino, Lebanese and Haitian.[24] As of 2006, Canada has grown to have thirty four ethnic groups with at least one hundred thousand members each, of which eleven have over 1,000,000 people and numerous others are represented in smaller numbers.[25] 16.2% of the population self identify as a visible minority.[25]

The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver's Chinatown is the first full-size Chinese or "scholars" garden built outside of China

Canada has also evolved to be religiously and linguistically diverse, encompassing a wide range of dialects, beliefs and customs.[26][27] The 2011 Canadian census reported a population count of 33,121,175 individuals of whom 67.3% identify as being Christians; of these, Catholics make up the largest group, accounting for 38.7 percent of the population.[28] The largest Protestant denomination is the United Church of Canada (accounting for 6.1% of Canadians), followed by Anglicans (5.0%), and Baptists (1.9%).[28] About 23.9% of Canadians declare no religious affiliation, including agnostics, atheists, humanists, and other groups.[28] The remaining are affiliated with non-Christian religions, the largest of which is Islam (3.2%), followed by Hinduism (1.5%), Sikhism (1.4%) Buddhism (1.1%) and Judaism (1.0%).[28] English and French are the first languages of approximately 60% and 20% of the population; however in 2011, nearly 6.8 million Canadians listed a non-official language as their mother tongue.[29] Some of the most common non-official first languages include Chinese (mainly Cantonese with 1,072,555 first-language speakers); Punjabi (430,705); Spanish (410,670); German (409,200); and Italian (407,490).[30]

Evolution of legislation[edit]

Main articles: Official bilingualism in Canada, Human rights in Canada and Multiculturalism in Canada

French Canada's early development was relatively cohesive during the 17th and 18th centuries, and this was preserved by the Quebec Act of 1774, which allowed Roman Catholics to hold offices and practice their faith.[31] In 1867, the Constitution Act was thought to meet the growing calls for Canadian autonomy while avoiding the overly strong decentralization that contributed to the Civil War in the United States.[32] The compromises reached during this time between the English- and French-speaking Fathers of Confederation set Canada on a path to bilingualism which in turn contributed to an acceptance of diversity.[33] The English and French languages have had limited constitutional protection since 1867 and full official status since 1969.[34] Section 133 of the Constitution Act of 1867 (BNA Act) guarantees that both languages may be used in the Parliament of Canada.[34] Canada adopted its first Official Languages Act in 1969, giving English and French equal status in the government of Canada.[35] Doing so makes them "official" languages, having preferred status in law over all other languages used in Canada.[35]

Monument to Multiculturalism, by Francesco Pirelli in Toronto.

Prior to the advent of the Canadian Bill of Rights in 1960 and its successor the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, the laws of Canada did not provide much in the way of civil rights and this issue was typically of limited concern to the courts.[36] Canada since the 1960s has placed emphasis on equality and inclusiveness for all people.[37] For example, in 1995, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Egan v. Canada that sexual orientation should be "read in" to Section Fifteen of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a part of the Constitution of Canada guaranteeing equal rights to all Canadians.[38] Following a series of decisions by provincial courts and the Supreme Court of Canada, on July 20, 2005, the Civil Marriage Act (Bill C-38) received Royal Assent, legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada.[39] Canada thus became the fourth country to officially sanction same-sex marriage worldwide,

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