Essay About Canadian Identity And Twenty-First Century

Canadian Identity
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Canadian identity is something that has become really important for many Canadians in
the past fifty years. Canada is a big multicultural country with its own traditions, culture and
history. However, over time, in a lapse of over three hundred years, everything has changed,
such as the architecture, government and social structure.
Architecture in Toronto in the twenty-first century consisted mostly of skyscrapers, sub
colonial buildings, business offices, libraries, storefront shops and banks, to name a few. As
Blake and Erica were driving through Toronto, on Bloor Street to be exact, they noticed some
similarities and differences such as no libraries, due to the Uprising and houses that still stand
from the twenty-first century as quoted in the novel. “Its one of the old houses, red brick,
with three storeys topped by a sloped roof with black shingles. Two large white dormers set with
little windows are flanked by tall brick chimneys on the outside walls. Theres a big wooden
door in the middle sheltered by a covering porch roof. Big windows with white wooden trim
look out from either side of that door. Its not a grand house but its dignified. I never imagined
living in a place like this.” (Janet McNaughton P.12). In the twenty-third century, the houses are
cheaply built but are very high-tech; but the house that Blake and Erica are living in is very old.
But Blakes room is very high-tech, as said in this quote. “my lovely new room with wall that
can change colour and a ceiling that mimics the sky..” (Janet McNaughton P.13). Another
supporting quote for this statement about how cheaply the houses are made but are very high-
tech is, “Cadences home is north, in a part of the city Ive never seen before, very different from
the quiet old neighborhood beside High Park. Most of the houses are new, high-tech but cheaply
made. Many have stores on the bottom storey. The house we stop at is more sturdy than the
others, but it still bears scars that must come from the technocaust.” (Janet McNaughton P.216)
Since the twenty-first century, the architecture took a turn for technology, making houses much
more tech-savvy.
Since the technocaust, the Canadian government has changed from democratic to
dictatorship. The technocaust was a period where everyones rights were taken away as well as
all technology and libraries were burnt down. Government only wanted the people to have
access to information that was necessary. After the Uprising, staffing was rare in government
which meant that things would take longer to process such as when Blake needed to get her
results for her ID code, it would take longer than usual. This quote from the book emphasizes
why, “Theres a political reason, like just about everything else. After the Uprising, the
bureaucracy was purged of anyone who seemed too closely connected with the Protectors. Then
the Transitional Council decided to reduce the bureaucracy to save money. There are half as
many people working in government offices not as there were before, and thats not enough.
Theyll have to hire more people before things work efficiently again”, Erica says.” (Janet
McNaughton P.17). Along with government changing, so did buildings such as the legislature
building in Queens Park, due to the Dark Times. It was then taken over by the Transitional
Council, which turned the Canadian government from democratic to dictatorship. “Queens
Park. Long ago, before the Dark Times, it was the legislature building, back when there