THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE 1960s
Most important decade in Canadian history ever?
Celebrating Canada's Fascinating History
The 1960's was known to Canada as the decade of the Quiet Revolution or the decade in which our economy fell and crashed after the fifties. Our dollar fell to just above 90 cents. But, even though this was a disappointing period for Canada, we did have a lot of interesting and fairly successful events in which shaped our country to what it is today. A strong, popular and free country. As a prosperous decade for Canada, the 1960's saw the Natives earn the right to vote in federal governments, a new red and white maple leaf flag became Canada's national icon, and Canada had fully grown into an international place of business because of Expo 67.
The Red Maple Leaf!
The all new Canadian flag that we know and love was officially revealed in 1965 in the House of Commons.
Expo 67!
On Canada's Centennial, Expo 67 was held in Montreal and was one of the most successful events in Canadian history.
Natives earn the right to vote!
1960 Prime Minister John Diefenbaker pushed the voting rights legislation through Parliament as the Natives earned the right to vote.
Natives Praise P.M Diefenbaker
July 1st Natives Can Vote
On July 1, 1960, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker pushed the voting rights legislation through Parliament as Natives earned the right to vote in federal governments. This event was a huge accomplishment in Canada politically because now we can get a new look on our government through the eyes of everyone everywhere in Canada. The key players in making this possible were of course the native people, John Diefenbaker and the parliamentary committee. With John Diefenbaker doing this, he has brought Canada closer together politically and the country now can all agree on their government and needs together as one and now the Natives are somewhat happy and feel like they are actually being heard for once as they should be for being the initial nation of Canada. But, there was a lot of controversy about this, as according to cbc.ca, many people were not happy about this. On the 50th Anniversary of this event, National Chief Bill Erasmus as he quotes "it affected our country nation-to-nation for the not so good". But overall, most people were fairly happy or didn't even care about the natives earning the right to vote. 1960 will forever be known for the year of the Aboriginals.
Protesting in Vancouver
This is an example of how Canada is still experiencing problems with the Natives as here Aboriginals prevent traffic on the highway in Vancouver. Luckily, only for a short period of time.
Native Protest Vancouver BC, Canada - Dec 2 2013
The Maple Leaf!
The New Red, White Maple Leaf Flag
On February 15, 1965, our country took a big step forward and changed a lot socially with Parliament announcing that we have a new red and white maple leaf flag to represent our country internationally. It changed Canada socially because now we are known to other countries differently and that it takes a step to fully separating from Britain and closer to independence. And according to mapleleafweb.com, it symbolizes unity, tolerance and peace. The key players in this big change to our country were the Governor General Georges Vanier, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, the members of the Cabinet and the creator of the flag George Stanley. This topic was an on going conversation for years as Parliament always wanted to change the flag. With this, it created a lot of controversy on what the flag should look like. Surprisingly, not everyone liked the flag that we have and love today, some people liked certain flags in which you would think of today as out of touch. This event was one of the greatest (if not the greatest) and proudest moments to be a Canadian as when we introduced the flag, we took a huge step forward towards independence. This new flag is still in use today, and we are recognized as the country of the maple leaf, can you imagine if we did not change our flag or we chose a different flag? It's very hard to imagine.
CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT THESE FLAGS WERE ACTUALLY CLOSE TO BEING PICKED AS OUR NATIONAL ICON?
The True Story of the Canadian Flag
The real story behind the Canadian Flag
OH CANADA, THE FLAG HAS RISEN
O Canada- February 15, 1965, the Maple Leaf flys for the first time
THE ONE AND ONLY EXPO 67!!!!!!!!!
A Risk Turned Success
The World Fair is an international exhibition of the industrial, scientific, technological and artistic achievements of the participating nations. In 1967, Montreal held this World Fair. There was a lot of controversy about Canada holding this huge event mostly how much it actually cost to host it, as we had to pay millions and millions of dollars. And people were thinking that since Canada is not necessarily the go to place to hold an international convention, that Expo 67 may be a big mistake that P.M Lester B. Pearson has made. Yet Pearson proved everyone wrong as Expo 67 was the most successful World Fair ever at the time. This changed our country economically because we earned an astonishing amount of money from this and because of the success that was Expo 67, Canada now can host a variety of international events in the future. Without these people, Expo 67 would not be possible- Lester B. Pearson, Pierre Dupuy, C.F. Carsly, and the Deputy Commissioner General. Expo 67 was even more special because it was the Centennial(100th) anniversary of Canada, so this event was almost like Canada's birthday present from the whole world. In my opinion, Expo 67 was the biggest and most important event of the 1960s.
FUN FACT OF THE DAY!
The USSR was actually the first country chosen to hold the World Fair in 1967 to celebrate their 50th anniversary, but due to unknown reasons, they cancelled it and then The World Fair got handed over to Canada to host for their centennial. And to add on, the first day of Expo 67 set a record with the most people arriving to a fair on the first day ever with over 500 000 people in attendance.
Raw Footage from Expo 67
Expo '67 (1967)
Expo 67-Canada ( The Centennial Song
Expo 67 - Canada (The Centennial Song)
This song by Bobby Gimby was made to celebrate Canada's Centennial and Expo 67
The End to a Compelling Decade
In the end, the 1960s were not necessarily Canada's most successful decade as a country as we experienced the Quiet Revolution and the last time the Toronto Maple Leafs have won a Stanley Cup. But many positives came out of it as our country grew politically in the Natives earning the right to vote. Socially, with the introduction of the new Maple Leaf Flag, and economically with hosting Expo 67. As those 3 events are cemented into Canadian history as the most greatest moments of our time as a country.