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Cool Canada : Amazing People, Inventions, Places, Events and Phenomena

Supplementary Activity 1

Influences! Influences! Influences!

In this activity students explore how the Canadian identity has been influenced by such factors as: 
o	Its colonial ties to Great Britain and France
o	Its proximity to the United States
o	Its multiculturalism 
o	Its regionalism 
o	Its geography 
o	Its climate 
o	Its inventions, people, places, events and phenomena 
o	Its peacekeeping missions
o	Its foreign aid projects 
o	Its participation in the United Nations and other global organizations

As a class, a member of a small group, or individually ask students to look at how one or all of the listed factors affect the Canadian Identity. Students should consider how each factor affects how Canadians perceive themselves and/or how the rest of the World perceives Canada.

Students could be asked to demonstrate their understanding of how one of these factors affects the Canadian Identity by producing a political cartoon to illustrate their point of view. 

Note: Find more about how to use political cartoons in the classroom by visiting Library and Archives Canada’s Learning Centre Website at  http://www.collectionscanada.ca/education/index-e.html. In the “Toolkit” section, follow the link to “Decoding Political Cartoons”.