I AM CANADIAN

Nationalism can be seen in this clip; the Molson Canadian's I am Canadian advertisement. This clip best represents what it means to be Canadian and shows how Canadians see themselves and how we want others to see us. To look at how Canada is represented we would have to analyze three things: our national anthem, the flag that represents Canada, and our Canadian symbols. Canadians take great pride in these things. The national anthem brings all of Canadians together as we stand tall and proud when it is played. The national anthem is played every morning in high school and elementary schools for 2 minutes and all Canadians in the school feel a sense of pride and nationalism. The anthem is also played at the beginning of sports games.

 As Canadians we value our nation as being the best in the world at hockey. As you can see in the clip when he is yelling “we are the first nation of hockey”. He is saying this because nations will highlight their achievements and assets. Since we are the best at hockey as a nation we build our culture around hockey and strive to be the best. Another part of Nationalism is our flag and how it is seen worldwide. In the clip the man mentions that “we can proudly sow our country’s flag on our bags”. This is something that our country takes pride in because or flag is nationally recognized and when people from other country see it they automatically associate Canadians with being “nice”. This is also mentioned in the clip as he says “I don’t know Jimmy, Sally or Suzie but I’m sure they are nice”. This notion of Canadians being nice and well respected as a multicultural nation is shown in the clip when he says that “we believe in diversity not simulation”. As Canadians we pride ourselves on accepting all cultures and religions.

One of Canada most recognizable symbols is the beaver. This symbol has be used for a long time and has become an iconic symbol which appears on our currency. The guy in the clip mentions that the beaver is a “proud and noble creator". This is exactly how Canadians and other countries view our nation. We are a proud and noble country. With creating our nation’s identity we highlight our achievements as a nation and represent our nation through our national Anthem, our flag and symbols.

Hobsbawm, E. (1983). The Invention of Tradition (pp.1-14). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.