This sad news is the result of a recent Ipsos Reid poll commissioned by Historica Canada.
Not shocking enough? Well, according to the poll, 28% of Canadians polled didn’t even know the year of Confederation!
For readers not familiar with the year Canada became a country—including the aforementioned 28% who missed this question—the answer is 1867.
How about this? Forty-four per cent of respondents didn’t know that Canada will turn 150 years old in 2017. This is also disturbing, for it means that either this group didn’t know the year of Confederation (essential to do the calculation), or they did know it, and in doing the math, failed basic addition (or subtraction, depending on one’s methodology in performing calculated date functions).
Either way, it shows that of the 44% who got the wrong answer, 100% of this group failed rudimentary Canadian history, and/or rudimentary math.
Oh, my!
I could go on and on...
Maybe we need more Heritage Minutes! (An excellent series of vignettes – well-worth a look).
Canadian Recipients of the Victoria Cross Honoured through the "Toll of War," a project that tells the stories of the valour and sacrifice of Canadians in the World Wars.
The press release says that the “Funding for a unique visual and educational program that will inform Canadians about the wartime actions and sacrifices of Canadian soldiers during the World Wars was announced today by the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Member of Parliament (Fredericton), on behalf of the Honourable Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages.”
The Victoria Cross was created by Queen Victoria in 1856, and was awarded to Canadians in all conflicts up to the end of the Second World War. The last Victoria Cross to be awarded to a Canadian was in 1945. There have been 98 Canadian recipients (Canadian-born, serving in the Canadian Army, or having a close link to Canada).
A new Canadian honour, the Canadian Victoria Cross—which retains the same design and the same awarding criteria as the British Victoria Cross—was unveiled by the Governor General on May 16, 2008. It joined a suite of Canadian Military Valour Decorations that include the Star of Military Valour and the Medal of Military Valour.
You will know this name because of Cook’s work at the Canadian War Museum and for his contributions to promoting Canada’s military history as an author, researcher, and curator.
He is the author of eight books, including Shock Troops: Canadians Fighting the Great War, 1917-1918, a winner of the Charles Taylor prize for literary non-fiction. His latest book, The Necessary War, was published this year, and is the first of two volumes on Canadians in the Second World War. The second volume, Fight to the Finish, will be published next fall.
The Order of Canada, one of our country’s highest civilian honours, was established in 1967 to recognize outstanding achievement, dedication to the community, and service to the nation. Since then, more than 6,000 Canadians from all sectors of society have been invested into the Order.
Although I don’t have any ancestors in Ontario at that time, this list can be important to those people who do.
And that was the week in Canadian genealogy, history, and heritage news!
Reminder: Check the Canadian Week in Review next Monday for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada. It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in country!
The next post will be on 19 January 2015.
