After reading Jenny Ellison’s activehistory.ca post about Terry Fox as a unifying Canadian figure I couldn’t help but think about my own encounter with Canada and Canadian-ness at the Terry Fox Centre in Ottawa. Encounters with Canada was just one of many nationalistic youth programs implemented to encourage Canadian patriotism by assembling high school students from the Atlantic to the Pacific and giving them a week of experiences that were both educational and nation-building.
It was conceived of in 1978 as part of a nation-wide survey by the Canadian Unity Council which gauged national interest for “a pan-Canadian youth program which would raise awareness of Canada's heritage and institutions,” and launched in 1982, shortly after the first Québec Referendum and one year after Terry Fox’s death. The current website describes the opportunity as: “… a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Canadian teens to meet young people from across the country. …[to] [t]ake part in exciting adventures, explore future career options, learn more about [their] country, share [their] hopes and dreams – all through exclusive hands-on workshops, presentations and excursions.”
After taking the train for 24-hours from Halifax to Ottawa I joined my comrades from central, prairie, and far-western Canada in Ottawa to watch a film on the life of Terry Fox. By the end of that experience we were all in tears, most likely the combined result of teenage hormones, sleep-deprivation, and the overwhelming emotional impact of Terry’s sacrifice. What a way to set the tone for a week-long exploration of Canadian culture in the nation’s capital. In addition to the unifying atmosphere, it was October 1994—only a year prior to the 1995 Québec Referendum. Referendum part II.
At the end of the week, we were all gathered in a circle to describe how the experience had impacted us. How we felt about being part of such a wonderful country, something bigger than ourselves. During the process of sharing, Quebecois students revealed that their provincial media outlets were informing them that they were unwanted by English Canada. Of course, English students responded with an outpouring of love and acceptance, articulating their desire for national unity. Again, the teenagers were in tears—French and English Canada engaging in lingering embraces for comfort and, well, most likely an opportunity to be close to other attractive young Canadians.
Objective met.