Quote from: Canuck_25 on December 29, 2004, 12:35:09
At the currrent moment, 33% of Canadians are of British heritage, 33% french, and 33% multicultural. The main point is, Canada is changing fast.
Source?
I am a full-bred Ukrainian Canadian (3 of 4 grandparents were born in Canada, but all my greats came from Ukraine). Nothing "multi" cultural about me.
33% sounds extremly high as far as "British" heritage goes. I wouldn't try to hard to make your point if I were you.
My grandmother considers HM Queen Elizabeth II a "parasite". I think she makes a pretty good Colonel in Chief, but your beating the drum for British "traditions" is getting rather olllllllllllddddddddddddd...................
Actually Michael Canuck25 under-estimates the British Quotient in Canada.
According to the 2001 census 14.5 million Canadians identified themselves as being wholly or partially some sort of Brit, or about 45% of the population.
15% of the population identified themselves as being French, Quebecois or Acadian.
32% identified themselves as coming from some other European origin,
(9% Germanics or Belgian, 9% Central or Eastern Europeans(including Czech, Balts, Poles, and Slavs of all sorts), 6% Scandinavian or Dutch, 6% Southern Europeans, 2% Balkans or Greeks)
13% identified themselves as being from Asian, African, Latin American or Caribbean countries with about 1.7% stipulating origins in Islamic countries.
1% of the population described themselves as Jewish.
36% described themselves as either wholly or partly Canadian.
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/ETO/Table1.cfm?Lang=E&T=501&GV=1&GID=0
Given that a such a large number of Canadians identify themselves with Britain, I think it is fair to assume that a large proportion would be unhappy at dissolving ties with Britain.
And while I recognize many Brit origin Canadians may be republicans I am equally sure that many Commonwealth citizens as well as many Scandinavians and other Europeans are monarchists. I have met quite a few.
Your grandmother notwithstanding.....
You may find our support of the Monarchy as getting old, some of the rest of us view the constant assault on our (and your) history in the same light. Canada's government, and our freedoms, are a direct result of having had the great good fortune to have been part of the British Empire, as opposed to the Spanish, French, Russian, Austro-Hungarian, German, Persian, Moghul, Chinese or Ottoman empires. Empires may not be great (although some argue that they are natural and necessary)--------------- but it could have been worse.
Cheers Michael.