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Montreal Canadiens
Stanley Cup champions,
1978
(From Top to Bottom)
RCMP Musical Ride,
Ottawa, Ontario
The industrious beaver
39
Discover Canada
Victoria. The buildings were completed in the
1860s. The Centre Block was destroyed by an
accidental fire in 1916 and rebuilt in 1922. The
Library is the only part of the original building
remaining. The Peace Tower was completed
in 1927 in memory of the First World War. The
Memorial Chamber within the Tower contains the
Books of Remembrance in which are written the
names of soldiers, sailors and airmen who died
serving Canada in wars or while on duty.
The provincial legislatures are architectural
treasures. The Quebec National Assembly is
built in the French Second Empire style, while the
legislatures of the other provinces are Baroque,
Romanesque and neoclassical, reflecting the
Greco-Roman heritage of Western civilization in
which democracy originated.
Popular sports
Hockey is Canada’s most popular spectator
sport and is considered to be the national winter
sport. Ice hockey was developed in Canada in
the 1800s. The National Hockey League plays
for the championship Stanley Cup, donated by
Lord Stanley, the Governor General, in 1892. The
Clarkson Cup, established in 2005 by Adrienne
Clarkson, the 26
th
Governor General (and the first
of Asian origin), is awarded for women’s hockey.
Many young Canadians play hockey at school, in
a hockey league or on quiet streets—road hockey
or street hockey—and are taken to the hockey
rink by their parents. Canadian children have
collected hockey cards for generations.
Canadian football is the second most popular
sport (see page 26). Curling, an ice game
introduced by Scottish pioneers, is popular.
Lacrosse, an ancient sport first played by
Aboriginals, is the official summer sport. Soccer
has the most registered players of any game in
Canada.
The beaver
The beaver was adopted centuries ago as a
symbol of the Hudson’s Bay Company. It became
an emblem of the St. Jean Baptiste Society, a
French-Canadian patriotic association, in 1834,
and was also adopted by other groups. This
industrious rodent can be seen on the five-cent
coin, on the coats of arms of Saskatchewan
and Alberta, and of cities such as Montreal and
Toronto.
Canada’s official languages
English and French are the two official languages
and are important symbols of identity. English
speakers (Anglophones) and French speakers
(Francophones) have lived together in
partnership and creative tension for more than
300 years.
You must have adequate knowledge
of English or French to become a Canadian
citizen.
Adult applicants 55 years of age or over
are exempted from this requirement.
Parliament passed the
Official Languages Act
in
1969. It has three main objectives:
• Establish equality between French and English
in Parliament, the Government of Canada and
institutions subject to the Act;
• Maintain and develop official language
minority communities in Canada; and
• Promote equality of French and English in
Canadian society.