One more sleep and it’s Canada Day. Time to break out the red and white and head into Steveston for Richmond’s biggest festival of the year.
And, of course, this isn’t just any Canada Day — it’s the big 150.
Now, there are some who would quibble about the date. And, in fact, what happened in 1867 was not really the birth of a nation but more a realigning of British colonies.
The passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931 was actually a bigger deal in terms of gaining independence. And, of course, full independence didn’t happen until the Canadian constitution was repatriated in 1982.
But, whatever. Why let some pesky historical details get in the way of a party?
And speaking of historical details, in honour of the big day, we (actually, reporter Graeme Wood) have combed through the Richmond archives to piece together a feature that looks back (way back to 10,000 B.C. in fact) to highlight 150 moments that have brought us to where we are today.
So what have we found?
There was a time when the island that is now Richmond simply didn’t exist. Well, I guess it did in some form, deep in the ocean.
By 3,000 B.C., however, indigenous peoples were living here, hunting and fishing, primarily in the summer. By the late 1790s, the first explorers arrived, then came the early settlers. By the 1920s, it was a boom town, by the 1970s, a bedroom community, and by the 2010s, a bustling municipality.
Richmond’s history, like much of Canada’s, is filled with remarkable feats, dark tragedies, but, in the end, is resplendent with memories.
CBC Radio has been asking listeners to tell of a moment they felt most proud to be Canadian.
For me, it was when I was 18 and hitchhiking along the Sinai Peninsula (don’t try this today, kids) with a couple of girls I’d met on an Israeli kibbutz — one from Scotland another from Spain.
We happened to stop at a restaurant/hotel where there was a huge map of North America on the wall. I pointed out my home town of Calgary and was surprised at the surge of pride I felt. Until then, I’d thought of Canada as just a less-cool America.
Shortly after, I was travelling with a young Welsh woman, and self-proclaimed feminist/socialist. She challenged me on my nationalism, saying it leads to the likes of Hitler.
There’s no doubt many lives have been destroyed in the name of nationalism.
There is no doubt that the colonization of land in the creation of Canada has come at an horrific price for indigenous people.
But there is still something that defines me as a Canadian. Something that is far from perfect but something I’m proud to celebrate.
Happy Canada Day!
