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While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of ], its origin is now accepted as coming from the ] word {{lang|lre|kanata}}, meaning 'village' or 'settlement'.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Olson |first1=James Stuart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uyqepNdgUWkC&pg=PA109 |title=Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism |last2=Shadle |first2=Robert |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-313-26257-9 |page=109}}</ref> In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day ] region used the word to direct French explorer ] to the village of ].{{sfn|Rayburn|2001|pp=14–22}} Cartier later used the word ''Canada'' to refer not only to that particular village but to the entire area subject to ] (the chief at Stadacona);{{sfn|Rayburn|2001|pp=14–22}} by 1545, European books and maps had begun referring to this small region along the ] as ''Canada''.{{sfn|Rayburn|2001|pp=14–22}} | |||
The '''name ''Canada''''' has been in use since the earliest European settlement in ] and likely originates from a ] word ''kanata'' for "settlement", "village", or "land". Today, ''Canada'' is pronounced {{IPA|/ˈkænədə/}} in ] and {{IPA|/kanada/}} in ]. | |||
From the 16th to the early 18th century, ''Canada'' referred to ] that lay along the Saint Lawrence River.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Magocsi |first=Paul R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbUuX0mnvQMC&pg=PA1048 |title=Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8020-2938-6 |page=1048}}</ref> In 1791, the area became two British colonies called ] and ]. These two colonies were collectively named ] until their union as the British ] in 1841.<ref>{{Cite web |year=1841 |title=An Act to Re-write the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and for the Government of Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BCQtAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA20 |publisher=J.C. Fisher & W. Kimble |page=20}}</ref> | |||
Upon ], ''Canada'' was adopted as the legal name for the new country at the ], and the word '']'' was conferred as the country's ''title''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=O'Toole |first=Roger |title=Holy Nations and Global Identities: Civil Religion, Nationalism, and Globalisation |publisher=Brill |year=2009 |isbn=978-90-04-17828-1 |editor-last=Hvithamar |editor-first=Annika |page=137 |chapter=Dominion of the Gods: Religious continuity and change in a Canadian context |editor-last2=Warburg |editor-first2=Margit |editor-last3=Jacobsen |editor-first3=Brian Arly}}</ref> By the 1950s, the term Dominion of Canada was no longer used by the United Kingdom, which considered Canada a "Realm of the Commonwealth".<ref name="Morra2016">{{Cite book |last=Morra |first=Irene |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=enJ1DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT49 |title=The New Elizabethan Age: Culture, Society and National Identity after World War II |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-85772-867-8 |page=49}}</ref><ref name="b597">{{cite book | last=McIntyre | first=D. | title=British Decolonization, 1946–1997: When, Why and How did the British Empire Fall? | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | series=British History in Perspective | year=1998 | isbn=978-1-349-26922-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5FKEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA108 | page=108}}</ref> The government of ] ended the practice of using ''Dominion'' in the statutes of Canada in 1951.<ref>{{Cite web |title=November 8, 1951 (21st Parliament, 5th Session) |url=https://www.lipad.ca/full/permalink/1661272/ |access-date=April 9, 2019 |website=Canadian Hansard Dataset}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bowden |first=J.W.J. |year=2015 |title='Dominion': A Lament |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319533946 |journal=The Dorchester Review |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=58–64}}</ref> | |||
== Name origin == | |||
] ''ca.'' 1566, one of the first to include the name "Canada" (top right).]] | |||
The name ''Canada'' is believed to have originated around 1535 from a ] (Huron-]) word, ''kanata'', meaning "village" or "settlement",<ref name="kanata"></ref> referring to ], a settlement on the site of present-day ]; another contemporary translation was "land"<ref name="rayburn1">Rayburn, Alan. 2001. ''Naming Canada: Stories About Canadian Place Names'', 2nd ed. University of Toronto Press: Toronto; pp. 13-4.</ref>. In 1545, ] was first to use the word "canada" to refer to the village of Stadacona and the region neighbouring it.<ref>''. Paris, Tross, 1863 edition, page 48.</ref> By 1547, maps made by early European explorers show that ''rivière de Canada'' was given to the nearby ]; the river was called ''Kaniatarowanenneh'' ("big waterway") in Mohawk, coincidentally and reinforcingly similar to ''kanata''. A plausible hypothesis is that the river was named for the village on its banks and the surrounding land for the river used to explore it.{{or}} | |||
The '']'', which brought the ] fully under Canadian control, referred only to ''Canada''. Later that year, the name of the national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to ].<ref name="buckner">{{Cite book |title=Canada and the British Empire |publisher=] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-927164-1 |editor-last=Buckner |editor-first=Philip |pages=37–40, 56–59, 114, 124–125}}</ref> The term ''Dominion'' was used to distinguish the federal government from the provinces, though after the ] the term ''federal'' had replaced ''dominion''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Courtney |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5KomEXgxvMcC&pg=PA114 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics |last2=Smith |first2=David |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-533535-4 |page=114}}</ref> | |||
An unsubstantiated but occasionally heard explanation of the name's origin is that ] ], not having explored the northern part of the continent, wrote ''acá nada'' ("nothing here") on that part of their maps.{{or}} <!-- The modern Spanish word for "here" is "''aqui''". "''Acá''" is an archaic form. --> A similar tale credits ] explorers who, upon seeing the eastern coastline, declared a similar sentiment (''cá nada há'').{{cn}} | |||
==Etymology== | |||
:''See also: ].'' | |||
] from 1565, one of the first to include the name "Canada" (top right).]] | |||
The name ''Canada'' is now generally accepted as originating from the ] word {{lang|lre|kanata}} ({{IPA|}}), meaning 'village' or 'settlement'.{{sfn|Rayburn|2001|pages=14–17}}{{sfn|Mithun|1999|p=312}} Related translations include 'land' or 'town', with subsequent terminologies meaning 'cluster of dwellings' or 'collection of huts'.{{sfn|Rayburn|2001|pages=14–17}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Hawkins |first=Alfred |author2=John Charlton Fisher |title=Hawkins's Picture of Quebec: With Historical Recollections |url=https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-rbsc_lc_hawkins-picture-quebec_lande00414-16648 |year=1834 |publisher=Printed for the proprietor by Neilson and Cowan |chapter=7 |quote=in the note of Charlevoix, Nouvelle France, volume the first, page nine, of the quarto edition, and repeated in "Beautés de l'Histoire du Canada" affords the real solution of the difficulty: "Quelqu'uns derivent ce nom du mot Iroquois Kannata qui se prononce Cannada, et signifie ''un amas de cabanes'';"–"Some derive this name from the Iroquois word ''Kannata'', pronounced Cannada, signifying a collection of huts." |page=}}</ref> This explanation is historically documented in ]'s '']''.{{sfn|Rayburn|2001|pages=14–17}} | |||
==After the conquest of New France== | |||
After the ] conquest of ] (including ceding of the ]) in 1763, the colony was renamed ]. Following the ] and the influx of ], the colony was split on ] ] into ] and ], sometime being collectively known as "]", the first time that the name "Canada" was used as the name of a colony. While Cartier used ''canadien'' to refer to the ] residents of the colony, the term later came to be applied to French subjects born in Canada, and then to inhabitants of both colonies. | |||
Although the ], which was spoken by the inhabitants of ] settlements such as ] (modern-day ]) and ] (modern-day ]) in the 16th century, is now extinct, it was closely related to other dialects of the ], such as the ] and ] languages. Related ]s meaning 'town' include {{lang|lre|nekantaa}}, {{lang|lre|ganataje}}, and {{lang|lre|iennekanandaa}} in the ], ], and ] languages respectively.{{sfn|Rayburn|2001|pages=14–17}} Prior to archaeological confirmation that the St. Lawrence Iroquois were a separate people from the Mohawk, most sources specifically linked the name's origin to the Mohawk word instead of the Laurentian one.{{sfn|Johansen|1999|p=49}} | |||
Upper and Lower Canada were merged into the colony of Canada in 1841, based on the recommendations of the Durham Report, and a single legislature established with equal representation from Canada East and Canada West. Underpopulated Canada West opposed demands by Canada East for representation by population, but the roles reversed as Canada West's population surpassed the east's. The single colony remained governed in this way until ] ], often with coalition governments. A new capital city was being built at ], chosen in 1857 by ], but Ottawa became a national capital. | |||
].]] | |||
A widespread perception in ] is that Cartier misunderstood the term "Canada" as the existing proper name of the Iroquois people's entire territory rather than the generic class noun for a town or village. For instance, the ]'s ] episode devoted to Cartier's landing at Hochelaga is scripted as having Cartier believe that "Kanata" or "Canada" was the established name of the entire country.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004212750/https://www.historicacanada.ca/content/heritage-minutes/jacques-cartier |date=October 4, 2013 }}. Historica Foundation of Canada.</ref> This is not supported by Cartier's own writings, however—in ''Bref récit'', Cartier fully understands the actual meaning of the word ("They call a town Canada").<ref name="Cartier">{{cite report |first=Jacques |last=Cartier |title=Bref récit et succincte narration de la navigation faite en MDXXXV et MDXXXVI par le capitaine Jacques Cartier aux îles de Canada, Hochelaga, Saguenay et autres |language=fr |trans-title=Brief account and succinct narration of the navigation made in 1535 and 1536 by Captain Jacques Cartier to the islands of Canada, Hochelaga, Saguenay and others |year=1863 |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12356/pg12356-images.html |quote=Ilz appellent une ville Canada }}</ref>{{sfn|Francis|Jones|Smith|2009|p=27}} | |||
While the Saint-Lawrence Iroquoian origin for the name ''Canada'' is now widely accepted, other theories have been put forth in the past. | |||
== Selection of the name ''Canada'' == | |||
At the conferences held in London to determine the form of confederation that would unite the ] (now ] and ]), the Province of ] and the Province of ], a delegate from either Nova Scotia or New Brunswick proposed the name ''Canada'' in February 1867, and it was unanimously accepted by the other delegates. There appears to have been little discussion<ref name="london">Creighton, Donald. 1956. ''The Road to Confederation.'' Houghton Mifflin: Boston; p. 421.</ref>, though other names were suggested (see below). | |||
=== Iberian origin theory=== | |||
== Adoption of ''Dominion'' == | |||
The most common alternative theory suggested that the name originated when ] or ], having explored the northern part of the continent and unable to find gold and silver, wrote {{lang|pt|cá nada}} ('nothing here' in ]), {{lang|es|acá nada, aqui nada}} or {{lang|es|el cabo de nada}} ('Cape Nothing' in ]) on that part of their maps.<ref name="Hodgins1858">{{cite book|author=John George Hodgins|title=The Geography and History of British America, and of the Other Colonies of the Empire: To which are Added a Sketch of the Various Indian Tribes of Canada, and Brief Biographical Notices of Eminent Persons Connected with the History of Canada|url=https://archive.org/details/geographyandhis00hodggoog|year=1858|publisher=Maclear & Company|page=}}</ref> An alternative explanation favoured by ] Marshall Elliott linked the name to the Spanish word ], meaning ']' or ']'.<ref>"Further Conjectures as to the Origin of the Name 'Canada'". '']'', September 5, 1908.</ref>{{sfn|Orkin|2010|pp=38-43}} | |||
] | |||
The earliest iterations of the Spanish "nothing here" theory stated that the explorers made the declaration upon visiting the ],<ref>]. 1754. ''The Conduct of the French, with Regard to Nova Scotia''. London: T. Jefferys.</ref> while later versions left out any identifying geographic detail. | |||
During the ] of 1864, ], who later became the first ], talked of "founding a great British monarchy", in connection with the ]. He advocated, in the fourth Canadian draft of the British North America Act, the name "Kingdom of Canada,"<ref>Farthing, John; ''Freedom Wears a Crown''; Toronto, 1957</ref> in the text is said: | |||
:The word 'Parliament' shall mean the Legislature or Parliament of the Kingdom of Canada. | |||
:The word 'Kingdom' shall mean and comprehend the United Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. | |||
:The words 'Privy Council' shall mean such persons as may from time to time be appointed, by the Governor General, and sworn to aid and advise in the Government of the Kingdom.<ref>Pope, Joseph; ''Confederation''; pg. 177</ref> | |||
The known Portuguese presence in modern Canadian territory, meanwhile, was in ]. Neither region is located anywhere near Iroquoian territory, and the name ''Canada'' does not appear on any Spanish or Portuguese maps of the North American coast that predate Cartier's visit.{{sfn|Orkin|2010|pp=38-43}} No name for the Bay of Chaleur is attested at all in Spanish sources from that period, while the only name for ] attested in Portuguese sources is {{lang|pt|Terra Nova do Bacalhau}}, after the region's plentiful ]. | |||
Officials at the ] in London, however, opposed this potentially "premature" and "pretentious" reference for a new country. They were also wary of antagonizing the ] which had emerged from the ] as a formidable military power with unsettled grievances because of British support for the ] cause and thus opposed the use of terms such as ''kingdom'' or ''empire'' to describe the new country. | |||
In most versions of the Iberian origin theory, the Spanish or Portuguese passed their name on to the Iroquois, who rapidly adopted it in place of their own prior word for a village;{{sfn|Orkin|2010|pp=38-43}} however, no historical evidence for any such Iberian-Iroquoian interaction has ever actually been found.{{sfn|Orkin|2010|pp=38-43}} Elliott's "valley" theory, conversely, was that the Spanish gave their name for the area directly to ], who then entirely ignored or passed over the virtually identical Iroquoian word.{{sfn|Orkin|2010|pp=38-43}} According to Elliott, Cartier never explicitly stated that there was a direct connection between {{lang|iro|canada}} or {{lang|iro|kanata}} as the Iroquoian word for 'village' and ''Canada'' as the new name of the entire territory, and never accounted for the spelling difference between {{lang|iro|kanata}} and ''Canada''—and thus the Spanish etymology had to be favoured because the spellings matched.{{sfn|Orkin|2010|pp=38-43}} Notably, Cartier never wrote of having any awareness of any preexisting Spanish or Portuguese name for the region either, meaning that Elliott's allegation that the {{lang|iro|kanata}} derivation was not adequately supported by Cartier's own writing on the matter was also true of his own preferred theory. | |||
As a result the term '']'' was chosen to indicate Canada's status as a self-governing ] of the ], the first time it would be so used in reference to a country. This was an old British term for a type of government used in ], and presumably resurrected for new purposes. It is reckoned that Sir ] suggested the term, inspired by ] 72:8 (from the ]): "He shall have Dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth."<ref name="tilley"> ].</ref> This is also echoed in ]: ''A mari usque ad mare'' (] for "from sea to sea"). | |||
Franciscan priest ] claimed that the word derived from {{lang|es|segnada Canada}}, an answer reportedly given by Spaniards in the St. Lawrence Valley area when asked what their purpose was; according to Thevet, the phrase meant that they were seeking land<ref name=carpin>Gervais Carpin, ''Histoire d'un mot: l'ethnonyme "canadien" de 1535-1691''. Les Éditions de Septentrion, 1995. {{ISBN|9782894480366}}. p. 50.</ref> or that they were hunting.<ref name=dickason>], ''Le mythe du sauvage''. Les Éditions de Septentrion, 1993. {{ISBN|9782921114967}}. p. 298.</ref> These words do not actually exist in Spanish, however. | |||
In a letter to Queen Victoria, Lord Carnarvon stated, "The ]n delegates are anxious that the United Provinces should be designated as the 'Dominion of Canada.' It is a new title, but intended on their part as a tribute to the Monarchical principle which they earnestly desire to uphold." <ref name="cdngovlcarnavon"></ref> | |||
===Minor or humorous theories=== | |||
However, in a letter to Lord Knutsford on the topic of the loss of the use of the word kingdom, Macdonald said: | |||
British philologist B. Davies surmised that by the same process which initially saw the ] mislabelled as ], the country came to be named for the ] region of ] or that region's ] ethnic group;<ref>''Canadian Naturalist and Geologist'', December 1861. p. 432.</ref> however, this theory has attracted no significant support from other academics.{{sfn|Rayburn|2001|pages=14–17}} | |||
Additional theories have attributed the name "Canada" to: a word in an unspecified indigenous language for 'mouth of the country' in reference to the ];{{sfn|Rayburn|2001|pages=14–17}} a ] word for 'neat or clean';<ref>John Maclean, ''Canadian Savage Folk: The Native Tribes of Canada''. C. W. Coates, 1986.</ref> a claimed ] ] of "''kan-na-dun, Kunatun''";<ref name=dickason/> a shared Cree and Innu word, ''p'konata'', which purportedly meant 'without a plan' or 'I don't know';<ref>Joseph Graham, ''Naming the Laurentians: A History of Place Names 'up North<nowiki>'</nowiki>''. Les Éditions Main Street, 2005. {{ISBN|9780973958607}}. p. 65</ref> a short-lived French colony purportedly established by a settler whose surname was Cane;{{sfn|Rayburn|2001|pages=14–17}} ]'s description elsewhere in his writings of ] as "the land God gave to ];" or, to a claim that the early French '']'' demanded a "can a day" of ] from the local ]{{sfn|Rayburn|2001|pages=14–17}} (a claim easily debunked by the fact that the ''habitants'' would have been speaking ], not English). | |||
:"A great opportunity was lost in 1867 when the Dominion was formed out of the several provinces. | |||
:"The declaration of all the B.N.A. provinces that they desired as one dominion to remain a portion of the Empire, showed what wise government and generous treatment would do, and should have been marked as an epoch in the history of England. This would probably have been the case had Lord Carnarvon, who, as colonial minister, had sat at the cradle of the new Dominion, remained in office. His ill-omened resignation was followed by the appointment of the late Duke of Buckingham, who had as his adviser the then Governor General, Lord Monck - both good men, certainly, but quite unable, from the constitution of their minds, to rise to the occasion. Had a different course been pursued, for instance, had united Canada been declared to be an auxiliary kingdom, as it was in the Canadian draft of the bill, I feel sure almost that the Australian colonies would, ere this, have been applying to be placed in the same rank as The Kingdom of Canada." | |||
In their 1983 book ''The Anglo Guide to Survival in Québec'', humourists ] and Jon Kalina tied the Iberian origin theory to the phrase ''nada mas caca'' ('nothing but shit'). No historian or linguist has ever analyzed this explanation as anything more than an obvious joke.<ref>] and Jon Kalina, ''The Anglo Guide to Survival in Québec''. Eden Press, 1983. {{ISBN|978-0920792339}}. p. 89.</ref> | |||
He added as a postscript: | |||
==Canadian== | |||
:"P.S. On reading the above over I see that it will convey the impression that the change of title from Kingdom to Dominion was caused by the Duke of Buckingham. This is not so. It was made at the instance of Lord Derby, then foreign minister, who feared the first name would wound the sensibilities of the Yankees. I mentioned this incident in our history to Lord Beaconsfield at Hughenden in 1879, who said, 'I was not aware of the circumstance, but it is so like Derby, a very good fellow, but who lives in a region of perpetual funk.'"<ref></ref> | |||
The ] "Canadien" or "Canadian" once referred exclusively to the ] who were native to the territory.{{sfn|Orkin|2010|pp=38-43}} Its use was extended over time to the French settlers of ], and later the ] of ].{{sfn|Orkin|2010|pp=38-43}} | |||
==Colonial usage== | |||
Use of the term ''dominion'' was formalized in 1867 through ]. In the ], namely the ] (]), the preamble of the Act indicates: | |||
===New France=== | |||
European explorer ] transcribed the ] word (pronounced {{IPA-iu|kanata|}}) as "Canada" and was the first European to use the word to refer not only to the village of ] but also to the neighbouring region and to the ], which he called ''rivière de Canada'' during his second voyage in 1535.{{sfn|Marsh|1999|p=355}}<ref name="Riendeau2007">{{cite book|author=Roger E. Riendeau|title=A Brief History of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CFWy0EfzlX0C&pg=PA27|year=2007|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-0822-3|page=27|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217211144/https://books.google.com/books?id=CFWy0EfzlX0C&pg=PA27|archive-date=February 17, 2017}}</ref> By the mid-1500s, European books and maps began referring to this region as Canada.{{sfn|Warkentin|Podruchny|2001|p=234}} | |||
'']'' soon after became the name of a colony in ] that stretched along the St. Lawrence River.{{sfn|Warkentin|Podruchny|2001|p=234}}<ref name="culture">MCC. " {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920111912/http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/nllefce/fr/intro.htm |date=2008-09-20 }}", in ''La Nouvelle-France. Ressources françaises'', Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (France), 1998, retrieved August 2, 2008</ref> The terms "Canada" and "New France" were often used interchangeably during the colonial period.{{sfn|Warkentin|Podruchny|2001|p=234}} | |||
:Whereas the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick have expressed their Desire to be federally united into One Dominion under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a Constitution similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom... | |||
===British North America=== | |||
and section 3 indicates that the provinces: | |||
] postage stamp, the ] ("Threepenny Beaver") ]] | |||
After the ] conquest of New France (including ceding of the French colony, Canada) in 1763, the colony was renamed the ]. Following the ] and the influx of ]s into Quebec, the colony was split on December 26, 1791, into ] and ], sometime being collectively known as "]", the first time that the name "Canada" was used officially in the British regime.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/o5-eng.cfm |title=Canadian Heritage - Origin of the Name - Canada |publisher=Pch.gc.ca |date=April 27, 2011 |access-date=October 26, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012203538/http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/o5-eng.cfm |archive-date=October 12, 2011 }}</ref> | |||
Some reports from the 1840s suggest that in that era, the word "Canada" was commonly pronounced "Kaugh-na-daugh" rather than its more contemporary pronunciation.{{sfn|Orkin|2010|pp=38-43}} | |||
:... shall form and be One Dominion under the Name of Canada; and on and after that Day those Three Provinces shall form and be One Dominion under that Name accordingly. | |||
Upper and Lower Canada were merged into one colony, the ], in 1841, based on the recommendations of the ].{{sfn|Rayburn|2001|pages=14–17}} The former colonies were then known as Canada East and Canada West, and a single legislature was established with equal representation from each. Underpopulated Canada West opposed demands by Canada East for representation by population, but the roles reversed as Canada West's population surpassed the east's. The single colony remained governed in this way until July 1, 1867, often with coalition governments. A new capital city was being built at ], chosen in 1857 by ], and became a national capital. | |||
In J. S. Ewart's two volume work, ''The Kingdom Papers''<ref name="ewart-331"> 1912-7. ''The Kingdom Papers, Volume I.'' McClelland, Goodchild, and Stewart Publishers: Toronto; p. 331.</ref><ref name="ewart-393">''ibid''; p. 393.</ref>, it is noted that the following names were considered for the union of British North America: "The United Colony of Canada", "the United Provinces of Canada", and "the Federated Provinces of Canada"<ref name="ewart-374">''ibid''; pp. 372-393; as per "Rank and Name," pp. 374-381.</ref>. Ewart was also an ardent advocate for the formation of "the Republic of Canada", a position which was rarely expressed in those times<ref name="ewart-262">''ibid''; ''Imperial Projects and the Republic of Canada,'' pp. 262-393.</ref>. | |||
== |
==Selection of the name ''Canada''== | ||
] | |||
The French translation of the 1867 British North America Act translated "One Dominion under the Name of Canada" as "''une seule et même Puissance sous le nom de Canada''" using ''Puissance'' (power) as a translation for ''dominion''. Later the English loan-word ''dominion'' was also used in French. Until 1982, French text had no constitutional equality with English text. | |||
At the ] to determine the form of ] that would unite the ] (now ] and ]), the province of ], and the province of ], a delegate from either Nova Scotia or New Brunswick proposed the name ''Canada'' in February 1867, and it was unanimously accepted by the other delegates. There appears to have been little discussion,<ref name="london">Creighton, Donald. 1956. ''The Road to Confederation.'' Houghton Mifflin: Boston; p. 421.</ref> though other names were suggested. | |||
===Other proposed names=== | |||
The Fathers of Confederation met at the ] to discuss the terms of this new union. One issue on the agenda was to determine the Union's "]" (see ''Resolution 71'' of the Quebec Conference, 1864). The candidates for the classification of this new union were: "the Kingdom of Canada" (''le Royaume du Canada''), "the Realm of Canada" (''le Realme du Canada''), "the Union of Canada" (''l'Union du Canada''), and "the Dominion of Canada" (''le Dominion du Canada''). | |||
While the provinces' delegates spent little time, if any, in settling on ''Canada'' as the name for the new country, others proposed a variety of other names:<ref name="other">{{cite web |url=http://canadaonline.about.com/od/history/a/namecanada.htm |title=How Canada Got Its Name — Origin of the Name Canada |publisher=Canadaonline.about.com |access-date=June 11, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207073242/http://canadaonline.about.com/od/history/a/namecanada.htm |archive-date=December 7, 2010 }}</ref>{{sfn|Rayburn|2001|pages=14–17}} | |||
* Anglia – the ] name for ] | |||
== Use of ''Canada'' and ''Dominion of Canada'' == | |||
* Albionoria – '] of the north' | |||
Neither the term ''Dominion of Canada'' nor ''Dominion government'' appear in the 1867 Act; however, the former appears in the Constitution Act, 1871 — usage of which was "sanctioned" <ref name="martin">Martin, Robert. 1993(?). ''The Machray Review.'' Prayer Book Society of Canada. — ''A summative piece about nomenclature and pertinent history with abundant references.''</ref> — and both appear in other texts of the period, as well as on numerous Canadian bills before 1967. | |||
* Borealia – from ''borealis'', the Latin word for 'northern'; compare with ] | |||
* Cabotia – in honour of ] explorer ], who explored the ] of Canada for England | |||
* Colonia | |||
* Efisga – an acronym of ''English, French, Irish, Scottish, German, American.'' (Some accounts state that the ''a'' stood for ''Aboriginal'', but there was little or no use of that term to describe ] at the time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.canadashistory.ca/getmedia/5d5f85e2-6985-453a-a62b-2b74451ca29b/KayDig2014CreatingCanada.pdf?ext=.pdf |access-date=May 22, 2024}}</ref>) | |||
* ] – an old name for ] | |||
* ] | |||
* Mesopelagia – 'land between the seas' | |||
* New ] | |||
* Norland | |||
* Superior | |||
* Tupona – acronym for ''The United Provinces of North America'' | |||
* Transatlantica | |||
* Ursalia – 'place of bears' | |||
* Vesperia – 'land of the ]' | |||
* Victorialand – in honour of ] | |||
] of '']'' newspaper in London argued that the new nation should be called ''Northland'' or ''Anglia'' instead of Canada.<ref name="bagehot">Moore, Christopher. 1997. ''1867: How the Fathers Made a Deal.'' McClelland and Stewart: Toronto; p. 214.</ref> On these names, the statesman ] commented, "Now I would ask any honourable member of the House how he would feel if he woke up some fine morning and found himself, instead of a Canadian, a Tuponian or a Hochelegander?".<ref name="Colombo2001ef">{{cite book|author=John Robert Colombo|title=1000 Questions About Canada: Places, People, Things, and Ideas : A Question-And-Answer Book on Canadian Facts and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JV0EwIqH9L4C&pg=PA335|date=June 1, 2001|publisher=Dundurn Press Ltd.|isbn=978-0-88882-232-1|page=335|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319070826/http://books.google.com/books?id=JV0EwIqH9L4C&pg=PA335|archive-date=March 19, 2015}}</ref> | |||
Until the 1950s, the term ''Dominion of Canada'' was commonly used to identify the country. As Canada increasingly acquired political authority and autonomy from the ], the federal government increasingly began using simply ''Canada'' on state documents. The Government of Prime Minister ] enacted a formal policy of removing the word "dominion" from all updated bills and statutes. | |||
==''Kingdom'' and ''Dominion''== | |||
The ] refers only to ''Canada'' and, as such, is currently the only legal (as well as bilingual) name. This was also reflected later in 1982 with the renaming of the national holiday from ] to ]. Section 4 of the 1867 BNA Act declares that: | |||
{{redirect|Dominion of Canada}} | |||
Working towards the ], ] deliberated on the official title for their new country, primarily between the "Kingdom of Canada" or the "Dominion of Canada".<ref name=":0" /><ref name="tilley" /> | |||
In ]'s two volume work, ''The Kingdom Papers'',<ref>{{harvnb|Ewart|1912–1917|p=331}}</ref><ref name="ewart-393">{{harvnb|Ewart|1912–1917|p=393}}</ref> it is noted that the following names were considered for the union of ]: "The United Colony of Canada", "the United Provinces of Canada", and "the Federated Provinces of Canada".<ref name="ewart-374">{{harvnb|Ewart|1912–1917|pp=372–393}}; as per "Rank and Name", pp. 374–381.</ref> Ewart was also an ardent advocate for the formation of "the ]", a position which was rarely expressed in those times.<ref name="ewart-262">{{harvnb|Ewart|1912–1917|loc=''Imperial Projects and the Republic of Canada,'' pp. 262–393}}.</ref> | |||
:Unless it is otherwise expressed or implied, the Name Canada shall be taken to mean Canada as constituted under this Act. | |||
===''Kingdom of Canada''=== | |||
and this has been interpreted to mean that the name of the country is simply ''Canada''. No constitutional statute amends this name and the subsequent Canada Act 1982 does not use the term ''dominion'' at all; nor does it state that Canada is not a dominion. While no legal document ever says that the name of the country is anything other than ''Canada'', ''Dominion'' and ''Dominion of Canada'' remain official titles of the country.<ref name="marsh">Marsh, James H., ed. 1988. "" '']''. Hurtig Publishers: Toronto.</ref><ref name="rayburn2">Rayburn, pp. 19, 21.</ref><ref name="cdngov">, , </ref> | |||
{{see also|Monarchy of Canada}} | |||
During the ] of 1864, ], who later became the first ], talked of "founding a great ]," in connection with the ]. He advocated, in the fourth Canadian draft of the '']'' (BNA Act), the name "'''Kingdom of Canada'''",<ref name=":0">Farthing, John; ''Freedom Wears a Crown''; Toronto, 1957</ref> in the text is said: | |||
{{blockquote| | |||
In recent years the terms ''Dominion of Canada'' and ''Dominion'' are rarely used to distinguish the federal government from the provinces or, in historical works, to distinguish Canada (post 1867) from either the earlier ] or from the even earlier ]. Among those who lament disuse of the term was the late ], in response to what he and other ]s consider increasing ]. However, the federal government continues to produce publications and educational materials that specify the currency of these official titles.<ref name="forsey">] 2005. (PDF), 6th ed. Canada: Ottawa; pp. 8-9.</ref><ref name="cdngov" /> | |||
The word ']' shall mean the Legislature or Parliament of the Kingdom of Canada.<br /> | |||
The word 'Kingdom' shall mean and comprehend the United Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.<br /> | |||
The words ']' shall mean such persons as may from time to time be appointed, by the Governor General, and sworn to aid and advise in the Government of the Kingdom.<ref>Pope, Joseph; ''Confederation''; pg. 177</ref>''}} | |||
], led by Macdonald, wished their new nation to be called the ''Kingdom of Canada'' in order to "fix the monarchical basis of the ]".<ref name="WrongLangton2009">{{cite book|author1=George M. Wrong|author2=H. H. Langton|title=The Chronicles of Canada: Volume VIII - The Growth of Nationality|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qs6IKxQxUjsC&pg=PA60|access-date=July 1, 2010|year=2009|publisher=Fireship Press|isbn=978-1-934757-51-2|page=60|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629221027/http://books.google.com/books?id=Qs6IKxQxUjsC&pg=PA60|archive-date=June 29, 2014}}</ref> The ] at the time, ], supported the move to designate Canada a kingdom;<ref>Hubbard, R.H.; ''Rideau Hall''; McGill-Queen's University Press; Montreal and London; 1977; p. 9</ref> however, officials at the ] in London opposed this potentially "premature" and "pretentious" reference for a new country. They were also wary of antagonizing the United States, which had emerged from its ] as a formidable military power with unsettled grievances because British interests had sold ships to the ] despite a blockade, and thus opposed the use of terms such as ''kingdom'' or ''empire'' to describe the new country.<ref name="FrancisFrancis2009qw">{{cite book|author1=R. Douglas Francis|author2=Richard Jones|author3=Donald B. Smith|title=Journeys: A History of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbbZRIOKclsC&pg=PA246|year=2009|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-17-644244-6|page=246|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319054856/http://books.google.com/books?id=GbbZRIOKclsC&pg=PA246|archive-date=March 19, 2015}}</ref> | |||
== Other proposed names == | |||
While the provinces' delegates spent little time, if any, in settling on 'Canada' as the name for the new country, others proposed a variety of other names<ref name="other">http://canadaonline.about.com/od/history/a/namecanada.htm</ref>: | |||
=== {{anchor |Adoption of Dominion}}Adoption of ''Dominion'' === | |||
* ] | |||
] at the end of the nineteenth century. "Dominions" refers to all territories belonging to ].]] | |||
* Albionoria — "Albion of the north" | |||
* Borealia – from 'borealis', the Latin word for 'northern'; compare with ] | |||
* Cabotia – in honour of Italian explorer ], who explored the eastern coast of Canada for England | |||
* Colonia | |||
* Efisga — an acronym of "English, French, Irish, Scottish, German, Aboriginal" | |||
* ] – an old name for ] | |||
* ] | |||
* Mesopelagia — "land between the seas" | |||
* Norland | |||
* Superior | |||
* Tuponia — derived from 'The United Provinces of North America' | |||
* Transatlantica | |||
* Ursalia — "place of bears" | |||
* Vesperia — "land of the evening star" | |||
* Victorialand – in honour of ] | |||
], ], suggested the term '']'',<ref group="lower-roman">"Dominion (noun)." '']'': "a self-governing nation of the Commonwealth of Nations other than the United Kingdom that acknowledges the British monarch as chief of state"</ref> inspired by ]:8 (from the ]): "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth."<ref name="tilley"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001060545/http://www.collectionscanada.ca/confederation/023001-2415-e.html |date=October 1, 2007 }} ].</ref> This is also echoed in Canada's motto: '']'' (] for 'from sea to sea').<ref name="Nischik2008we">{{cite book|author=Reingard M. Nischik|title=History of Literature in Canada: English-Canadian and French-Canadian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VYgTaGwa4nsC&pg=PA113|year=2008|publisher=Camden House|isbn=978-1-57113-359-5|page=113|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319064343/http://books.google.com/books?id=VYgTaGwa4nsC&pg=PA113|archive-date=March 19, 2015}}</ref> | |||
] of '']'' newspaper in London argued that the new nation should be called 'Northland' or 'Anglia' instead of Canada <ref name="bagehot">Moore, Christopher. 1997. ''1867: How the Fathers Made a Deal.'' McClelland and Stewart: Toronto; p. 214.</ref>. On these names, the statesman Thomas ] commented, "Now I would ask any honourable member of the House how he would feel if he woke up some fine morning and found himself, instead of a Canadian, a Tuponian or a Hochelegander?" | |||
The term ''Dominion'' had been used for centuries to refer to the lands held by a monarch,<ref>]</ref> and had previously been adopted as titles for the ] and the ]. It continued to apply as a generic term for the major colonial possessions of the ] until well into the 20th century;<ref>"... on the 23rd of April 1895, Tongaland was declared by proclamation to be added to the dominions of Queen Victoria ... " ({{cite EB1911|wstitle=Africa |volume=1 |page=343|short=x}})</ref> although Tilley and the other ] broadened the meaning of the word ''dominion'' to a "virtual synonym for ]".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2guides/guides/favart/index-fra.html?lang=fra&lettr=indx_titls&page=9spu01Mio3EU.html | title=Through the Lens of History: Translating dominion as puissance | publisher=Government of Canada | access-date=June 24, 2013 | author=Delisle, Jean | date=October 8, 2009 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224215840/http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2guides/guides/favart/index-fra.html?lang=fra&lettr=indx_titls&page=9spu01Mio3EU.html | archive-date=December 24, 2013 }}</ref> Its adoption as a title for Canada in 1867 served the purpose of upholding the monarchist principle in Canada; in a letter to ], ] stated:<ref name="cdngovlcarnavon">{{cite web|date=January 9, 2009|title=The Prince of Wales Royal Visit 2001, Quiz (Kids)|url=http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/special/royalvisit/kids-zone-answers.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616093914/http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/special/royalvisit/kids-zone-answers.htm|archive-date=June 16, 2008|access-date=June 11, 2010|publisher=Canadian Heritage}}</ref><blockquote>The North American delegates are anxious that the United Provinces should be designated as the 'Dominion of Canada.' It is a new title, but intended on their part as a tribute to the Monarchical principle which they earnestly desire to uphold.<ref name="cdngovlcarnavon" /></blockquote>Macdonald, however, bemoaned its adoption. In a letter to Lord Knutsford on the topic of the loss of the use of the word kingdom, Macdonald said: | |||
] | |||
{{blockquote|A great opportunity was lost in 1867 when the Dominion was formed out of the several provinces…The declaration of all the B.N.A. provinces that they desired as one dominion to remain a portion of the Empire, showed what wise government and generous treatment would do, and should have been marked as an epoch in the history of England. This would probably have been the case had ], who, as colonial minister, had sat at the cradle of the new Dominion, remained in office. His ill-omened resignation was followed by the appointment of the late ], who had as his adviser the then Governor General, ] - both good men, certainly, but quite unable, from the constitution of their minds, to rise to the occasion. Had a different course been pursued, for instance, had united Canada been declared to be an auxiliary kingdom, as it was in the Canadian draft of the bill, I feel sure almost that the Australian colonies would, ere this, have been applying to be placed in the same rank as The Kingdom of Canada.<ref name="BousfieldToffoli1991a">{{cite book|author1=Arthur Bousfield|author2=Garry Toffoli|title=Royal Observations: Canadians & Royalty|url=https://archive.org/details/royalobservation0000bous|url-access=registration|year=1991|publisher=Dundurn Press Ltd.|isbn=978-1-55002-076-2|page=}}</ref><ref name="Pope1894">{{cite book|author=Joseph Pope|title=Memoirs of the Right Honourable Sir John Alexander Macdonald, G. C. B., first Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada|url=https://archive.org/details/memoirsofrightho02popeiala|year=1894|publisher=E. Arnold|page=}}</ref>}} | |||
He added as a ] that it was adopted on the suggestion of British colonial ministers to avoid offending ] sensibilities in the United States: | |||
{{blockquote|P.S. On reading the above over I see that it will convey the impression that the change of title from Kingdom to Dominion was caused by the Duke of Buckingham. This is not so. It was made at the instance of ], then foreign minister, who feared the first name would wound the sensibilities of the Yankees. I mentioned this incident in our history to Lord Beaconsfield at ] in 1879, who said, 'I was not aware of the circumstance, but it is so like Derby, a very good fellow, but who lives in a region of perpetual funk.'<ref>{{cite web |url=http://senatorcools.sencanada.ca/Speech-in-Senate-Chamber-Senator-Cools-pays-tribute-to-Her-Majesty-Queen-Elizabeth-II-on-the-forty-seventh-anniversary-of-Her-accession-to-the-Throne/ |title=Senator Cools congratulates Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on her Forty-Seventh Anniversary of Accession to Throne, Feb 11, 1999 |publisher=Senatorcools.sencanada.ca |access-date=2011-10-26 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425092307/http://senatorcools.sencanada.ca/Speech-in-Senate-Chamber-Senator-Cools-pays-tribute-to-Her-Majesty-Queen-Elizabeth-II-on-the-forty-seventh-anniversary-of-Her-accession-to-the-Throne/ |archive-date=2012-04-25 }}</ref>}} | |||
Use of the term ''dominion'' was formalized in 1867 through ]. In the ], namely the '']'' (]), the preamble of the act indicates: | |||
{{blockquote|Whereas the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick have expressed their Desire to be federally united into One Dominion under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a Constitution similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom....<ref name="O'Sullivan1887">{{cite book|author=Dennis Ambrose O'Sullivan|title=Government in Canada: The principles and institutions of our federal and provincial constitutions. The B. N. A. act, 1867, compared with the United States Constitution, with a sketch of the constitutional history of Canada|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924030501534|year=1887|publisher=Carswell & co.|page=}}</ref>}} | |||
Moreover, section 2 indicates that the provinces: | |||
{{blockquote|... shall form and be One Dominion under the Name of Canada; and on and after that Day those Three Provinces shall form and be One Dominion under that Name accordingly.<ref name="O'Sullivan1887" />}} | |||
===French terms=== | |||
The French translation of the 1867 '']'') translated "One Dominion under the Name of Canada" as "{{Lang|fr|une seule et même Puissance sous le nom de Canada}}" using ''Puissance'' ('power') as a translation for ''dominion''. Later, the English ] ''dominion'' was also used in French.<ref>''Le Petit Robert 1: dictionnaire de la langue française'', 1990.</ref> | |||
The ] met at the ] to discuss the terms of this new union. One issue on the agenda was to determine the Union's "]" (see ''Resolution 71'' of the Quebec Conference, 1864). The candidates for the classification of this new union were: {{Lang|fr|le Royaume du Canada}} ('the Kingdom or Realm of Canada'), {{Lang|fr|l'Union du Canada}} ('the Union of Canada'), and {{Lang|fr|le Dominion du Canada}} ('the Dominion of Canada'). | |||
===Use of ''Dominion''=== | |||
There are numerous references in ] to "the Dominion of Canada;" and the '']'' referred to the formation of "one Dominion under the name of Canada".<ref>Commonwealth and Colonial Law by ], London, Stevens, 1966. P. 17 (direct quote, word for word)</ref> Section 4 of the BNA Act also declares that: "Unless it is otherwise expressed or implied, the Name Canada shall be taken to mean Canada as constituted under this Act;" this has been interpreted to mean that the ] of the country is simply ''Canada''. The term "Dominion of Canada" appears in the '']''—the usage of which was "sanctioned"<ref name="martin">Martin, Robert. 1993. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051017043704/http://prayerbook.ca/library/machray/issue5/machray5d.htm |date=October 17, 2005 }} ''The Machray Review.'' Prayer Book Society of Canada.—''A summative piece about nomenclature and pertinent history with abundant references.''</ref>—and both "Canada" and "Dominion of Canada" appear in other texts of the period, as well as on numerous ] before 1935. | |||
] celebrate ] 1927, the 60th jubilee of confederation]] | |||
Until the 1950s, the term ''Dominion of Canada'' was commonly used to identify the country. As the country acquired ] and ] from the ], the ] began using simply ''Canada'' on state documents. ] leaders also objected to ''dominion'', arguing that it suggested Ottawa would have control over Quebec. | |||
Under Prime Minister ], compromises were reached that quietly, and without legislation, "Dominion" would be retired in official names and statements, usually replaced by "federal". The St. Laurent government thereby ended the practice of using "Dominion" in the ] in 1951.<ref>{{cite web|title=November 8, 1951 (21st Parliament, 5th Session)|url=https://www.lipad.ca/full/permalink/1661272/|access-date=April 9, 2019}}</ref> | |||
The independence of the separate ]s was emphasised after the accession of ] in 1952, when she was proclaimed not just as ], but also ], ], ], ], and of all her other "]".<ref name="Morra2016"/> This also reflected the change from ''dominion'' to ''realm''; in the proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II's ], the phrase "of her other Realms and Territories" replaced "dominion" with another mediaeval French word with the same connotation, "realm" (from ''royaume'').<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E6I65FlSeDAC&dq=%22Realms+and+Territories%22+replaced+%22Dominion%22&pg=PA202|title=The Statecraft of British Imperialism: Essays in Honour of Wm. Roger Louis|first1=Robert D.|last1=King|first2=Robin W.|last2=Kilson|date=September 7, 1999|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780714643786|via=Google Books}}</ref> | |||
With that said, the national holiday of "]" kept that name until 1982, when a ] to replace the name with ] that had received first reading in May 1980 was unexpectedly passed in the ]. In the ], ] and the ] strongly defended the traditional usage. When a ] showed 70% of all Canadians favoured the change, the Senate approved the bill without a ].<ref>Alan Rayburn, ''Naming Canada: Stories about Canadian Place Names'' (2001) pp 17–22.</ref> | |||
The '']'' refers only to ''Canada'' and does not use the term ''dominion''. No constitutional statute amends this name, nor does any Canadian legal document state that the name of the country is anything other than ''Canada''.<ref>{{cite web|date=March 18, 2009|title=Government of Canada Translation Bureau, "List of Country Names"—Introduction notes that "The official name of a state (e.g. Islamic Republic of Iran), found under the common name (Iran), is taken from the United Nations Terminology Bulletin No. 347."|url=http://www.btb.gc.ca/btb.php?lang=eng&cont=690|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117160127/http://www.btb.gc.ca/btb.php?lang=eng&cont=690|archive-date=January 17, 2010|access-date=June 11, 2010|publisher=Btb.gc.ca}}</ref> Moreover, official sources of the ] system,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://unterm.un.org/DGAACS/unterm.nsf/WebView/09CBD6F0919A243885256DC700440A19?OpenDocument |publisher=] (UNTERM.UN.ORG), Canada page |title=The UN Terminology website "which holds records for each country containing the short and formal names in the six UN official languages, is the successor to UN Terminology |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508121300/http://unterm.un.org/DGAACS/unterm.nsf/WebView/09CBD6F0919A243885256DC700440A19?OpenDocument |archive-date=May 8, 2014 }} | |||
</ref><ref> | |||
{{cite web |page=Bulletin No. 347/Rev. 1 |url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/gegn23wp16.pdf |title=UNITED NATIONS GROUP OF EXPERTS ON GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES, Working Paper No. 16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227200629/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/gegn23wp16.pdf |archive-date=February 27, 2008 }} | |||
</ref> | |||
international organizations (such as the ]),<ref>{{cite web|title=Organization of American States Office of Legal Cooperation, Member Country Information Page for Canada|url=http://www.oas.org/juridico/english/can.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627035849/http://www.oas.org/juridico/english/can.htm|archive-date=June 27, 2010|access-date=June 11, 2010|publisher=Oas.org}}</ref> the ],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-5000500.htm |title=European Union Gateway Interinstutional Style Guide, List of Countries, territories and currencies - "Note 1, 'Full name' corresponds in most cases to the official name recognized by the United Nations." |publisher=Publications.europa.eu |access-date=June 11, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805170859/http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-5000500.htm |archive-date=August 5, 2013 }} | |||
</ref> | |||
the ],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/inr/rls/4250.htm |title=United States Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Independent States of the World—Canada: "no long-form name" |publisher=State.gov |date=January 1, 1979 |access-date=June 11, 2010 }}</ref> and other polities with which Canada has official relations as a state either consistently use ''Canada'' as the only official name, affirm that Canada has no long-form name, or affirm that the formal name is simply ''Canada''. | |||
The terms ''Dominion'' and ''Dominion of Canada'' are still considered to be appropriate, although arcane, titles for the country.<ref name="marsh">Forsey, Eugene A., in Marsh, James H., ed. 1988. "{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122212114/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/dominion/ |date=2017-01-22 }}" '']''. Hurtig Publishers: Toronto.</ref>{{sfn|Rayburn|2001|pages=19,21}}<ref name="cdngov"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611172413/http://www.pch.gc.ca/special/jdn-nfd/defi-challenge/reponses-answers-eng.cfm |date=June 11, 2011 }}, , .</ref> The federal government continues to produce publications and educational materials that specify the currency of these titles, although these publications are not themselves legal or official documents.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611172413/http://www.pch.gc.ca/special/jdn-nfd/defi-challenge/reponses-answers-eng.cfm |date=June 11, 2011 }}, , | |||
</ref><ref name="forsey"> | |||
] 2005. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325074418/http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/idb/forsey/PDFs/How_Canadians_Govern_Themselves-6ed.pdf |date=March 25, 2009 }} (PDF), 6th ed. Canada: Ottawa; pp. 8-9. The preface to the publication specifies that the opinions reflected are those of the author, and "do not necessarily reflect those of parliament." | |||
</ref><ref name="AoC-dominion"> | |||
{{cite web| title = Territorial evolution| work = Atlas of Canada| publisher = Natural Resources Canada| url = http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/anniversary_maps/terr_evol| access-date = October 9, 2007| quote = In 1867, the colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are united in a federal state, the Dominion of Canada.| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100413084359/http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/anniversary_maps/terr_evol| archive-date = April 13, 2010}} | |||
</ref> | |||
For instance, in 2008 the Canadian government registered the ], designed in 1964, with the ]. The tartan's alternate name is "Dominion of Canada".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tartansauthority.com/tartan-ferret/display/2034/maple-leaf-district |title=Tartan Display |website=Scottish Tartan Authority |access-date=April 10, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=BRIAN LILLEY, Parliamentary Bureau |url=http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2011/03/09/17554896.html |title=It's official, Maple Leaf Tartan is Canada's tartan | Canada | News |publisher=Toronto Sun |date=March 9, 2011 |access-date=October 26, 2011}}</ref> | |||
The term ''Dominion'' and ''Dominion of Canada'' is also used in a colonial historical sense, having been used to distinguish contemporary (post-1867) Canada from either the earlier ] or from the even earlier ] and modern history of the current realms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/dominion|title=Dominion of Canada | The Canadian Encyclopedia|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref> The terms have also been used to distinguish the federal government from the provinces, though in this usage, "federal" has replaced "dominion". For example, ''The Canadian Almanac'' stopped using Dominion of Canada in 1964. | |||
==See also== | |||
{{portal|border=no|Canada}} | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
== Notes == | |||
{{notelist-lr}} | |||
==References== | |||
{{Reflist|30em}} | |||
===Bibliography=== | |||
{{refbegin}} | |||
* {{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/encyclopedia/JohnS.Ewart-Wallace.htm |last=Ewart |first=J.S. |date=1912–1917 |title=The Kingdom Papers |volume=I |publisher=McClelland, Goodchild, and Stewart |location=Toronto |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060215143821/http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/encyclopedia/JohnS.Ewart-Wallace.htm |archive-date=February 15, 2006 }} | |||
* {{cite book|first1=R. Douglas |last1=Francis |first2=Richard |last2=Jones |first3=Donald B. |last3=Smith |title=Journeys: A History of Canada |publisher=Nelson College |year=2009 |isbn=978-0176442446}} | |||
* {{cite book |first=Bruce Elliott |last=Johansen |title=The Encyclopedia of Native American Economic History |publisher=] |year=1999 |isbn=978-0313306235 }} | |||
* {{cite book|first=James H. |last=Marsh|title=The Canadian Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wR_-aSFyvuYC&pg=PA355|year=1999|publisher=The Canadian Encyclopedia|isbn=978-0-7710-2099-5|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325210829/https://books.google.com/books?id=wR_-aSFyvuYC&pg=PA355|archive-date=March 25, 2017}} | |||
* {{cite book |first= Marianne |last=Mithun |year=1999 |title=The Languages of Native North America |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn= 0-521-29875-X}} | |||
* {{citation|last=Orkin |first=Mark M |year=2010 |title=The Name Canada: An Etymological Enigma |encyclopedia=Canadian English: A Linguistic Reader |url=http://www.queensu.ca/strathy/apps/OP6v2.pdf|archive-date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924121232/http://www.queensu.ca/strathy/apps/OP6v2.pdf |publisher=Strathy Language Unit, ] |location=Kingston, Ontario}} | |||
* {{cite book|first=Alan |last=Rayburn|title=Naming Canada: Stories about Canadian Place Names|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aiUZMOypNB4C&pg=PA14|year=2001|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-8293-0|pages=14–17|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412181901/https://books.google.com/books?id=aiUZMOypNB4C&pg=PA14|archive-date=April 12, 2016}} | |||
* {{cite book|first1=Germaine |last1=Warkentin|first2=Carolyn |last2=Podruchny|title=Decentring the Renaissance: Canada and Europe in Multidisciplinary Perspective, 1500-1700|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cwC9EbJrp7gC&pg=PA234|year=2001|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-8149-0|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610194523/https://books.google.com/books?id=cwC9EbJrp7gC&pg=PA234|archive-date=June 10, 2016}} | |||
{{refend}} | |||
==Further reading== | |||
{{refbegin}} | |||
* Choudry, Sujit. 2001(?). (based on looseleaf by ]). ''''. University of Alberta, Centre for Constitutional Studies: Edmonton. | |||
*{{cite book|title=The Oxford Companion to Canadian History|publisher=Oxford University Press Canada|year=2004|isbn=978-0-19-541559-9|author=Gerald Hallowell|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000unse_o5y1}} | |||
{{refend}} | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
* | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727225559/http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/o5-eng.cfm |date=July 27, 2013 }} - ] | |||
==Footnotes== | |||
<references /> | |||
{{Canada topics}} | |||
==Other sources== | |||
{{North America topic|Name of}} | |||
* Choudry, Sujit. 2001(?). (based on looseleaf by ]). ''''. University of Alberta, Centre for Constitutional Studies: Edmonton. | |||
*Forsey, Eugene A. 2005. , 6th ed. (ISBN 0-662-39689-8). Canada: Ottawa; pp. 8-9, 23. | |||
*Hallowell, Gerald, ed. 2004. ''The Oxford Companion to Canadian History.'' (ISBN 0-19-541559-0) Oxford University Press: Toronto; p. 183. | |||
*Rayburn, Alan. 2001. ''Naming Canada: Stories About Canadian Place Names'', 2nd ed. (ISBN 0-8020-8293-9) University of Toronto Press: Toronto. | |||
*''Acte Concenant l'Union et le Gouverenment du Canada, et de la Nouvelle-Ecosse, et de Nouveau Brunswick, Ainsi que les Objets qui s'y Rattachent (30e Victoria, Chap. 3) / An Act for the Union of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick and the Government Thereof; and for the Purposes Contected Therewith (30 Victoria, Cap 3)'', Typographie D'Augustin Cote, Quebec, Canada, pp. 209, (1868). ]. | |||
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Latest revision as of 00:11, 5 December 2024
While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of Canada, its origin is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata, meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona. Cartier later used the word Canada to refer not only to that particular village but to the entire area subject to Donnacona (the chief at Stadacona); by 1545, European books and maps had begun referring to this small region along the Saint Lawrence River as Canada.
From the 16th to the early 18th century, Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the Saint Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada. These two colonies were collectively named the Canadas until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841.
Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the legal name for the new country at the London Conference, and the word Dominion was conferred as the country's title. By the 1950s, the term Dominion of Canada was no longer used by the United Kingdom, which considered Canada a "Realm of the Commonwealth". The government of Louis St. Laurent ended the practice of using Dominion in the statutes of Canada in 1951.
The Canada Act 1982, which brought the constitution of Canada fully under Canadian control, referred only to Canada. Later that year, the name of the national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day. The term Dominion was used to distinguish the federal government from the provinces, though after the Second World War the term federal had replaced dominion.
Etymology
The name Canada is now generally accepted as originating from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata (), meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. Related translations include 'land' or 'town', with subsequent terminologies meaning 'cluster of dwellings' or 'collection of huts'. This explanation is historically documented in Jacques Cartier's Bref récit et succincte narration de la navigation faite en MDXXXV et MDXXXVI.
Although the Laurentian language, which was spoken by the inhabitants of St. Lawrence Valley settlements such as Stadacona (modern-day Quebec City) and Hochelaga (modern-day Montreal) in the 16th century, is now extinct, it was closely related to other dialects of the Iroquoian languages, such as the Oneida and Mohawk languages. Related cognates meaning 'town' include nekantaa, ganataje, and iennekanandaa in the Mohawk, Onondaga, and Seneca languages respectively. Prior to archaeological confirmation that the St. Lawrence Iroquois were a separate people from the Mohawk, most sources specifically linked the name's origin to the Mohawk word instead of the Laurentian one.
A widespread perception in Canadian folklore is that Cartier misunderstood the term "Canada" as the existing proper name of the Iroquois people's entire territory rather than the generic class noun for a town or village. For instance, the Historica Canada's Heritage Minute episode devoted to Cartier's landing at Hochelaga is scripted as having Cartier believe that "Kanata" or "Canada" was the established name of the entire country. This is not supported by Cartier's own writings, however—in Bref récit, Cartier fully understands the actual meaning of the word ("They call a town Canada").
While the Saint-Lawrence Iroquoian origin for the name Canada is now widely accepted, other theories have been put forth in the past.
Iberian origin theory
The most common alternative theory suggested that the name originated when Portuguese or Spanish explorers, having explored the northern part of the continent and unable to find gold and silver, wrote cá nada ('nothing here' in Portuguese), acá nada, aqui nada or el cabo de nada ('Cape Nothing' in Spanish) on that part of their maps. An alternative explanation favoured by philologist Marshall Elliott linked the name to the Spanish word cañada, meaning 'glen' or 'valley'.
The earliest iterations of the Spanish "nothing here" theory stated that the explorers made the declaration upon visiting the Bay of Chaleur, while later versions left out any identifying geographic detail.
The known Portuguese presence in modern Canadian territory, meanwhile, was in Newfoundland and Labrador. Neither region is located anywhere near Iroquoian territory, and the name Canada does not appear on any Spanish or Portuguese maps of the North American coast that predate Cartier's visit. No name for the Bay of Chaleur is attested at all in Spanish sources from that period, while the only name for Newfoundland attested in Portuguese sources is Terra Nova do Bacalhau, after the region's plentiful cod.
In most versions of the Iberian origin theory, the Spanish or Portuguese passed their name on to the Iroquois, who rapidly adopted it in place of their own prior word for a village; however, no historical evidence for any such Iberian-Iroquoian interaction has ever actually been found. Elliott's "valley" theory, conversely, was that the Spanish gave their name for the area directly to Jacques Cartier, who then entirely ignored or passed over the virtually identical Iroquoian word. According to Elliott, Cartier never explicitly stated that there was a direct connection between canada or kanata as the Iroquoian word for 'village' and Canada as the new name of the entire territory, and never accounted for the spelling difference between kanata and Canada—and thus the Spanish etymology had to be favoured because the spellings matched. Notably, Cartier never wrote of having any awareness of any preexisting Spanish or Portuguese name for the region either, meaning that Elliott's allegation that the kanata derivation was not adequately supported by Cartier's own writing on the matter was also true of his own preferred theory.
Franciscan priest André Thevet claimed that the word derived from segnada Canada, an answer reportedly given by Spaniards in the St. Lawrence Valley area when asked what their purpose was; according to Thevet, the phrase meant that they were seeking land or that they were hunting. These words do not actually exist in Spanish, however.
Minor or humorous theories
British philologist B. Davies surmised that by the same process which initially saw the First Nations mislabelled as Indians, the country came to be named for the Carnata region of India or that region's Kannada ethnic group; however, this theory has attracted no significant support from other academics.
Additional theories have attributed the name "Canada" to: a word in an unspecified indigenous language for 'mouth of the country' in reference to the Gulf of St. Lawrence; a Cree word for 'neat or clean'; a claimed Innu war cry of "kan-na-dun, Kunatun"; a shared Cree and Innu word, p'konata, which purportedly meant 'without a plan' or 'I don't know'; a short-lived French colony purportedly established by a settler whose surname was Cane; Jacques Cartier's description elsewhere in his writings of Labrador as "the land God gave to Cain;" or, to a claim that the early French habitants demanded a "can a day" of spruce beer from the local intendant (a claim easily debunked by the fact that the habitants would have been speaking French, not English).
In their 1983 book The Anglo Guide to Survival in Québec, humourists Josh Freed and Jon Kalina tied the Iberian origin theory to the phrase nada mas caca ('nothing but shit'). No historian or linguist has ever analyzed this explanation as anything more than an obvious joke.
Canadian
The demonym "Canadien" or "Canadian" once referred exclusively to the indigenous groups who were native to the territory. Its use was extended over time to the French settlers of New France, and later the English settlers of Upper Canada.
Colonial usage
New France
European explorer Jacques Cartier transcribed the Saint-Lawrence Iroquoian word (pronounced [kanata]) as "Canada" and was the first European to use the word to refer not only to the village of Stadacona but also to the neighbouring region and to the Saint Lawrence River, which he called rivière de Canada during his second voyage in 1535. By the mid-1500s, European books and maps began referring to this region as Canada.
Canada soon after became the name of a colony in New France that stretched along the St. Lawrence River. The terms "Canada" and "New France" were often used interchangeably during the colonial period.
British North America
After the British conquest of New France (including ceding of the French colony, Canada) in 1763, the colony was renamed the Province of Quebec. Following the American Revolution and the influx of United Empire Loyalists into Quebec, the colony was split on December 26, 1791, into Upper and Lower Canada, sometime being collectively known as "The Canadas", the first time that the name "Canada" was used officially in the British regime.
Some reports from the 1840s suggest that in that era, the word "Canada" was commonly pronounced "Kaugh-na-daugh" rather than its more contemporary pronunciation.
Upper and Lower Canada were merged into one colony, the Province of Canada, in 1841, based on the recommendations of the Durham Report. The former colonies were then known as Canada East and Canada West, and a single legislature was established with equal representation from each. Underpopulated Canada West opposed demands by Canada East for representation by population, but the roles reversed as Canada West's population surpassed the east's. The single colony remained governed in this way until July 1, 1867, often with coalition governments. A new capital city was being built at Ottawa, chosen in 1857 by Queen Victoria, and became a national capital.
Selection of the name Canada
At the conferences held in London to determine the form of confederation that would unite the Province of Canada (now Ontario and Quebec), the province of New Brunswick, and the province of Nova Scotia, a delegate from either Nova Scotia or New Brunswick proposed the name Canada in February 1867, and it was unanimously accepted by the other delegates. There appears to have been little discussion, though other names were suggested.
Other proposed names
While the provinces' delegates spent little time, if any, in settling on Canada as the name for the new country, others proposed a variety of other names:
- Anglia – the medieval Latin name for England
- Albionoria – 'Albion of the north'
- Borealia – from borealis, the Latin word for 'northern'; compare with Australia
- Cabotia – in honour of Italian explorer John Cabot, who explored the eastern coast of Canada for England
- Colonia
- Efisga – an acronym of English, French, Irish, Scottish, German, American. (Some accounts state that the a stood for Aboriginal, but there was little or no use of that term to describe Indigenous peoples in Canada at the time.)
- Hochelaga – an old name for Montreal
- Laurentia
- Mesopelagia – 'land between the seas'
- New Albion
- Norland
- Superior
- Tupona – acronym for The United Provinces of North America
- Transatlantica
- Ursalia – 'place of bears'
- Vesperia – 'land of the evening star'
- Victorialand – in honour of Queen Victoria
Walter Bagehot of The Economist newspaper in London argued that the new nation should be called Northland or Anglia instead of Canada. On these names, the statesman Thomas D'Arcy McGee commented, "Now I would ask any honourable member of the House how he would feel if he woke up some fine morning and found himself, instead of a Canadian, a Tuponian or a Hochelegander?".
Kingdom and Dominion
"Dominion of Canada" redirects here. For other uses, see Dominion of Canada (disambiguation).Working towards the Confederation of Canada, Canada's founders deliberated on the official title for their new country, primarily between the "Kingdom of Canada" or the "Dominion of Canada".
In J. S. Ewart's two volume work, The Kingdom Papers, it is noted that the following names were considered for the union of British North America: "The United Colony of Canada", "the United Provinces of Canada", and "the Federated Provinces of Canada". Ewart was also an ardent advocate for the formation of "the Republic of Canada", a position which was rarely expressed in those times.
Kingdom of Canada
See also: Monarchy of CanadaDuring the Charlottetown Conference of 1864, John A. Macdonald, who later became the first Prime Minister of Canada, talked of "founding a great British monarchy," in connection with the British Empire. He advocated, in the fourth Canadian draft of the British North America Act (BNA Act), the name "Kingdom of Canada", in the text is said:
The word 'Parliament' shall mean the Legislature or Parliament of the Kingdom of Canada.
The word 'Kingdom' shall mean and comprehend the United Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
The words 'Privy Council' shall mean such persons as may from time to time be appointed, by the Governor General, and sworn to aid and advise in the Government of the Kingdom.
Canada's founders, led by Macdonald, wished their new nation to be called the Kingdom of Canada in order to "fix the monarchical basis of the constitution". The governor general at the time, The 4th Viscount Monck, supported the move to designate Canada a kingdom; however, officials at the Colonial Office in London opposed this potentially "premature" and "pretentious" reference for a new country. They were also wary of antagonizing the United States, which had emerged from its Civil War as a formidable military power with unsettled grievances because British interests had sold ships to the Confederacy despite a blockade, and thus opposed the use of terms such as kingdom or empire to describe the new country.
Adoption of Dominion
Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, Premier of New Brunswick, suggested the term Dominion, inspired by Psalm 72:8 (from the King James Bible): "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." This is also echoed in Canada's motto: A Mari Usque Ad Mare (Latin for 'from sea to sea').
The term Dominion had been used for centuries to refer to the lands held by a monarch, and had previously been adopted as titles for the Dominion of New England and the Dominion and Colony of Virginia. It continued to apply as a generic term for the major colonial possessions of the British Empire until well into the 20th century; although Tilley and the other Fathers of Confederation broadened the meaning of the word dominion to a "virtual synonym for sovereign state". Its adoption as a title for Canada in 1867 served the purpose of upholding the monarchist principle in Canada; in a letter to Queen Victoria, Lord Carnarvon stated:
The North American delegates are anxious that the United Provinces should be designated as the 'Dominion of Canada.' It is a new title, but intended on their part as a tribute to the Monarchical principle which they earnestly desire to uphold.
Macdonald, however, bemoaned its adoption. In a letter to Lord Knutsford on the topic of the loss of the use of the word kingdom, Macdonald said:
A great opportunity was lost in 1867 when the Dominion was formed out of the several provinces…The declaration of all the B.N.A. provinces that they desired as one dominion to remain a portion of the Empire, showed what wise government and generous treatment would do, and should have been marked as an epoch in the history of England. This would probably have been the case had Lord Carnarvon, who, as colonial minister, had sat at the cradle of the new Dominion, remained in office. His ill-omened resignation was followed by the appointment of the late Duke of Buckingham, who had as his adviser the then Governor General, Lord Monck - both good men, certainly, but quite unable, from the constitution of their minds, to rise to the occasion. Had a different course been pursued, for instance, had united Canada been declared to be an auxiliary kingdom, as it was in the Canadian draft of the bill, I feel sure almost that the Australian colonies would, ere this, have been applying to be placed in the same rank as The Kingdom of Canada.
He added as a postscript that it was adopted on the suggestion of British colonial ministers to avoid offending republican sensibilities in the United States:
P.S. On reading the above over I see that it will convey the impression that the change of title from Kingdom to Dominion was caused by the Duke of Buckingham. This is not so. It was made at the instance of Lord Derby, then foreign minister, who feared the first name would wound the sensibilities of the Yankees. I mentioned this incident in our history to Lord Beaconsfield at Hughenden in 1879, who said, 'I was not aware of the circumstance, but it is so like Derby, a very good fellow, but who lives in a region of perpetual funk.'
Use of the term dominion was formalized in 1867 through Canadian Confederation. In the Constitution of Canada, namely the Constitution Act, 1867 (British North America Acts), the preamble of the act indicates:
Whereas the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick have expressed their Desire to be federally united into One Dominion under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a Constitution similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom....
Moreover, section 2 indicates that the provinces:
... shall form and be One Dominion under the Name of Canada; and on and after that Day those Three Provinces shall form and be One Dominion under that Name accordingly.
French terms
The French translation of the 1867 British North America Act) translated "One Dominion under the Name of Canada" as "une seule et même Puissance sous le nom de Canada" using Puissance ('power') as a translation for dominion. Later, the English loanword dominion was also used in French.
The Fathers of Confederation met at the Quebec Conference of 1864 to discuss the terms of this new union. One issue on the agenda was to determine the Union's "feudal rank" (see Resolution 71 of the Quebec Conference, 1864). The candidates for the classification of this new union were: le Royaume du Canada ('the Kingdom or Realm of Canada'), l'Union du Canada ('the Union of Canada'), and le Dominion du Canada ('the Dominion of Canada').
Use of Dominion
There are numerous references in United Kingdom Acts of Parliament to "the Dominion of Canada;" and the British North America Act, 1867 referred to the formation of "one Dominion under the name of Canada". Section 4 of the BNA Act also declares that: "Unless it is otherwise expressed or implied, the Name Canada shall be taken to mean Canada as constituted under this Act;" this has been interpreted to mean that the title of the country is simply Canada. The term "Dominion of Canada" appears in the Constitution Act, 1871—the usage of which was "sanctioned"—and both "Canada" and "Dominion of Canada" appear in other texts of the period, as well as on numerous Canadian banknotes before 1935.
Until the 1950s, the term Dominion of Canada was commonly used to identify the country. As the country acquired political authority and autonomy from the United Kingdom, the federal government began using simply Canada on state documents. Quebec nationalist leaders also objected to dominion, arguing that it suggested Ottawa would have control over Quebec.
Under Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent, compromises were reached that quietly, and without legislation, "Dominion" would be retired in official names and statements, usually replaced by "federal". The St. Laurent government thereby ended the practice of using "Dominion" in the Statutes of Canada in 1951.
The independence of the separate Commonwealth realms was emphasised after the accession of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, when she was proclaimed not just as Queen of the United Kingdom, but also Queen of Canada, Queen of Australia, Queen of New Zealand, Queen of South Africa, and of all her other "realms and territories". This also reflected the change from dominion to realm; in the proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II's new titles in 1953, the phrase "of her other Realms and Territories" replaced "dominion" with another mediaeval French word with the same connotation, "realm" (from royaume).
With that said, the national holiday of "Dominion Day" kept that name until 1982, when a private member's bill to replace the name with Canada Day that had received first reading in May 1980 was unexpectedly passed in the House. In the Senate, Eugene Forsey and the Monarchist League of Canada strongly defended the traditional usage. When a Gallup poll showed 70% of all Canadians favoured the change, the Senate approved the bill without a recorded vote.
The Canada Act 1982 refers only to Canada and does not use the term dominion. No constitutional statute amends this name, nor does any Canadian legal document state that the name of the country is anything other than Canada. Moreover, official sources of the United Nations system, international organizations (such as the Organization of American States), the European Union, the United States, and other polities with which Canada has official relations as a state either consistently use Canada as the only official name, affirm that Canada has no long-form name, or affirm that the formal name is simply Canada.
The terms Dominion and Dominion of Canada are still considered to be appropriate, although arcane, titles for the country. The federal government continues to produce publications and educational materials that specify the currency of these titles, although these publications are not themselves legal or official documents. For instance, in 2008 the Canadian government registered the Maple Leaf Tartan, designed in 1964, with the Scottish Tartans Authority. The tartan's alternate name is "Dominion of Canada".
The term Dominion and Dominion of Canada is also used in a colonial historical sense, having been used to distinguish contemporary (post-1867) Canada from either the earlier Province of Canada or from the even earlier The Canadas and modern history of the current realms. The terms have also been used to distinguish the federal government from the provinces, though in this usage, "federal" has replaced "dominion". For example, The Canadian Almanac stopped using Dominion of Canada in 1964.
See also
- List of Canadian place names of royal heritage
- Canadian provincial and territorial name etymologies
- Origins of names of cities in Canada
- List of Canadian place names of Ukrainian origin
- List of Canadian place names of Indigenous origin
- List of Canadian place names of English origin
- List of Canadian place names of Scottish origin
- List of Canadian place names of Spanish origin
Notes
- "Dominion (noun)." Merriam-Webster Dictionary: "a self-governing nation of the Commonwealth of Nations other than the United Kingdom that acknowledges the British monarch as chief of state"
References
- Olson, James Stuart; Shadle, Robert (1991). Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-313-26257-9.
- ^ Rayburn 2001, pp. 14–22.
- Magocsi, Paul R. (1999). Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples. University of Toronto Press. p. 1048. ISBN 978-0-8020-2938-6.
- "An Act to Re-write the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and for the Government of Canada". J.C. Fisher & W. Kimble. 1841. p. 20.
- O'Toole, Roger (2009). "Dominion of the Gods: Religious continuity and change in a Canadian context". In Hvithamar, Annika; Warburg, Margit; Jacobsen, Brian Arly (eds.). Holy Nations and Global Identities: Civil Religion, Nationalism, and Globalisation. Brill. p. 137. ISBN 978-90-04-17828-1.
- ^ Morra, Irene (2016). The New Elizabethan Age: Culture, Society and National Identity after World War II. I.B.Tauris. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-85772-867-8.
- McIntyre, D. (1998). British Decolonization, 1946–1997: When, Why and How did the British Empire Fall?. British History in Perspective. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-349-26922-8.
- "November 8, 1951 (21st Parliament, 5th Session)". Canadian Hansard Dataset. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- Bowden, J.W.J. (2015). "'Dominion': A Lament". The Dorchester Review. 5 (2): 58–64.
- Buckner, Philip, ed. (2008). Canada and the British Empire. Oxford University Press. pp. 37–40, 56–59, 114, 124–125. ISBN 978-0-19-927164-1.
- Courtney, John; Smith, David (2010). The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics. Oxford University Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-19-533535-4.
- ^ Rayburn 2001, pp. 14–17.
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in the note of Charlevoix, Nouvelle France, volume the first, page nine, of the quarto edition, and repeated in "Beautés de l'Histoire du Canada" affords the real solution of the difficulty: "Quelqu'uns derivent ce nom du mot Iroquois Kannata qui se prononce Cannada, et signifie un amas de cabanes;"–"Some derive this name from the Iroquois word Kannata, pronounced Cannada, signifying a collection of huts."
- Johansen 1999, p. 49.
- "Heritage Minutes: Jacques Cartier" Archived October 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Historica Foundation of Canada.
- Cartier, Jacques (1863). Bref récit et succincte narration de la navigation faite en MDXXXV et MDXXXVI par le capitaine Jacques Cartier aux îles de Canada, Hochelaga, Saguenay et autres [Brief account and succinct narration of the navigation made in 1535 and 1536 by Captain Jacques Cartier to the islands of Canada, Hochelaga, Saguenay and others] (Report) (in French).
Ilz appellent une ville Canada
- Francis, Jones & Smith 2009, p. 27.
- John George Hodgins (1858). The Geography and History of British America, and of the Other Colonies of the Empire: To which are Added a Sketch of the Various Indian Tribes of Canada, and Brief Biographical Notices of Eminent Persons Connected with the History of Canada. Maclear & Company. p. 51.
- "Further Conjectures as to the Origin of the Name 'Canada'". The New York Times, September 5, 1908.
- ^ Orkin 2010, pp. 38–43.
- Jefferys, Thomas. 1754. The Conduct of the French, with Regard to Nova Scotia. London: T. Jefferys.
- Gervais Carpin, Histoire d'un mot: l'ethnonyme "canadien" de 1535-1691. Les Éditions de Septentrion, 1995. ISBN 9782894480366. p. 50.
- ^ Olive Dickason, Le mythe du sauvage. Les Éditions de Septentrion, 1993. ISBN 9782921114967. p. 298.
- Canadian Naturalist and Geologist, December 1861. p. 432.
- John Maclean, Canadian Savage Folk: The Native Tribes of Canada. C. W. Coates, 1986.
- Joseph Graham, Naming the Laurentians: A History of Place Names 'up North'. Les Éditions Main Street, 2005. ISBN 9780973958607. p. 65
- Josh Freed and Jon Kalina, The Anglo Guide to Survival in Québec. Eden Press, 1983. ISBN 978-0920792339. p. 89.
- Marsh 1999, p. 355.
- Roger E. Riendeau (2007). A Brief History of Canada. Infobase Publishing. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-4381-0822-3. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017.
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Bibliography
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Further reading
- Choudry, Sujit. 2001(?). "Constitution Acts" (based on looseleaf by Hogg, Peter W.). Constitutional Keywords. University of Alberta, Centre for Constitutional Studies: Edmonton.
- Gerald Hallowell (2004). The Oxford Companion to Canadian History. Oxford University Press Canada. ISBN 978-0-19-541559-9.
External links
- Origin of the Name - Canada Archived July 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine - Canadian Heritage
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