The Country Drives Forward

These are rug hookings, of a puffin and a fish. They evoke the entry of Newfoundland into Confederation, which happened after people there voted to join Canada in 1949, becoming the last province, known today as Newfoundland and Labrador. With the exception of the partitioning of the Northwest Territories into the Northwest Territories and Nunavut at the end of the century, it was the last major change in the country's shape.

Joey Smallwood led the effort to join the country as the province's premier, and he is thus seen as a Father of Confederation, decades after the others.

Tommy Douglas was a premier of Saskatchewan who founded what would become the New Democratic Party of Canada. He established universal health care in Saskatchewan before going into politics at the federal level, and the federal government followed up on transferring that concept to the country as a whole.

The post-war decades were a time of significant change in the country. Fashions of the era are seen here.

Canada had used the Red Ensign as an unofficial flag- a combination of the Union Jack and the Canadian coat of arms. But a movement rose up for a national flag, with Prime Minister Pearson advocating for change. Hundreds of designs were proposed. I'm biased, but the winning design was just right. I can't imagine a better flag.

This is the evening dress of Marjorie Gehl, the daughter of a Canadian diplomat working in the southern United States. She made it herself to mark the country's centennial in 1967.

This photo is from July 1st of that momentous year. What was called Dominion Day and is now called Canada Day, with Parliament Hill being the center of attention, including a visit from the Queen. This photograph is actually taken by the great landscape photographer Malak Karsh, who spent his professional career photographing the country he loved so much.

1967 was also the year of Expo 67 in Montreal. This model was the Indian Pavilion, which deliberately sought to provoke questions about how indigenous peoples had been treated in the country's history.

A Dark Period Of Global Upheaval

Some recruitment posters from World War One, in both official languages, are seen here.

It was a war that had come at great cost. The country would never be the same.

This portrait by William Orpen is of Robert Borden, the Prime Minister of the country through the First World War.

With the amount of things Canadians had done during the Great War, Borden pushed for them to have a place in the peace negotiations, as well as a greater say for their place in the world. This was still a period in which the British decided foreign policy for their dominions, after all.

The Great Depression was a calamity in and of itself, with the collapse of the economy worldwide plunging the world into the darkness. Canada was hit by it as much as any other country. Here, this includes a quilt made by a church congregation women's organization.

The CBC (Radio-Canada in French) is a legacy of this period, founded as a public broadcaster.

World War Two would drive the world into more upheaval, but also bring us out of the malaise of the Depression. Canada joined Britain from the beginning of the war, and again, the country's military would distinguish itself throughout.

Two photographs taken during the war. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King hosted two conferences at Quebec City for the western allies, with Winston Church and Franklin Roosevelt, and the Earl of Athlone, who was the governor-general at the time. At bottom, a photograph of King taken during his radio broadcast on VE Day.

Canadian industrial output for the war was total. The country was dedicated to winning the war.

And when it all came to an end, both in Europe and in Asia, the country would celebrate, welcome their sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers home, and grieve for those who never made it back.

New Era And The Bloodshed Of War

 More views inside St. Onuphrius today as I walked around the church.

Along the wall opposite from the church on this side were photographs and artifacts showing the progress of one of our western cities, Winnipeg, as the 19th century gave way to the 20th century.

Another look at the church.

Eatons was a retail company in Canada, and much of their business during this era was through catalogues.

I went to the last gallery, which starts in 1914 and goes to the current day. This display case includes a bust of Wilfrid Laurier, the prime minister whose time in office straddled the 19th and 20th centuries.

When war broke out in Europe, Canada would be in it from the beginning, and Canadian forces would do extraordinary things over four years of brutal warfare.

The Lee-Enfield rifle became the standard weapon for Canadians in that war. The tunic here belonged to Alexander Reid, who served in the ranks from the beginning, and served with bravery.

This painting is Gas Attack, Flanders, a 1915 painting by Alfred Bastien.

Canadians did things during that war that by all rights were impossible, but did them anyway. They earned a reputation as shock troopers. This photograph shows Canadian soldiers looking happy, and rightfully so- they had just won the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Double

The first day of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo. For February, that theme is Double. See how others are interpreting the theme right here. 

I start with these shots taken at Lansdowne Park one morning. Two big doors at one end were open for load-in of the flea market, which is here a couple of days a month. A pair of regular doors flank the big ones.

On another side of the building, the doors as they look closed.

Churches commonly have double doors. Passing by Fourth Avenue Baptist Church in the Glebe, I took this shot of the main entrance.

A few blocks away, and a few nights later, I took this shot of the main doors for St. Matthew's Anglican Church.

Double is Two, and this fits the theme. I attended a concert showing of The Lord of The Rings The Two Towers at Lansdowne Park one night. The movie was screened, with an orchestra and choir doing the music live. A handful of orchestra members were already warming up as I took my seat.

Another two, taken at home- two shoes in the Dutch style. The key chain I bought in the last year from a Dutch store here. The porcelain version was passed down from my parents. Both have a place in my roll top desk.

I have a number of beer mugs and tumblers from Thor's Trinkets, an artisan who appears locally at the Christmas market here each year, as well as Comiccon. Among the tumblers is this one, with cinema's greatest secret agent as the motif. 

Double letters also drew my eye. Two eateries are side by side in an office tower downtown, and I stop by either of them on occasion. This double T is part of the signage for Manhattan's, which specializes in burgers and poutine.

Its neighbour is El Toro Pizza, and I'll stop for a couple of slices if I'm passing through. The double Z suits the theme.

Double is also a pair. These two sit outside the main headquarters of Library and Archives Canada.

Another set of double doors. This is one of the secondary entrances for a funeral home in Centretown.

I took this on a snowy afternoon some days ago. The main post office building downtown is at Sparks Street and Elgin. All three of the entrance points are flanked with stone lions. And because of the shape of the roads- particularly Elgin, which here veers sharply towards the northwest to meet Wellington at Parliament Hill, we have the effect of two streets in one shot.

Lastly, this one is from the archives. Back in 2019 I stopped in at the Ottawa Art Gallery, where on the main floor, a table with mirrors was set up. I took a shot with the phone I had at the time, looking thoroughly disreputable. Double the trouble, so to speak. But who's from the Mirror Universe, or is this the Matrix?

"I'm going to enjoy watching you die, Mr. Anderson..."