Why are there no or few Canadian Heroes?

Reason 3


Canada is not a military-heavy nation-


        Look around the globe and you will find many military heroes, conquerors and the like.  Canada has few of these violent heroes for the simple reason that Canada is not a military powerhouse. It's not what we do here would be the easiest way to summarize.  For example, when examining a list of the Worlds Famous Conquerors   (http://www.bukisa.com/articles/355243_worlds-famous-conquerors), not surprisingly, there are no Canadians present among them.
Charlotte Gray described this phenomenon well saying "we put forgotten prime ministers, like Robert Borden, on our bank notes, rather than kings and conquerors. The political and military heroes of other countries are celebrated for their fierce individualism and driving determination. But these are not Canadian qualities: Canada is not a militaristic nation." Indeed this is true. This is because Canada has never been in a war of its own (basically). We don't get invaded (last time was in 1812). However Canadians are usually involved, lending a helping hand, or looking on from the background. Example: The Cold War (1950-1991) was between USA and the USSR. Canada while not being in the war (mostly a war of words, no shots fired), was still very much involved through events like the Avro Arrow and protection plans like NORAD. My point here is that it's never usually CANADA'S war.....but we're a part of it...kinda of like a supporting actor or actress, maybe even an extra???

Part of the reason there are no great Canadian war heroes is because they are successful as a collective group. Every Canadian soldier chipping in to do their part. As a result of these acts it is Canada that is recognised collectively, not singling out an individual. Something that is quite uniquely Canadian :)
A great example of this would be the WW1 battle at Vimy Ridge (1917) in Northern France. The soldiers who fought/risked/gave their lives are with out a doubt heroes. However no single name comes to mind. This bloody battle instilled a sense of nationalism and pride, as well as the beginning of a Canadian Identity. This historic victory was a total team effort. There was no legendary soldier who stormed the ridge and took it single handednly. Yes there were leaders and generals. Yes there were medals awarded to soldiers there. But the point is that is was done by many Canadians. Not solely a single hero, rather a collection of brave, true Canadian heroes. This battle is perhaps the most famous Canadian battle and a great source of pride and our identity.

How are heroes honoured???

If you were a hero, how would you want to be honoured?

Maybe a statue, or a school named after you? How about your own section of a highway? What about a mountain, or Provincial Park? A road or street or a stamp? A song dedicated to you? Your very own coin?

Kind of cool to dream :)

Well Terry Fox, arguably our nations' greatest hero, has been honoured with all of those.  Well deserved too. 

Here's his stats...

32- Roads and Streets

14- Schools

7- Statues

not to mention...Mount Terry Fox (in the Canadian Rockies) and in 2005 the mint created a coin of Terry as well as other honours in his name.  Are these the greatest Canadian honours? And if a person is honoured in this fashion does that make them a hero???

Any Canadian Peacekeeping Heroes?

Canada is well known as a international peacekeeping powerhouse of sorts. So wouldn't it make sense that there would be a handful of Canadian peacekeeping heroes??? But there are none that would pop into most Canadians heads.  Why is this?  Perhaps after the Somalian incident where a boy was beaten to death by members of the Canadian Airborne Regiment in 1993, all Canadian Peacekeepers were written off as heroes.  After all this incident was deemed "Canada's National Shame".  How could any heroes come from peacekeeping after a tragedy like that.  Though there very well might be peacekeeping heroes (i.e. all who have made the ultimate sacrifice), none come to my mind.  Maybe that incident has led to peacekeepers not being mentioned in the conversation as heroes. Or maybe not.  The point I'm trying to make is that...
Canada is hockey powerhouse---I know these heroes.  The household names of Gretzky, Richard, Howe, Lemieux
Canada is a peacekeeping powerhouse---None come to mind (even though they are out there).

This leads to the next reason why Canada lacks heroes!

List of (fairly) Common Canadian Heroes...

Here are some of the Canadians who come appear while searching the internet for Canadian Heroes...

Military-John McCrae (wrote "In flanders fields"), Billy Bishop, Isaac Brock, Laura Secord, Arthur Currie

Athletic-Terry Fox, Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Lauren Woolstencroft, Barbara Ann Scott, Steve Nash, Maurice Richard, Ferguson Jenkins http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferguson_Jenkins

 Nash from Victoria, B.C.

Scientific-Alexander Graham Bell, David Suzuki, Marc Garneau, Roberta Bondar, Maude Abbott, Willard Boyle

Political- Robert Borden, Chief Poundmaker, Pierre Trudeau, Wilfred Laurier (on the $5 bill), John A. Macdonald, Louis Riel

  Wilfred Laurier. 

Others: The Group of Seven (painters)...

This is just a sample of some of our nations' great heroes.  

also thanks to---- http://www.canada-heros.com/index.html---- for helping me out.

AGREE or DISAGREE with any of the people up there??  Any notable omissions???

Feel free to comment!!!

Why are there no or few Canadian Heroes? Part 2

Reason 2

Canada is not unified-  With Canada's various groups and cultures, it makes it difficult to decide on a hero who appeals to all of them. Charlotte Gray provides some great examples of this when she says "Louis Riel is a hero to Métis and francophones, and a mad trouble-maker to anglophones. Even national figures are enmeshed in regional rivalries: Pierre Trudeau is the darling of Toronto's Liberal élite and a menace to Quebec nationalists and Alberta oilmen." So this proves that it is possible to become a hero to some groups within Canada, but darn near impossible to win over all of Canada.
To read  more of Charlotte Gray's article and to check out more...visit this site :)  http://www.greatquestions.com/en/KeyDebates.html?id=HeroesSymbols

What encompasses a hero?

This is what I discovered for simple definitions of a hero:
1. Someone who acts to help another with no thought for herself or himself.
2. Someone who is admired for achievements or noble qualities.

Why are there no or few Canadian Heroes?

Reason 1

• Canada is too young-We've only been around for about 150 years.  Canada was delcared a dominion in 1867 and this only encompassed 4 provinces.  By this time symbols and heroes in places such as France were already doing their thing.  Look at their heroes http://www.conservapedia.com/Gallery_of_French_Heroes. All these pictures are black and white for goodness sakes.  Old heroes like Robespierre philosopher who was born in 1758 long before Canada was close to being created and was still mostly a vast expanse of land, nothing more.  Perhaps France's greatest hero Joan of Arc was born in 1412.  Canada has nothing of that sort of history.  Thus, Canada hasn't had enough time to manufacture its heroes.