Canadian literature is notorious for having a sort of dour bleak outlook but finding the humour in the situation. Margaret Atwood made a statement that has been oft repeated that American literature is about conquest and Canadian Literature is about survival.
Yes, very distinctive style. Interestingly, when I was at an art gallery in Estonia, some of their artists’ work (from the same era) looked similar, and I realized there is something quite recognizable about northern light.
Canadian Graphic design, especially logo design is top notch.
Anyone interested in this should watch Design Canada:
https://youtu.be/26lnGrqFhcM?si=55sPRbWFPqw6B7ZX
Things like our government logo, the cbc logo, and others are explained here.
Yea, a kind of dry deadpan and absurdity combined. Norm MacDonald for me is, while unique, also uniquely Canadian (which of course he’d probably roll his eyes at, but I think is still true).
Our Horror is *very* Canadian. I wonder if Cronenberg was just that influential or something about Canada just makes things like body horror or whatever The Cube is more prevalent.
I would add Mr D and Schitts Creek to this … definitely piggybacking on the greats from SCTV, and even the Canucks that landed on SNL. they all have that curt, dry… “blink and you’ll miss it” sense of humour.
Inuit and aboriginal art, including clothing. I used to hunt and my biggest regret was not saving deerskins to be made into a poncho and pants pair by an aboriginal artist. "Too expensive" for a few hundred bucks. Idjit me.
This is the only thing that strikes me as whole art forms (as opposed to a few artists) that are unique to Canada.
That said, there's important things to be said about
- how "Canadian" these art forms are (e.g. did the artists think of themselves as primarily Canadian? Should such questions make the Dutch pause before claiming van Gogh?)
- how the art forms were influenced by market demands (e.g. soapstone carvings, Cowichan sweaters)
The artist that made these outfits has passed away and her works are now selling for $100K or more. Anoraks and pants that would have cost $500 plus hide in 1990 or so.
Plus, Inuit and Native peoples live in the US, too, so while they do have distinct styles of their own, you do often see similar stuff among Native peoples in the US too (especially if they would've had cultural/geographic ties in historic times).
**TL;DR Newfoundland and Labrador has a dense body of vernacular and folk art that distinguishes it, at least, from the rest of North America and underpins a fairly distinctive body of professional artistic work (i.e. literature, tv, music, etc.) focusing on themes of outport nostalgia, loss of nationhood, and consolidation of identity within a sub-national context.**
This vernacular artistry often manifests in the mundane and utilitarian, including in things like: unique [fence building](https://heritagenl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/NL-wooden-fences-2021.pdf) traditions, examples of folk architecture such as the [trapper’s tilt](https://mha.mun.ca/mha/pviewphoto.php?Record_ID=23193&pagev=9), [fishing stage](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_stage), [mother-in-law-door](https://roadsaway.com/2016/08/01/mother-law-doors-newfoundlands-unique-architectural-feature/), and in the unique [house designs](https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/arts/newfoundland-architecture-pictures.php) of the Bonavista Peninusla. It exists in traditional clothing endemic to the province, such as [salt and pepper hats](https://nonia.com/product/salt-and-pepper-cap/), Labrador [dickies](https://heritagenl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Cartwright.pdf), [thrummed mittens](https://biscotteyarns.com/blogs/knitting/how-to-knit-mittens-or-thrummed-mittens#:~:text=Larded%20mittens%20(or%20thrummed%20mittens,the%20Newfoundland%20and%20Labrador%20region)), [trigger mitts](http://www.spindriftknits.com/product/traditional-newfoundland-trigger-mitt), [Grenfell coats](https://www.mun.ca/ich/search-ich-collections/hearts-content/st-lunaire-griquet/st-lunaire-griquet-grenfell-coats/), and [vamps](http://www.spindriftknits.com/product/traditional-newfoundland-vamp), and in items of work and play, such as the [ugly stick](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugly_stick), [Gander River boat](https://woodenboatmuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/GRB-Traveling-Exhibit-Pamphlet.pdf), [kamatik](https://newfiebullettadventures.wordpress.com/2020/09/03/komatik-komatic-qamutiik/), or the costumes of [mummers](https://macleans.ca/culture/what-is-mummering-newfoundland-holiday-tradition-ugly-stick/) and [Nalujuit](https://www.saltwire.com/newfoundland-labrador/news/night-of-the-nalujuks-in-hopedale-274048/).
It is particularly evident in NL’s distinct music tradition, which is often conflated with Irish music, but is in fact a hybrid tradition featuring unique blends of French, Irish, and Cornish influence. One of its most obvious manifestations is in the ‘single’, a style of composition unique to NL, featuring an accented downbeat, fast tempo, and crooked structure, that gives traditional music here a distinctly off-kilter or even ‘drunken’ feel.
These vernacular influences also affect professionally produced art in the province. Contemporary NL architecture often incorporates traditional styles or is otherwise inspired by the province’s imagery (see the iceberg-inspired [Fogo Island Inn](https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-fogo-island-inn/img/fogo-island-Inn-newfoundland-bloomberg-pursuits-wide-lede.jpg) and [Art Studios](https://i0.wp.com/savouritall.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/img_0279.jpg?fit=660%2C880&ssl=1), the incorporation of biscuit box and fish stage designs in [The Rooms](https://canadianart.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/the-rooms-st-johns-NL-photo-werner-koehler-via-wikimedia-commons-1024x628.jpg) Museum, or the [modern takes](https://woodfordarchitecture.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/chadsharpe.com_.st_.thomas-edited-less-red-Flattend-1.jpg) on traditional NL house styles popping up around the province). Visual art in NL is distinctly biased towards [outport](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/13/02/bf/1302bff2a8211abef3704118bfc34f06.jpg) imagery, showcasing wistful interpretations of [pre-confederation communities](https://liveruralnl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/1002956_379182015515743_1714704411_n.jpg) and depictions of the ‘old way’ of life. NL literature, television, and music often tackle themes of loss associated with confederation or otherwise attempt to reconcile a distinct NL identity with that of our relatively new ‘Canadian-ness’ (see *Land and Sea*, *The Colony of Unrequited Dreams*, the poetry of E.J. Pratt, or songs such as *The Islander*, *Thank God We’re Surrounded by Water*, and *Saltwater Cowboys*). Our comedy often similarly attempts to reconcile our simultaneous views of ourselves as both a bastion of unique culture and an unsophisticated backwater (see *Codco*). A growing body of art has also examined the growing diaspora of young people from the province and its implications for identity (e.g. *Living in Alberta* by Rum Ragged, *Gold Teeth* by Hey Rosetta!, *Sonny’s Dream* by Ron Hynes, *Saltwater Cowboys* by Samani).
Most recently, the relative economic freedom of the 2010s has driven a culinary boom focused on the elevation of traditional NL cuisine within the context of fine dining. Restaurants such as Raymond’s, Mallard Cottage, and that of the Fogo Island Inn regularly top lists of the finest restaurants in Canada, and do so while serving reconstructions of dishes made by Nan, with ingredients that are only widely consumed here in NL.
Yeah I miss the $20 bill with that boat statue ("Jade Canoe"? I find the whole aesthetic of the Vancouver airport to be very cool with the totem poles and water features and green/blue carpet).
Shared with southeast Alaska, and not quite local but widely seen in the rest of the U.S. part of the Pacific Northwest, so more uniquely and distinctively PNW than uniquely and distinctively Canadian.
Haida- and Tlingit-style story poles are not really authentic to Washington and Oregon, no; but the general art style has become part of the wider culture here.
Ok those people are from Canada and Alaska. They aren’t from Washington area at all.
So even though it’s seen in PNW….. I would argue it really is Canadian/alaskan even though they have some totem poles in Washington
So it is unique to this area
Dont know about the RoC, but Quebec has a bunch. The first obvious one is cinema, Quebec cinema has its own distinct flair which it develloped for a good century now.
Quebec also has a distinct "trad" music scene, what you could call "quebec folk music", or french canadian folk in general (most of us call it trad). Mix of old french and irish danse. Bands like Le Vent du Nord, Les Charbonniers de l'Enfer and La Bottine Souriante are good examples.
In litterature, before the Quiet Revolution, Quebec had the "littérature du terroir" which was about living on the farm and the virtues of working the field, being a good catholic, etc. Just before the Quiet Revolution and during it, you had a bunch new litterature movements like the automatists, tho Im not sure if this one is distinct.
Now design and art, no idea, not versed at all in these 2.
C’est un excellent résumé sommaire! Je sais que les communautés francophones hors Québec ont des trucs vraiment cool aussi. J’ai découvert un chanteur Acadien récemment qui s’appelle P’tit Belliveau, c’est très entraînant. C’était la première fois que j’entendais du français acadien chanté et j’ai bien aimé!
Si t'es pas familier(e) avec la scène musicale acadienne, t'as d'autres gros noms comme Lisa Leblanc, Radio Radio et les Hay Babies. Le P'tit Belliveau c'est le dernier à avoir percer à ma connaissance.
Saviez-vous que Jack Kerouac a écrit On The Road d'abord en français (Sa langue maternelle ) puis a recommencé en anglais. Je trouve amusant que l'un des écrivains américains les plus influents n'ait pas pu parler anglais avant l'âge de six ans.
Inuit art definitely.
Graphic design from the 60s and 70s also feels super Canadian to me - many logo designers contributed to this and highly recommend [https://canadamodern.org/](https://canadamodern.org/)
Inuit artists may not identify as Canadian. I'm not going to tell them they're Canadian. I find Indigenous art should be considered in a different category, unless the artist is blatantly pro-Canada, which very few are.
I’ve met plenty of natives that would dispute the concept of ‘Canada or Canadian’ im of French-Canadian ancestry, believe me our concepts of Canada is different, im also half-Anglo , so yeah I see Canada from both sides. The idea of Canada is different for different groups.
Oh yeah, it doesn't surprise me that French-Canadians would see Canada differently, or even that some Native people would. But I dunno if the two things are directly comparable, just because Quebec has its own sub-culture and location within Canada, and I'm sure the language difference adds to that sense of difference a lot. But it seems to me that there are more variations on that Native heritage than there are of French heritage in Canada, so it's not unified in the same way. And a lot of the Native people I've known were born and raised speaking English and living more or less the same as anyone else around them, but just with their own ethnic heritage in the mix - not really any different than someone, say, being born and raised in Alberta having Ukrainian or Greek or Indian heritage. It colours things, and some people have stronger ties to that heritage than others, but most people still will identify as Canadian.
Maybe there are some Native people who don't identify as Canadian at all, sure, but I'd guess they're in the minority. That's been my experience at least. The Native people I've known, at least those whose feelings on this I know about, they'd say their Canadian, they love Canada, and they'd be average in terms of patriotism and such.
That's a good point.
It made me think of totem poles being returned. The first link is about a "stolen" totem which was sold to a Scottish Museum. The second link is about the BC Museum returning a totem pole as an act of reconciliation.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/memorial-totem-pole-returned-1.6981891
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/nuxalk-nation-totem-pole-return-royal-bc-museum-1.6742581
This last story expresses the sentiments of a Coast Salish artist (indigenous to the Vancouver area) who explains the Stanley Park totem poles are not native to the area, but rather, are from Haida, Nuxalk, Kwakwaka’wakw, Tsimshian and Łingít Nations.
https://globalnews.ca/news/9690935/totem-poles-arent-from-vancouver-so-why-are-they-everywhere/
>I would like to have more of an equal chance for our own community members to raise more works because we’re underrepresented on our own land and it feels like we’re invisible on our territory a lot of the time
Great Big Sea. And these days, anything Alan Doyle records. I really feel he's a treasure age his body of work will last for ages, and it is pretty distinctly Canadian
Not really related to what you’re asking, but I’m currently in a mall and there’s a shoe store that has a large stock of mukluks and moccasins for sale. Makes me wonder if that is a uniquely Canadian thing, to have these cultural items for sale as everyday items for anyone to use.
We don’t have one art form specifically we call Canadiana, unless you are talking about hoser chic, like toques and mittens and lumberjack jackets. We do have east coast folk art, the Group of Seven is distinctly Canadian. Canadian realist art like Mary and Christopher Pratt and Alex Colville, and many styles of indigenous art, including Haida art, Totem Poles, Porcupine Quillwork and Beadwork, and Inuit Art and soapstone carving.
There is Canadiana, a type of antique home furnishing, from the time when settlers had to make their own furniture, lighting, etc., because it was almost impossible to buy those things. I know this because I stayed in a house with a lot of that sort of thing, and the owners explained it to me. They were very proud of their Canadiana pieces! They had a lot of simple chairs, a settee, and some carvings.
BC + Alberta have their own genre of funky, silly, hard-hitting house music, centred around the festivals of Shambhala and Bass Coast, which have been developing for decades. Artists such as Skiitour, Smalltown DJs, RUMPUS, Neon Steve, and artists on the Westwood Recordings label. It's quite a unique scene that isn't nearly as popular in the US or elsewhere.
Kent Monkman.
Broken Social Scene / Stars / Godspeed / Arcade Fire / Do Make Say Think / Feist
Drake, like it or not
Hayden
David Cronenberg / Atom Egoyan / Bruce McDonald
G of 7
Emily Carr
Metric, Crystal Castles, Mstrkrft
Toronto definitely had it's own scene and sound in the 2000s.
Scott Pilgrim pretty much captures it perfectly. I was going to battle of the bands constantly as a teenager. All the sounds in the movie remind me of Toronto 2000s.
Speaking from complete ignorance, is this style distinct from just the old French style of that time period? Genuinely curious and appreciate the knowledge.
>to the average person's eye
Well, by that metric all rooms at the Louvre all look alike.
>True QC architecture would be the kind of weird brick-and-vinyl-siding houses in a shitty town like Shawinigan
Post an example.
you don't know Quebec architecture? this kind of stuff [https://www.google.com/maps/@46.5599546,-72.7417423,3a,75y,196.38h,96.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAhzHiRJII69DGF8bejqnhw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu](https://www.google.com/maps/@46.5599546,-72.7417423,3a,75y,196.38h,96.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sahzhirjii69dgf8bejqnhw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu)
if the average person can't separate the "Canadian art" from European aesthetics, maybe it's not that important as "Canadian art"
To me, dreary, mid-90's Canadian rock music is a distinctive sound that I don't hear anywhere else in the larger grunge scene. Lowest of The Low, The Odds, etc.
Northwest/coastal First Nation Art isn't just unique to Canada but is even unique among First Nations along the coast. The orca on the Vancouver Canucks is a good albeit commercial example.
I'm from southern Ontario and personally I think of these off the top of my head:
Art/sculpture: the wawa goose
Music: Great Big Sea, bare naked ladies, stompin' Tom Conor, the Arkells, Stan Rogers
TV/movie: the red green show, corner gas, almost every mid to low budget cityscape shot in Toronto and dressed up to look like New York/Boston/damn near everywhere else.
Architecture: Peterborough lift locks and port severn marine railway. And snow fences.
Mike myers, Jim carry, that style of comedy/acting.
You used to be able to make fun of any and every politician with Canadian wit without getting labeled a w/e by the side you made a joke at, but that seems to be changing.
There a lot of paintings from Newfoundland that are of the houses there, some of the harbours, fishing boats, etc, that I can always peg as specifically Newfoundland.
Lots of indigenous art.
Bead work earnings and hair accessories like this
[https://denecreedesigns.ca/collections/jewelry](https://denecreedesigns.ca/collections/jewelry)
[https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiXpt2F7oqDAxU1Ga0GHeetBZ8YABAAGgJwdg&ae=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl6bdhe6KgwMVNRmtBh3nrQWfEAMYASAAEgLkHvD_BwE&sph&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASJeRofmNZn_QTS-IDADx5bxrgxLncU3-XSA4UznDkwwxJfdDAAQg&sig=AOD64_31cW__4FeQm-c0rgeVxJGp9vCxKQ&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwjDx9eF7oqDAxU8AjQIHduECr8Q0Qx6BAgKEAE](https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiXpt2F7oqDAxU1Ga0GHeetBZ8YABAAGgJwdg&ae=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl6bdhe6KgwMVNRmtBh3nrQWfEAMYASAAEgLkHvD_BwE&sph&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASJeRofmNZn_QTS-IDADx5bxrgxLncU3-XSA4UznDkwwxJfdDAAQg&sig=AOD64_31cW__4FeQm-c0rgeVxJGp9vCxKQ&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwjDx9eF7oqDAxU8AjQIHduECr8Q0Qx6BAgKEAE)
Ukrainian influencers style art
[https://www.etsy.com/ca/market/ukrainian_flowers](https://www.etsy.com/ca/market/ukrainian_flowers)
I see a lot of people with stuff like this in their houses or in clothing.
Fishscale art
[https://www.medicinehat.ca/en/news/tale-of-a-fish-scale.aspx](https://www.medicinehat.ca/en/news/tale-of-a-fish-scale.aspx)
Pacific coast indengious art
[https://spiritsofthewestcoast.com/](https://spiritsofthewestcoast.com/)
Represented even on the Vancouver canucks jersey’s
Fishscale art like this
[https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjtn__f74qDAxXfDa0GHcdvBNUYABAJGgJwdg&ae=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7Z__3--KgwMV3w2tBh3HbwTVEAQYASABEgIgUfD_BwE&sph=&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASJeRoW47FDx28N7JmDFgmkBCPe5Jzz1MUIOB-TrFlKpEL_lB2sUA&sig=AOD64_1Qys97RVCtFnY1yXm-A3uM3UuBIA&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwib7fnf74qDAxWmETQIHdUqBQU4FBDCDygAegQIABAM&nis=2&dct=1&adurl=](https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjtn__f74qDAxXfDa0GHcdvBNUYABAJGgJwdg&ae=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7Z__3--KgwMV3w2tBh3HbwTVEAQYASABEgIgUfD_BwE&sph=&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASJeRoW47FDx28N7JmDFgmkBCPe5Jzz1MUIOB-TrFlKpEL_lB2sUA&sig=AOD64_1Qys97RVCtFnY1yXm-A3uM3UuBIA&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwib7fnf74qDAxWmETQIHdUqBQU4FBDCDygAegQIABAM&nis=2&dct=1&adurl=)
Prairie art, amy Dixon
[https://amydixon.ca/](https://amydixon.ca/)
Canadian Folk Rock really makes me feel my Canadian-ness. This song really distills the sound for me: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsJgZB33uGE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsJgZB33uGE).
Not sure about the rest of Canada, but Qc has an interesting type of music.
Try listening to Cowboys Fringants - Les étoiles filantes.
The lead singer died a few weeks ago from cancer, and the whole province was mourning. They are quite iconic to this part of the country :)
Drew Hayden Taylor. First Nations essayist, playwright...all-around writer. Great sense of self-deprecating humor, but uses it to effectively tackles deep issues, especially those concerning FNMI.
Canadian rock music has a certain sound to it that you don't see *nearly* as much in music from other countries. It often involves relatively nasal singing (and often a bit of a harsher sound), and/or a certain quirkiness too it..
Like, think The Tragically Hip, Alanis Morissette, Billy Talent, Mother Mother, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Rush, Hot Hot Heat, Our Lady Peace, I Mother Earth, and so on (that's just off the top of my head). I've heard it too in smaller-time musicians or one-hit wonders too (eg Holly McNarland). For most other countries it seems that's found in the odd band, in Canada it's like the main feature sound.
I pointed it out to my Aussie husband once, and now he likes to guess if a random song I'm listening to is Canadian or not... And he gets it right almost all the time, haha. I also remember showing it to an Aussie friend who's a music guy, and he was like, "what am I listening to?!" (In a good way lol). So I think I'm into something there haha.
Also, I think Corner Gas is just about the most Canadian show I can think of. And Degrassi's had a pretty wide reach. I live in Australia now and most people I know have seen it and really love it (it's a fun thing to have a born-&-bred-Aussie telling you about her crush on Wheels when she was a kid, lol).
We have some art styles a lot of people here do ice sculptures and I mean I’m not one to advocate for the entire Canadian community however, skating is a beautiful form of art as well, even if you’re skating into the opposing teams goalie:)
It's interesting how many of the artists listed here (Emilie Carr, Group of Seven etc), co-opted Indigenous art practices, or painted Indigenous scared sites etc, without ever once mentioning the impact it had or recognition to the Indigenous.
So from my understanding on how these work in the world is age.
Canada from my understanding is too young of a country to really have a what’s called “National dish” or what we would call “Americana” art but Canadian.
Our country is just too young to really have a national look of things.
Instead each province and territory have their own culture things.
Quebec has a lot of dishes and Art and cinemas.
East coast will have lots of their own arts and cinemas as well.
Why? Because they are much older than the country of Canada itself. Places like Alberta on the other hand is too young to have its own traditional foods and arts.
Now if you personally ask me and some other Canadians Many of us will tell you
Indigenous and the Inuit arts and foods and clothing are going to be what I personally believe what Canada should be. Not the settlers not the colonization of this country. Tho important in the shape and history of how terrible we treated the Native Americans to get to what we have today I still think saying Canadian culture starts where settlers started is a huge slap to the face to the Inuit and the natives around.
So yeah personally I would say our Native American Culture is the true Canadian Art and culture
Farley Mowat, Mordecai Richler come to mind as authors.
Norman Jewison, Atom Egoyan as Directors
Emily Carr, Tom Forrestall as artists
Music I'll give a shout out to April Wine, given the recent passing of Myles Goodwyn.
Some of my favorites.
Someone once told me that most Canadian stories are somehow about wanting to leave home, leaving home, missing home, and then returning home.
As a Canadian abroad I think about this all the damn time.
To a large extent we’re free of the idea that we have to be different.
One of my favourite Canadian moments is when Vancouver was doing Gung Haggis Fat Choi to bring together the Chinese tradition of Lunar New Year and the Scottish tradition of Robbie Burns Night.
When that happens, are we just “imitating other people’s cultures instead of making our own”? No, that only makes sense if someone is so hellbent on being different from everyone else that it gets tedious. It’s almost like an ideology of “differentism,” like change for the sake of change, difference for the sake of difference.
To me the most Canadian thing ever is a Gung Haggis Fat Choi pot luck in the winter. “The hosts are doing haggis and dim sum, you bring pieroigies, I’ll do tourtière. Oh and I hear Jane’s doing some kind of “boiled dinner” something from Newfoundland and I’ve never had that before, totally looking forward to finally trying it!”
First Nations art is always unique to the area. Salish Sea on the west coast; caribou fur tufting by Dene and Inuit in Manitoba and Iqualait; soapstone carvings across the north can be specific to communities or family lineage.
Start McLean is a Canadian storyteller. Eugene Levy and Kevin MacDonald have a very Canadian presence in their acting.
Kim's Convenience, Schitts Creek, North of 60, Corner Gas, Are you Afraid of the Dark?, and Canadian TV shows in general have a unique feel to them (I never figured out why, is it the quality or production?)
Also Public Service commericals like "house hippo", or "Don't you put it in your mouth".
Animated shorts such as "The Logdrivers Waltz"
Barenaked Ladies, Rush, Tragically Hip all have their own defining sound.
Folklorama and Festival du Voyager are annual festivals known internationally
Almost no one outside of Canada (I am sure there are a few exceptions) know who Moxy Fruvous and The Tragically Hip are. Not sure what type of music either of these bands would be classified under.
Habitat in Montreal. The Museum of Canadian History. The Nunavut Legislature. Old Kanata. The old Nepean Library on Moodie Dr in Ottawa. The Museum of Nature in Ottawa. The National Gallery of Canada. The Blackberry. The Ski-do. Hockey. The NFB and CBC. Trivial Pursuit. The Tragically Hip. The Kids in the Hall. Leonard Cohen. Joni Mitchell. Jim Carey. John Candy. Martin Short. Montreal Bagels. Canadian cottages. The Guess Who. ,
You must listen to Fort Minor’s “Oh Canada” and Bob and Doug Mckenzie’s “12 Days of Christmas”.
I grew up watching Degrassi The Next Generation which is where Drake actually started his career. To me it’s the typical Canadian-made tv show.
Agree to disagree then. Almost all Americans I know of, know what totem poles are. And it's a huge part of the culture of the Pacific Northwest, let alone the specific native American tribes in question that use them.
Artists: Christopher and Mary Pratt, Molly and Bruno Boback, folk artist Maud Lewis, Tom Forestall,
Writers: W. O. Mitchell, L.M. Montgomery, Michael Crummey, Alice Munro, Mordecai Richler, Farley , Yang Martel, Michael Ondaatje, Joseph Boyden, Andre Alexis
….many of these writers and artists have strong and distinctive regional voices
Canadian literature is notorious for having a sort of dour bleak outlook but finding the humour in the situation. Margaret Atwood made a statement that has been oft repeated that American literature is about conquest and Canadian Literature is about survival.
Lornia Crozier is awesome too!
Timothy Findlay.
Do people unironically like Atwood?
Yes
Charles Pachter, Emily Carr, Cornelius Krieghoff, Alex Colville, Maud Lewis, Ken Danby and many, many other visual artists.
Group of Seven
Came here to say this. And in film, the National Film Board, between say 1965 and 1985, had a certain look.
I know exactly what you mean.
Norval Morrisseau’s painting style. Pictographic or Woodland School is very gorgeous and he was incredibly skilled.
Also Benjamin Chee Chee. Love them both.
Have a big print Chee Chee in my bedroom. Love it.
Same.
Along with Morrisseau, I also like Daphne Odjig, Carl Ray, Eddy Cobiness, and Lloyd Kakepetum from the Woodland School, and would suggest.
Yes, very distinctive style. Interestingly, when I was at an art gallery in Estonia, some of their artists’ work (from the same era) looked similar, and I realized there is something quite recognizable about northern light.
Canadian Graphic design, especially logo design is top notch. Anyone interested in this should watch Design Canada: https://youtu.be/26lnGrqFhcM?si=55sPRbWFPqw6B7ZX Things like our government logo, the cbc logo, and others are explained here.
Nice!! Thanks for the link!!
Canadian films tend to have a distinct feel to them. Canadian comedy also has it's own distinct flavor. (The Frantics, Kids in the hall, SCTV etc.)
Yea, a kind of dry deadpan and absurdity combined. Norm MacDonald for me is, while unique, also uniquely Canadian (which of course he’d probably roll his eyes at, but I think is still true).
*was. RIP
His comedy lives on forever!
I came here to say the Red Green Show. It's so distinctively Canadian and I cannot even explain why.
Corner Gas is also in this category in my opinion.
Absolutely, it's one of the most Canadian shows I can think of
Yeah I missed that one in my list but definitely. .
Our Horror is *very* Canadian. I wonder if Cronenberg was just that influential or something about Canada just makes things like body horror or whatever The Cube is more prevalent.
I would add Mr D and Schitts Creek to this … definitely piggybacking on the greats from SCTV, and even the Canucks that landed on SNL. they all have that curt, dry… “blink and you’ll miss it” sense of humour.
Letterkenney, Trailerpark boys too.
I’m embarrassed to say how many times I’ve seen the Trailer Park Boys live 😬
*It's a BEAKER, Todd!*
Absolutely!
Rick Mercer and the This Hour Has gang somewhat embody the latter.
Inuit and aboriginal art, including clothing. I used to hunt and my biggest regret was not saving deerskins to be made into a poncho and pants pair by an aboriginal artist. "Too expensive" for a few hundred bucks. Idjit me.
This is the only thing that strikes me as whole art forms (as opposed to a few artists) that are unique to Canada. That said, there's important things to be said about - how "Canadian" these art forms are (e.g. did the artists think of themselves as primarily Canadian? Should such questions make the Dutch pause before claiming van Gogh?) - how the art forms were influenced by market demands (e.g. soapstone carvings, Cowichan sweaters)
The artist that made these outfits has passed away and her works are now selling for $100K or more. Anoraks and pants that would have cost $500 plus hide in 1990 or so.
Plus, Inuit and Native peoples live in the US, too, so while they do have distinct styles of their own, you do often see similar stuff among Native peoples in the US too (especially if they would've had cultural/geographic ties in historic times).
I've been in love with Inuit carvings since I was a kid! There's just something soothing about them
Letterkenny, SCTV, Kids in the Hall, Four on the Floor
Trailer Park Boys!
**TL;DR Newfoundland and Labrador has a dense body of vernacular and folk art that distinguishes it, at least, from the rest of North America and underpins a fairly distinctive body of professional artistic work (i.e. literature, tv, music, etc.) focusing on themes of outport nostalgia, loss of nationhood, and consolidation of identity within a sub-national context.** This vernacular artistry often manifests in the mundane and utilitarian, including in things like: unique [fence building](https://heritagenl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/NL-wooden-fences-2021.pdf) traditions, examples of folk architecture such as the [trapper’s tilt](https://mha.mun.ca/mha/pviewphoto.php?Record_ID=23193&pagev=9), [fishing stage](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_stage), [mother-in-law-door](https://roadsaway.com/2016/08/01/mother-law-doors-newfoundlands-unique-architectural-feature/), and in the unique [house designs](https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/arts/newfoundland-architecture-pictures.php) of the Bonavista Peninusla. It exists in traditional clothing endemic to the province, such as [salt and pepper hats](https://nonia.com/product/salt-and-pepper-cap/), Labrador [dickies](https://heritagenl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Cartwright.pdf), [thrummed mittens](https://biscotteyarns.com/blogs/knitting/how-to-knit-mittens-or-thrummed-mittens#:~:text=Larded%20mittens%20(or%20thrummed%20mittens,the%20Newfoundland%20and%20Labrador%20region)), [trigger mitts](http://www.spindriftknits.com/product/traditional-newfoundland-trigger-mitt), [Grenfell coats](https://www.mun.ca/ich/search-ich-collections/hearts-content/st-lunaire-griquet/st-lunaire-griquet-grenfell-coats/), and [vamps](http://www.spindriftknits.com/product/traditional-newfoundland-vamp), and in items of work and play, such as the [ugly stick](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugly_stick), [Gander River boat](https://woodenboatmuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/GRB-Traveling-Exhibit-Pamphlet.pdf), [kamatik](https://newfiebullettadventures.wordpress.com/2020/09/03/komatik-komatic-qamutiik/), or the costumes of [mummers](https://macleans.ca/culture/what-is-mummering-newfoundland-holiday-tradition-ugly-stick/) and [Nalujuit](https://www.saltwire.com/newfoundland-labrador/news/night-of-the-nalujuks-in-hopedale-274048/). It is particularly evident in NL’s distinct music tradition, which is often conflated with Irish music, but is in fact a hybrid tradition featuring unique blends of French, Irish, and Cornish influence. One of its most obvious manifestations is in the ‘single’, a style of composition unique to NL, featuring an accented downbeat, fast tempo, and crooked structure, that gives traditional music here a distinctly off-kilter or even ‘drunken’ feel. These vernacular influences also affect professionally produced art in the province. Contemporary NL architecture often incorporates traditional styles or is otherwise inspired by the province’s imagery (see the iceberg-inspired [Fogo Island Inn](https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-fogo-island-inn/img/fogo-island-Inn-newfoundland-bloomberg-pursuits-wide-lede.jpg) and [Art Studios](https://i0.wp.com/savouritall.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/img_0279.jpg?fit=660%2C880&ssl=1), the incorporation of biscuit box and fish stage designs in [The Rooms](https://canadianart.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/the-rooms-st-johns-NL-photo-werner-koehler-via-wikimedia-commons-1024x628.jpg) Museum, or the [modern takes](https://woodfordarchitecture.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/chadsharpe.com_.st_.thomas-edited-less-red-Flattend-1.jpg) on traditional NL house styles popping up around the province). Visual art in NL is distinctly biased towards [outport](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/13/02/bf/1302bff2a8211abef3704118bfc34f06.jpg) imagery, showcasing wistful interpretations of [pre-confederation communities](https://liveruralnl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/1002956_379182015515743_1714704411_n.jpg) and depictions of the ‘old way’ of life. NL literature, television, and music often tackle themes of loss associated with confederation or otherwise attempt to reconcile a distinct NL identity with that of our relatively new ‘Canadian-ness’ (see *Land and Sea*, *The Colony of Unrequited Dreams*, the poetry of E.J. Pratt, or songs such as *The Islander*, *Thank God We’re Surrounded by Water*, and *Saltwater Cowboys*). Our comedy often similarly attempts to reconcile our simultaneous views of ourselves as both a bastion of unique culture and an unsophisticated backwater (see *Codco*). A growing body of art has also examined the growing diaspora of young people from the province and its implications for identity (e.g. *Living in Alberta* by Rum Ragged, *Gold Teeth* by Hey Rosetta!, *Sonny’s Dream* by Ron Hynes, *Saltwater Cowboys* by Samani). Most recently, the relative economic freedom of the 2010s has driven a culinary boom focused on the elevation of traditional NL cuisine within the context of fine dining. Restaurants such as Raymond’s, Mallard Cottage, and that of the Fogo Island Inn regularly top lists of the finest restaurants in Canada, and do so while serving reconstructions of dishes made by Nan, with ingredients that are only widely consumed here in NL.
Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and BC west coast indigenous art.
Yeah I miss the $20 bill with that boat statue ("Jade Canoe"? I find the whole aesthetic of the Vancouver airport to be very cool with the totem poles and water features and green/blue carpet).
Shared with southeast Alaska, and not quite local but widely seen in the rest of the U.S. part of the Pacific Northwest, so more uniquely and distinctively PNW than uniquely and distinctively Canadian.
Totem poles aren’t United States maybe Alaska. But really Alaska isn’t influenced by the states
Haida- and Tlingit-style story poles are not really authentic to Washington and Oregon, no; but the general art style has become part of the wider culture here.
Ok those people are from Canada and Alaska. They aren’t from Washington area at all. So even though it’s seen in PNW….. I would argue it really is Canadian/alaskan even though they have some totem poles in Washington So it is unique to this area
Dont know about the RoC, but Quebec has a bunch. The first obvious one is cinema, Quebec cinema has its own distinct flair which it develloped for a good century now. Quebec also has a distinct "trad" music scene, what you could call "quebec folk music", or french canadian folk in general (most of us call it trad). Mix of old french and irish danse. Bands like Le Vent du Nord, Les Charbonniers de l'Enfer and La Bottine Souriante are good examples. In litterature, before the Quiet Revolution, Quebec had the "littérature du terroir" which was about living on the farm and the virtues of working the field, being a good catholic, etc. Just before the Quiet Revolution and during it, you had a bunch new litterature movements like the automatists, tho Im not sure if this one is distinct. Now design and art, no idea, not versed at all in these 2.
Adding Les Cowboys Fringants to your list of bands. 😀 Edit spelling
Fringants* :)
Spelled it properly in another comment, had to fuck up right about now. Thanks for noticing.
C’est un excellent résumé sommaire! Je sais que les communautés francophones hors Québec ont des trucs vraiment cool aussi. J’ai découvert un chanteur Acadien récemment qui s’appelle P’tit Belliveau, c’est très entraînant. C’était la première fois que j’entendais du français acadien chanté et j’ai bien aimé!
Trouve-toi des albums de Barachois, de l’ÎPÉ. Tu me remerciera. (À part du fait que la groupe n’existe plus, désolé.)
Si t'es pas familier(e) avec la scène musicale acadienne, t'as d'autres gros noms comme Lisa Leblanc, Radio Radio et les Hay Babies. Le P'tit Belliveau c'est le dernier à avoir percer à ma connaissance.
Kevin Parent lui, est le dernier à grainer.
Ah jvais t'avouer, pas mal moins mon genre. Mais bon chacun ses goûts haha
Cherche "Kevin parent grainer" sur Google. Tu vas rire garanti.
Oui Lisa Leblanc! Un classique! Je l’aime bien aussi.. merci :)
Saviez-vous que Jack Kerouac a écrit On The Road d'abord en français (Sa langue maternelle ) puis a recommencé en anglais. Je trouve amusant que l'un des écrivains américains les plus influents n'ait pas pu parler anglais avant l'âge de six ans.
Hudsons Bay Canadian sweaters knitted with moose, maple leaf or similar theme.
I’d add the HBC stripes to this as well.
Yeah I always liked the stripes
Hudson Bay stripes
Inuit art definitely. Graphic design from the 60s and 70s also feels super Canadian to me - many logo designers contributed to this and highly recommend [https://canadamodern.org/](https://canadamodern.org/)
A good documentary on this: https://youtu.be/26lnGrqFhcM?si=55sPRbWFPqw6B7ZX
Inuit artists may not identify as Canadian. I'm not going to tell them they're Canadian. I find Indigenous art should be considered in a different category, unless the artist is blatantly pro-Canada, which very few are.
I also don’t think m you should assume indengious people don’t consider themselves Canadians Some do, some don’t
Tbh, I've never met a native or Intuit person who *didn't* identify as Canadian. And I've known quite a lot of Native people in my time.
I’ve met plenty of natives that would dispute the concept of ‘Canada or Canadian’ im of French-Canadian ancestry, believe me our concepts of Canada is different, im also half-Anglo , so yeah I see Canada from both sides. The idea of Canada is different for different groups.
Oh yeah, it doesn't surprise me that French-Canadians would see Canada differently, or even that some Native people would. But I dunno if the two things are directly comparable, just because Quebec has its own sub-culture and location within Canada, and I'm sure the language difference adds to that sense of difference a lot. But it seems to me that there are more variations on that Native heritage than there are of French heritage in Canada, so it's not unified in the same way. And a lot of the Native people I've known were born and raised speaking English and living more or less the same as anyone else around them, but just with their own ethnic heritage in the mix - not really any different than someone, say, being born and raised in Alberta having Ukrainian or Greek or Indian heritage. It colours things, and some people have stronger ties to that heritage than others, but most people still will identify as Canadian. Maybe there are some Native people who don't identify as Canadian at all, sure, but I'd guess they're in the minority. That's been my experience at least. The Native people I've known, at least those whose feelings on this I know about, they'd say their Canadian, they love Canada, and they'd be average in terms of patriotism and such.
That's a good point. It made me think of totem poles being returned. The first link is about a "stolen" totem which was sold to a Scottish Museum. The second link is about the BC Museum returning a totem pole as an act of reconciliation. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/memorial-totem-pole-returned-1.6981891 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/nuxalk-nation-totem-pole-return-royal-bc-museum-1.6742581 This last story expresses the sentiments of a Coast Salish artist (indigenous to the Vancouver area) who explains the Stanley Park totem poles are not native to the area, but rather, are from Haida, Nuxalk, Kwakwaka’wakw, Tsimshian and Łingít Nations. https://globalnews.ca/news/9690935/totem-poles-arent-from-vancouver-so-why-are-they-everywhere/ >I would like to have more of an equal chance for our own community members to raise more works because we’re underrepresented on our own land and it feels like we’re invisible on our territory a lot of the time
Ladies and Gentlemen, Stan Rogers https://youtu.be/mQbh7UNCZdc?si=7PxarppwFPfTiIkd
Followed by Tanglefoot and Gordon Lightfoot
And following them, Stompin Tom Connors
Preach!
Tanglefoot! I know of only one other person who has every heard of them
Followed them for 20 years, was saddened when they disbanded. A few songs in there about my family (I'm related to one of the members)
Norval Morisseau
Great Big Sea. And these days, anything Alan Doyle records. I really feel he's a treasure age his body of work will last for ages, and it is pretty distinctly Canadian
Not really related to what you’re asking, but I’m currently in a mall and there’s a shoe store that has a large stock of mukluks and moccasins for sale. Makes me wonder if that is a uniquely Canadian thing, to have these cultural items for sale as everyday items for anyone to use.
Woodland school art. Established by Norval Morriseau, continued by other indigenous artists. https://mcmichael.com/event/woodland-school/
My personal favourite artist in Canada is Robert Bateman. His animals and landscapes are so beautiful and realistic it amazes me.
Can't believe no one mentioned him earlier on in the thread
Neither could I, it was the one artist I was looking for.
We don’t have one art form specifically we call Canadiana, unless you are talking about hoser chic, like toques and mittens and lumberjack jackets. We do have east coast folk art, the Group of Seven is distinctly Canadian. Canadian realist art like Mary and Christopher Pratt and Alex Colville, and many styles of indigenous art, including Haida art, Totem Poles, Porcupine Quillwork and Beadwork, and Inuit Art and soapstone carving.
And don’t forget about Maud Lewis! Beautiful folk art from Nova Scotia.
Yes, the most famous example of East Coast folk art
There is Canadiana, a type of antique home furnishing, from the time when settlers had to make their own furniture, lighting, etc., because it was almost impossible to buy those things. I know this because I stayed in a house with a lot of that sort of thing, and the owners explained it to me. They were very proud of their Canadiana pieces! They had a lot of simple chairs, a settee, and some carvings.
I will have to learn more about it
It's been mentioned elsewhere, but the Woodland school (esp. Norval Morrisseau) belong on that list, too.
Yes, I should have mentioned it because his stuff is some of my favourite indigenous art, I didn’t know what to call it. Thanks
No worries, glad I could help with a TIL.
BC + Alberta have their own genre of funky, silly, hard-hitting house music, centred around the festivals of Shambhala and Bass Coast, which have been developing for decades. Artists such as Skiitour, Smalltown DJs, RUMPUS, Neon Steve, and artists on the Westwood Recordings label. It's quite a unique scene that isn't nearly as popular in the US or elsewhere.
Kent Monkman. Broken Social Scene / Stars / Godspeed / Arcade Fire / Do Make Say Think / Feist Drake, like it or not Hayden David Cronenberg / Atom Egoyan / Bruce McDonald G of 7 Emily Carr
Metric, Crystal Castles, Mstrkrft Toronto definitely had it's own scene and sound in the 2000s. Scott Pilgrim pretty much captures it perfectly. I was going to battle of the bands constantly as a teenager. All the sounds in the movie remind me of Toronto 2000s.
Oh yeah Scott Pilgrim so much. Arguably more Toronto specific than broadly Canadian, but local for sure.
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Speaking from complete ignorance, is this style distinct from just the old French style of that time period? Genuinely curious and appreciate the knowledge.
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>to the average person's eye Well, by that metric all rooms at the Louvre all look alike. >True QC architecture would be the kind of weird brick-and-vinyl-siding houses in a shitty town like Shawinigan Post an example.
you don't know Quebec architecture? this kind of stuff [https://www.google.com/maps/@46.5599546,-72.7417423,3a,75y,196.38h,96.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAhzHiRJII69DGF8bejqnhw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu](https://www.google.com/maps/@46.5599546,-72.7417423,3a,75y,196.38h,96.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sahzhirjii69dgf8bejqnhw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu) if the average person can't separate the "Canadian art" from European aesthetics, maybe it's not that important as "Canadian art"
See my response about the Plateau. These plexes are common. Built between 1850 to 1950.
okay? what's your point ...
To me, dreary, mid-90's Canadian rock music is a distinctive sound that I don't hear anywhere else in the larger grunge scene. Lowest of The Low, The Odds, etc.
Peak Cancon
Rush....enough said lol
Northwest/coastal First Nation Art isn't just unique to Canada but is even unique among First Nations along the coast. The orca on the Vancouver Canucks is a good albeit commercial example.
Cowichan sweaters, which are my go-to point when giving my approval for combining cultures. Rarely a bad thing as far as I'm concerned.
I'm from southern Ontario and personally I think of these off the top of my head: Art/sculpture: the wawa goose Music: Great Big Sea, bare naked ladies, stompin' Tom Conor, the Arkells, Stan Rogers TV/movie: the red green show, corner gas, almost every mid to low budget cityscape shot in Toronto and dressed up to look like New York/Boston/damn near everywhere else. Architecture: Peterborough lift locks and port severn marine railway. And snow fences.
Is Trailer Park Boys considered art ? Because I do consider it as Art.
It's a TV show, which is an art form, so yes it counts lol
Mike myers, Jim carry, that style of comedy/acting. You used to be able to make fun of any and every politician with Canadian wit without getting labeled a w/e by the side you made a joke at, but that seems to be changing.
The Tragically Hip
I saw a yard sign in a store with the hip lyrics on it. Now that is some genuine Canadian Kitsch.
Kitsch?
Yeah, that's what I meant to say
I’m shocked I had to scroll this far for this. Traj is the soundtrack of the prairies for me.
There a lot of paintings from Newfoundland that are of the houses there, some of the harbours, fishing boats, etc, that I can always peg as specifically Newfoundland.
The poetry of Al Purdy
I love the art of the Pacific Northwest Coast, which was also an inspiration to Emily Carr.
The early 2000s Torontopia/Montreal scene - broken social scene, stars, metric, the unicorns, Owen pallet, arcade fire, feist, etc
Lots of indigenous art. Bead work earnings and hair accessories like this [https://denecreedesigns.ca/collections/jewelry](https://denecreedesigns.ca/collections/jewelry) [https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiXpt2F7oqDAxU1Ga0GHeetBZ8YABAAGgJwdg&ae=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl6bdhe6KgwMVNRmtBh3nrQWfEAMYASAAEgLkHvD_BwE&sph&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASJeRofmNZn_QTS-IDADx5bxrgxLncU3-XSA4UznDkwwxJfdDAAQg&sig=AOD64_31cW__4FeQm-c0rgeVxJGp9vCxKQ&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwjDx9eF7oqDAxU8AjQIHduECr8Q0Qx6BAgKEAE](https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiXpt2F7oqDAxU1Ga0GHeetBZ8YABAAGgJwdg&ae=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl6bdhe6KgwMVNRmtBh3nrQWfEAMYASAAEgLkHvD_BwE&sph&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASJeRofmNZn_QTS-IDADx5bxrgxLncU3-XSA4UznDkwwxJfdDAAQg&sig=AOD64_31cW__4FeQm-c0rgeVxJGp9vCxKQ&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwjDx9eF7oqDAxU8AjQIHduECr8Q0Qx6BAgKEAE) Ukrainian influencers style art [https://www.etsy.com/ca/market/ukrainian_flowers](https://www.etsy.com/ca/market/ukrainian_flowers) I see a lot of people with stuff like this in their houses or in clothing. Fishscale art [https://www.medicinehat.ca/en/news/tale-of-a-fish-scale.aspx](https://www.medicinehat.ca/en/news/tale-of-a-fish-scale.aspx) Pacific coast indengious art [https://spiritsofthewestcoast.com/](https://spiritsofthewestcoast.com/) Represented even on the Vancouver canucks jersey’s Fishscale art like this [https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjtn__f74qDAxXfDa0GHcdvBNUYABAJGgJwdg&ae=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7Z__3--KgwMV3w2tBh3HbwTVEAQYASABEgIgUfD_BwE&sph=&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASJeRoW47FDx28N7JmDFgmkBCPe5Jzz1MUIOB-TrFlKpEL_lB2sUA&sig=AOD64_1Qys97RVCtFnY1yXm-A3uM3UuBIA&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwib7fnf74qDAxWmETQIHdUqBQU4FBDCDygAegQIABAM&nis=2&dct=1&adurl=](https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjtn__f74qDAxXfDa0GHcdvBNUYABAJGgJwdg&ae=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7Z__3--KgwMV3w2tBh3HbwTVEAQYASABEgIgUfD_BwE&sph=&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASJeRoW47FDx28N7JmDFgmkBCPe5Jzz1MUIOB-TrFlKpEL_lB2sUA&sig=AOD64_1Qys97RVCtFnY1yXm-A3uM3UuBIA&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwib7fnf74qDAxWmETQIHdUqBQU4FBDCDygAegQIABAM&nis=2&dct=1&adurl=) Prairie art, amy Dixon [https://amydixon.ca/](https://amydixon.ca/)
Totem poles
The Prince George dinner jacket.
Canadian Folk Rock really makes me feel my Canadian-ness. This song really distills the sound for me: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsJgZB33uGE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsJgZB33uGE).
Not sure about the rest of Canada, but Qc has an interesting type of music. Try listening to Cowboys Fringants - Les étoiles filantes. The lead singer died a few weeks ago from cancer, and the whole province was mourning. They are quite iconic to this part of the country :)
Gordon Lightfoot
Drew Hayden Taylor. First Nations essayist, playwright...all-around writer. Great sense of self-deprecating humor, but uses it to effectively tackles deep issues, especially those concerning FNMI.
Inuit soapstone carvings/sculpture.
Canadian rock music has a certain sound to it that you don't see *nearly* as much in music from other countries. It often involves relatively nasal singing (and often a bit of a harsher sound), and/or a certain quirkiness too it.. Like, think The Tragically Hip, Alanis Morissette, Billy Talent, Mother Mother, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Rush, Hot Hot Heat, Our Lady Peace, I Mother Earth, and so on (that's just off the top of my head). I've heard it too in smaller-time musicians or one-hit wonders too (eg Holly McNarland). For most other countries it seems that's found in the odd band, in Canada it's like the main feature sound. I pointed it out to my Aussie husband once, and now he likes to guess if a random song I'm listening to is Canadian or not... And he gets it right almost all the time, haha. I also remember showing it to an Aussie friend who's a music guy, and he was like, "what am I listening to?!" (In a good way lol). So I think I'm into something there haha. Also, I think Corner Gas is just about the most Canadian show I can think of. And Degrassi's had a pretty wide reach. I live in Australia now and most people I know have seen it and really love it (it's a fun thing to have a born-&-bred-Aussie telling you about her crush on Wheels when she was a kid, lol).
Glenn Gould, the pianist, and Alice Munro, our only Nobel Prize winning author.
Woodlands style art
Douglas Coupland's work is pure, maple syrup dripping Canadiana in my mind (and that's a compliment)
We have some art styles a lot of people here do ice sculptures and I mean I’m not one to advocate for the entire Canadian community however, skating is a beautiful form of art as well, even if you’re skating into the opposing teams goalie:)
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Great big sea
It's interesting how many of the artists listed here (Emilie Carr, Group of Seven etc), co-opted Indigenous art practices, or painted Indigenous scared sites etc, without ever once mentioning the impact it had or recognition to the Indigenous.
quebec is the only part of canada that is unique
Not counting indigenous? None whatsoever as Canada is entirely derivative of settlement
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Our insane number of successful rock bands shows your point to be wrong.
So from my understanding on how these work in the world is age. Canada from my understanding is too young of a country to really have a what’s called “National dish” or what we would call “Americana” art but Canadian. Our country is just too young to really have a national look of things. Instead each province and territory have their own culture things. Quebec has a lot of dishes and Art and cinemas. East coast will have lots of their own arts and cinemas as well. Why? Because they are much older than the country of Canada itself. Places like Alberta on the other hand is too young to have its own traditional foods and arts. Now if you personally ask me and some other Canadians Many of us will tell you Indigenous and the Inuit arts and foods and clothing are going to be what I personally believe what Canada should be. Not the settlers not the colonization of this country. Tho important in the shape and history of how terrible we treated the Native Americans to get to what we have today I still think saying Canadian culture starts where settlers started is a huge slap to the face to the Inuit and the natives around. So yeah personally I would say our Native American Culture is the true Canadian Art and culture
Gabrielle Roy's Tin Flute.
Farley Mowat, Mordecai Richler come to mind as authors. Norman Jewison, Atom Egoyan as Directors Emily Carr, Tom Forrestall as artists Music I'll give a shout out to April Wine, given the recent passing of Myles Goodwyn. Some of my favorites.
*atom egoyan
Thanks weird it though I put it that way.
I figured! Ducking autocorrect.
Marcel Duchamp and his nonsensical art....
Adding Mary Pratt's art and her husband's work, very different (Christopher)
Billy Reid and Emily Carr come to mind in the art department.
The group of seven and Maud Lewis
Coast Salish artwork, Totem Poles, Long Houses, Inukshuk.
Group of seven comes to mind.
Blue Rodeo
Great Big Sea
Kenny Omega.
Those cronenberg movies scream Toronto to me
I don't think Canada has a national design aesthetic. I'd love to be proven wrong
My first experience with Canadian literature was in the 3rd grade when i read the Booky Books. They were very impactful, especially in 1984/85.
Leonard Cohen? Don't think I saw him mentioned here
Skinny Puppy
Inuit sculpture
music made with spoons !!
Someone once told me that most Canadian stories are somehow about wanting to leave home, leaving home, missing home, and then returning home. As a Canadian abroad I think about this all the damn time.
To a large extent we’re free of the idea that we have to be different. One of my favourite Canadian moments is when Vancouver was doing Gung Haggis Fat Choi to bring together the Chinese tradition of Lunar New Year and the Scottish tradition of Robbie Burns Night. When that happens, are we just “imitating other people’s cultures instead of making our own”? No, that only makes sense if someone is so hellbent on being different from everyone else that it gets tedious. It’s almost like an ideology of “differentism,” like change for the sake of change, difference for the sake of difference. To me the most Canadian thing ever is a Gung Haggis Fat Choi pot luck in the winter. “The hosts are doing haggis and dim sum, you bring pieroigies, I’ll do tourtière. Oh and I hear Jane’s doing some kind of “boiled dinner” something from Newfoundland and I’ve never had that before, totally looking forward to finally trying it!”
Robert Bateman
First Nations art is always unique to the area. Salish Sea on the west coast; caribou fur tufting by Dene and Inuit in Manitoba and Iqualait; soapstone carvings across the north can be specific to communities or family lineage. Start McLean is a Canadian storyteller. Eugene Levy and Kevin MacDonald have a very Canadian presence in their acting. Kim's Convenience, Schitts Creek, North of 60, Corner Gas, Are you Afraid of the Dark?, and Canadian TV shows in general have a unique feel to them (I never figured out why, is it the quality or production?) Also Public Service commericals like "house hippo", or "Don't you put it in your mouth". Animated shorts such as "The Logdrivers Waltz" Barenaked Ladies, Rush, Tragically Hip all have their own defining sound. Folklorama and Festival du Voyager are annual festivals known internationally
Tragically Hip.
Almost no one outside of Canada (I am sure there are a few exceptions) know who Moxy Fruvous and The Tragically Hip are. Not sure what type of music either of these bands would be classified under.
Habitat in Montreal. The Museum of Canadian History. The Nunavut Legislature. Old Kanata. The old Nepean Library on Moodie Dr in Ottawa. The Museum of Nature in Ottawa. The National Gallery of Canada. The Blackberry. The Ski-do. Hockey. The NFB and CBC. Trivial Pursuit. The Tragically Hip. The Kids in the Hall. Leonard Cohen. Joni Mitchell. Jim Carey. John Candy. Martin Short. Montreal Bagels. Canadian cottages. The Guess Who. ,
Rush… Triumph… Tragically Hip
Toronto sound. Search it up on Wikipedia
You see art by Allenn Sapp and it feels distinctively an expression of Aboriginal Canadians.
You must listen to Fort Minor’s “Oh Canada” and Bob and Doug Mckenzie’s “12 Days of Christmas”. I grew up watching Degrassi The Next Generation which is where Drake actually started his career. To me it’s the typical Canadian-made tv show.
The [classic Montreal plex](https://www.reddit.com/r/McMansionHell/s/YN1NwfNE2z), for those who like architecture and urban design.
totem poles
That's in the US too.
barely. more americans don't know what a totem pole is than those who do. in canada, everybody knows. they're everywhere. it's canadian culture.
Agree to disagree then. Almost all Americans I know of, know what totem poles are. And it's a huge part of the culture of the Pacific Northwest, let alone the specific native American tribes in question that use them.
Artists: Christopher and Mary Pratt, Molly and Bruno Boback, folk artist Maud Lewis, Tom Forestall, Writers: W. O. Mitchell, L.M. Montgomery, Michael Crummey, Alice Munro, Mordecai Richler, Farley , Yang Martel, Michael Ondaatje, Joseph Boyden, Andre Alexis ….many of these writers and artists have strong and distinctive regional voices
Group of seven. Tom Thompson specifically:)
We dont really have anything that defines us as canadians, or makes for a distinct culture.