The preceding chapters of this book have indicated
that Scots have played an important role in Canada from the very
beginning of its history. Scottish names appear repeatedly at crucial
turning points in the Canadian story as well as in the more mundane
aspects of its development. In this, Scots have contributed certain
characteristics to Canadian identity. While some Canadians themselves
may feel that there is no truly Canadian identity or that what identity
has developed is now being eroded, to many who come to the country for
the first time, one thing stands out. It is the Scottish influence,
which, although metamorphosed by the Canadian geographical and social
environment, still remains strongly Scottish in flavor.
THE SCOT IN TWENTIETH CENTURY CANADA
While most of the chapters tend to end their story of
the Scot in Canada around 1900, the reason for this is not far to seek.
From the opening decade of the present century the pattern of Canadian
immigration has changed radically from what it was in earlier years.
Ever-increasing numbers of Europeans, particularly from eastern Europe,
Asiatics, West Indians and Americans have moved into Canada to create a
widely variegated ethnic mosaic. As a result the proportion of the
native English-speaking element in the population has declined steadily,
and as Scots were only a relatively small part of that group their share
in the population has likewise become smaller.
This development is indicated at least in part by the
immigration and population statistics. During the years 1898-1901,
Scottish immigration averaged around 1200 immigrants a year out of a
population in Scotland of 4,500,000. English and Welsh immigration, on
the other hand, was running at about 8,500 out of a home population of
32,000,000 to 33,000,000. Thus Scotland was sending to Canada an average
proportion of its population. By 1967 the number of Scots entering the
country had risen to 15,575, although since that time the figure has
dropped to about one-third of that figure. While the reasons for the
increase in immigration in this century is not always clear, some
factors, both old and new, have acted to maintain the flow of Scottish
people of all classes and social strata. The fact that friends and
relatives have already migrated sometimes acts as an incentive for a
move to Canada. Perhaps more important is the fact that ever since the
1820s Canada has been regarded as the land of opportunity. This has been
particularly true as a result of the Depression of the 1930s and two
world wars. Canada did not seem to have been as hard hit by the
Depression as were some areas of Scotland where up to 25% of the
labouring population were, at the depth of the slump, out of work.
Furthermore, during the bombing raids of World War II
Canada seemed to be a very peaceful place to live, as testified
by some of the children who were evacuated to relatives in Canada for
safety. Another of the more recent causes has been the fear of the
growing socialism in Great Britain which has caused middle class
families to move. And probably one of the factors which went along with
all the others was the fact that it was felt that in Canada there were
more of the comforts of life, such as central heating! But even with the
increase in Scottish immigration since 1900, the Scottish proportion of
the population has declined. In 1901 it was just under 15%, by 1921 it
had fallen to 13.3% and since 1941 it has remained stationary at around
10%, although in the latest census the differentiation between English,
Welsh and Scottish has been dropped in favour of "British." Yet
Canadians of Scottish origin, from what we can determine, still form the
third largest ethnic group in the country, with a total of around
2,000,000, as compared with 5,000,000 in Scotland.
In spite of the proportional decline of Scots and
Canadians of Scottish descent within the population, they still play an
important part in Canadian life and activity. Scots continue to come to
Canada from all levels of society: skilled workmen, professionals,
financiers, manufacturers. Moreover, even though they may have no
relations in Canada, they soon find that they are involved with other
Scots or Scottish Canadians who are very conscious of their Scottish
background and heritage, and of what Scots have meant to the development
of Canada and Canadian self-consciousness.
One manifestation of the strength of the continuing
Scottish tradition in Canada is the number of Scottish organizations in
the country. Scots and Scottish Canadians seem to have a penchant for
organizing St. Andrews societies, Burns associations and the like. Many
of the St. Andrews societies commenced as friendly societies to help
newly-arrived immigrants, but have now become important social
organizations performing a number of other functions. Burns societies
also fill somewhat the same function, although their principal interest
is to perpetuate "the immortal memory." Alongside these more or less
Lowland organizations, whose members, however, often wear the kilt, are
the various Scottish clan societies: McLeods, MacDonalds, MacRaes and
all the rest, who have their ceilidhs (social
gatherings) and welcome their travelling chieftains who come to grace
their meetings with their presence.
While in a good many cases these societies are held
together largely by nostalgia, in academic circles the study of the Scot
both at home and in Canada is coming to be recognized as a valid field
of investigation and interest. This is natural not only because the Scot
has played a considerable part in Canadian development generally, but
also because there are still areas in Canada, such as Cape Breton, where
Scottish pockets have survived, keeping alive not only "the language"
but also many of the customs and arts which their forefathers brought
from their native heath. Marius Barbeau, the indefatigable folklorist,
recorded many of the Scottish songs and stories which are gradually
disappearing even from these Scottish settlements. Of great importance
in the preservation of spoken Gaelic, music and dance has seen the
Gaelic College at St. Ann's, Cape Breton, founded by A.W.R. Mackenzie,
with its summer courses attended by many from across Canada and the
United States. The CBC has also assisted by making regular Gaelic
broadcasts, and although for a time these were suspended, such an outcry
has been raised that they have been restored. A further centre of Celtic
studies is to be found at St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish,
which has an active Department of Celtic Studies. In Ontario the
University of Guelph has pioneered studies in Scottish history and
culture, and in Scottish contributions to the Canadian scene. Not only
is there an inter-departmental committee which sponsors semi-annual
colloquia and publishes the proceedings, but it has also been
responsible for organizing on a continent-wide basis The Conference on
Scottish Studies which publishes a quarterly journal, Scottish
Tradition. Partly as a result of these influences, the American
Society of Eighteenth Century Studies has now established a Scottish
section which will concentrate on Scottish intellectual and literary
endeavours in that period. Thus Canadians are able to gain a greater
understanding of the part Scots have played in the history of their
country.
Many Canadians who are not of Scottish origin also
appreciate, perhaps even unconsciously, what the Scot has meant to
Canada. Not only do they attend the various Highland games which are
held across the country every summer, but a large proportion of the
population in summer enjoys a round of golf and in winter spends
considerable time participating in or watching curling bonspiels, both
games having been brought from Scotland, although the names of many
players are anything but Scottish! Scottish dance societies also have a
large following, many of whom are Dutch, German, Ukrainian and even
English. In this way not only Scottish folk dances but also Scottish
music is more than surviving. It is playing a significant role in the
development of a Canadian popular culture.
Yet while such organizations and activities are
important and influential, their impact on a country cannot but be
somewhat limited. Despite the contemporary love of statistics, the use
of the computer to deal with large aggregates and the tendency to think
in terms of mass effects, the individual is still of paramount
importance. In this situation Scots and Scottish Canadians, despite
their relatively small numbers within the population, are by no means a
negligible quantity. It is impossible in a few pages to list or even
mention all those of Scottish origin who have played an important part
in Canada during the past seventy-five years. Yet, lest some sceptics
think that the Scots have lost all significance and that today the
Scottish tradition is largely non-existent, let us examine a few areas
in twentieth century Canadian life to see something of the contemporary
position of the Scottish tradition.
Before looking at individuals, however, one point
which we must keep in mind is that the Scots in Canada, like the rest of
the population, have tended to become urbanized. The descendants of the
original settlers who located in Cape Breton, New Brunswick, the Eastern
Townships of Quebec, the Glengarry, Dundas and Stormont districts of
eastern Ontario and the west and southwest of that province, and who
subsequently often relocated in groups on the western prairies, have
steadily migrated to Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver and other
cities to enter the professions, business or government service. The
newly-arrived Scottish immigrants have usually done the same thing with
the result that some rural areas which before World War I were almost
solidly Scottish have few if any Scots still resident. Therefore, we
must look for Scots primarily in urban settings and occupations.
As in the earlier days of the country, the
professions have in the twentieth century exercised a great attraction
for the Scot and the Scottish Canadian. Many Scottish doctors have
migrated to Canada to take a large part in the development of medical
education. At the same time Scottish names appear very frequently in the
lists of doctors born and trained in Canada. Many of these men have been
known for their accomplishments in other fields. For example, Dr. Tait
MacKenzie also gained a reputation as a sculptor, Dr. W.H. Drummond as a
writer of "habitant" poems, Sir Andrew MacPhail as an educator, Dr.
Thomas Gibson as a pianist, and Dr. H. Rock Robertson as the organizer
of the medical faculty at the University of British Columbia and
subsequently Principal of McGill University. Probably one of the most
widely-known Canadian medical practitioners was Dr. Norman Bethune, a
descendant of the Rev. John Bethune of Montreal and Williamstown, Ont.,
who died while serving with Mao Tse Tung's forces in China.
Law, too, has been a field which has attracted
individuals of Scottish origin, probably because of the argumentative
Calvinistic tradition from which they have come. Like Sir John A.
MacDonald earlier, many of these men have entered politics to become
important in both law-making and law enforcement at provincial and
federal levels. A glance at the directory of the legal profession
reveals so many Scottish names that it is virtually impossible to single
out individuals for comment.
When we come to the Protestant ministry and the Roman
Catholic priesthood, again we are faced with a plethora of Scottish
names. MacDonals or Macdonells, MacLeans, Reids, Sutherlands, Mackinnons,
MacQueens and others are almost innumerable. They are particularly
numberous in the Presbyterian, United and Roman Catholic churches,
although some also appear in the rolls of the Anglican, Baptist and
other denominations. One example of the Scottish influence is that of
the seventy-three moderators of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in Canada since 1900, sixty-seven have had distinctly Scottish
names, although one or two of these may have had ancestors who came to
this country via Northern Ireland. While the same is not equally true of
the United Church in Canada, yet out of moderators since 1925 eleven
have had Scottish names.
In the arts also, Canadians of Scottish descent have
played an important role, although a number have migrated to the United
States. Dr. Tait MacKenzie, mentioned above, has been one of Canada's
outstanding sculptors, William Cruickshank, a Scot who taught art in
Toronto for twenty-five years, had among his students some of the Group
of Seven, of which J.E. MacDonald was a member. Among the more recent
Scottish-Canadian artists are the late Evan MacDonald of Guelph and
Arthur McKay of Regina. In music one of the best known Scottish
Canadians was the late Sir Ernest MacMillan, from 1926 to 1952 Principal
of the Toronto Conservatory of Music and from 1931 to 1956 the conductor
of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In the field of classical vocal music
Maureen Forrester, whose father was a Scot, is outstanding, while in the
"popular" field are such artists as Gisele (La Fleche) MacKenzie,
Catherine MacKinnon and Anne Murray. In the literary field there are
novelists such as Charles Gordon (Ralph Connor), Lucy Maud Montgomery,
Hugh MacLennan, Grace Campbell and David Walker; poets William Wilfrid
Campbell, Duncan Campbell Scott, John MacRae and Frank Scott; folk-lorists
and historians such as Cyrus MacMillan and W.L. Morton; and
journalists-travellers-conservationists such as Blair Fraser and Farley
Mowat. On the stage Brian Macdonald, who began his career with the
Winnipeg Ballet, has gained an international reputation for his
directing and choreography. Many actors from Scotland have contributed
to Canadian theatre, two of the best known being Douglas Campbell and
Hugh Webster, who have participated in the Stratford Festival and have
played important parts in other productions. Norman McLaren, another
Scot, has made a considerable reputation in the production of films for
the National Film Board. On the radio and television names such as
Gordon Sinclair and Ross MacLean indicate that Scots are also involved
in the newer communication media.
In the field of education Scots still carry on the
old tradition which goes back to and beyond the Reformation. Dr. Norman
MacKenzie, a Nova Scotian, for instance, who has been Principal of both
the University of New Brunswick and the University of British Columbia,
is one of the leading moulders of Canadian university education. One of
his successors at UNB was Dr. Colin MacKay and at UBC was Dr. J. B.
MacDonald, both of Scottish origin. On the other hand, Dr. J. S. Thomson
came from Scotland to be Principal of the University of Saskatchewan and
later Dean of Divinity at McGill University. Another educationalist of
great influence was Prof. Harold A. Innis of Toronto who has been
described as the leading social scientist in Canada. Needless to say St.
Francis Xavier University is well-staffed with faculty and
administration of Highland origin. In professional education, medicine,
law and similar fields the same is true, for many of the deans and
university professors bear Scottish names.
Business and finance also continue to be one of the
preoccupations of many who bear Scottish names. One may think of the
Robert Simpson Co. which was founded in Markham, Ontario, in 1872, by a
Scot who had recently arrived from Scotland and who later moved to
Toronto. One of the early business men of Newfoundland was Sir R.G. Reid
who came from Cupar Angus via Australia to Canada where he became one of
the major railway builders of the East, eventually owning large tracts
of land in Newfoundland as well as controlling most of the island's
railway system, for which he was none too popular. In finance Scots have
also maintained their reputations. Many have risen to influential
positions in this field, one of the most important being James Muir who
came from Scotland in 1912 to join the Royal Bank of Canada, of which he
became the president in 1954.
Probably the most outstanding of the Scots involved
in Canadian business life during the first sixty years of the present
century was the late Donald Gordon. Born in Old Meldrum, Aberdeenshire,
in 1901, he came with his parents to Canada at the age of twelve.
Commencing his career with the Bank of Nova Scotia, he studied at night
and by correspondence in order to gain a better education. In 1935 he
was appointed secretary of the newly-established Bank of Canada and
later deputy-governor. During World War II he
served Canada in many capacities, the most important being that of
Chairman of the War Time Prices and Trade Board and Executive Director
of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Following
the cessation of hostilities he was made Chairman and President of the
Canadian National Railways and on retiring from the CNR became President
of the British Newfoundland Company, with all its financial problems.
The night the problems seemed to be finally solved, he died in his
sleep. A quotation from an address delivered at McGill University in
1965 reveals not only his outlook, but that of many other Scots:
For my part, I see nothing old-fashioned about
such virtues as honesty and truthfulness, a keen sense of public
duty, and an obligation to do the right thing simply because it is
the right thing to do. Moreover, I believe that the importance of
integrity and good faith in the business world cannot be overstated;
and it would confound many a cynic to know how often our hard-headed
bankers look upon the integrity of management as the best and surest
of all collateral.
The combination of business acumen and success with
philanthropy of different kinds has been continued in the present
century by many Scottish Canadians. Lord Beaverbrook's donations to the
University of New Brunswick are well-known examples. Probably one of the
most outstanding demonstrations of the Scottish approach, however, has
been that of Sir William Macdonald and his successors Walter and David
Stewart. Sir William, who was born in Glenaladale, PEI, in 1831 acquired
his wealth in the tobacco industry and disbursed it liberally for
educational projects, being particularly interested in the training of
young people in practical matters. He gave large sums for the creation
of "consolidated" schools in Eastern Canada, established the Macdonald
Institute and Macdonald Hall, one of the first university residences for
women in Canada, at Guelph, in affiliation with the Ontario Agricultural
and Veterinary Colleges, now part of the University of Guelph, and made
very large donations to McGill University, Montreal. To the latter
institution he not only gave Macdonald College, St. Anne de Bellevue,
which housed both the agricultural and home economics faculties, but
also paid for the erection on the Montreal campus of the Engineering
Building, the Chemistry and Mining Building and the Physics Building.
When the Engineering Building was destroyed by fire he paid for its
reconstruction and provided so well for the equipment of the Physics
Building that it was one of the foremost research centers in the world.
It was there that Ernest Rutherford made his fundamental nuclear
discoveries that ushered in the Atomic Age. Sir William also endowed a
number of professorships which still bear his name.
Sir William died in 1917 and in his will left his
tobacco business to Howard and Walter Stewart, the two sons of his
long-time confidential aide and advisor, David Stewart. Before long
Howard withdrew from the business and Walter became the sole owner. He
also continued Sir William's policy of assisting in the development of
education, particularly at McGill University. Under his son, David, the
Macdonald Tobacco Company has been sold, but much of the money received
has been used to establish the Macdonald Stewart Foundation whose
interest is primarily in the field of education, providing funds for
conferences on Canada's British heritage, assisting institutions such as
the University of Guelph to obtain collections of materials which enable
scholars to investigate the impact which Scots have had on Canadian
development and promoting other educational projects. In this way, the
Scottish tradition of the successful businessman employing his wealth to
assist worthy social causes is being continued to the present.
Turning from business to politics, despite their
relatively small proportion of the population we find that Scottish
names appear in considerable profusion in the various political parties
both at the provincial and the federal levels. The present Trudeau
Cabinet, for instance, has ten members out of thirty bearing Scottish
names, and practically every Provincial Cabinet, with the exception of
Quebec, has three or four ministers whose lines go back to Scotland. It
is not necessary, however, to recapitulate the information on this
aspect of Scottish activity given in the preceding chapter.
It would be possible to keep on listing other names
in many different fields. For instance Margaret (Poison) Murray, wife of
Professor J. Clark Murray, Professor of Philosophy at Queen's and McGill
Universities, founded the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire
in 1900. In a completely different field, J.A.D. McCurdy made the first
airplane flight in the British Empire on February 23, 1903, when he flew
his Silver Dart on a test flight at Baddeck, N.S. Turning to more
warlike activities, the most prominent Canadian military leader in World
War II was A.G.L. McNaughton who commanded the
First Canadian Division in World War I, became chief of Canadian General
Staff in 1929, President of the National Research Council in 1935, and
commanded the Canadian Forces overseas in World War
II until he returned to Canada to become Minister of National
Defence in 1944. Later he became Chairman of the Canadian-United States
Permanent Joint Board of Defence and Canada's permanent representative
to the United Nations. Enough has been said, however, to indicate that
even in the twentieth century when Canada is becoming increasingly
cosmopolitan, the Scots and the Scottish tradition still continue to be
influential.
THE SCOT AND CANADIAN IDENTITY
From its earliest beginnings Canada has tended to
develop an identity which has differentiated it from France, Great
Britain and the United States. Some, however, may feel that its identity
is not strong or unique enough to make Canadians truly "different."
While this may be partially true, and while Canadians do tend to
squabble among themselves, French with English, easterners with
westerners, Canada has, particularly since 1867, developed something of
a personality. And in this development Scots have played a not
inconsiderable part.
We may go back to the days of John Neilson and Adam
Lymburner shortly after the cession of New France, when they sought for
some form of Canadian identity. Or we can think of men such as William
Lyon Mackenzie, George Brown and Lord Elgin in the mid-nineteenth
century insisting upon the rights of Canadians to direct their own
affairs. Sir John A MacDonald, Sir. A.T. Galt, Sir William MacKenzie,
Sir Oliver Mowat, and John Sandfield MacDonald followed in their
footsteps, seeking to establish Canadian identity by means of the
unification of the various British North American colonies. The
twentieth century has seen many non-Scottish advocates of this point of
view, but probably the most outstanding leader, whether one agrees with
his methods or not, was W.L. Mackenzie King. Another more recent example
is Walter Gordon, the protagonist of Canadian economic nationalism. Even
at the grass roots level, the Scots and Scottish Canadians have always
seemed to show a desire to insist upon Canada's independence and
individuality, which has been one of the reasons perhaps why they have
usually been able to understand the French-Canadian aspirations more
easily than members of other non-French-speaking ethnic groups. Thus
throughout Canada, Canadians of Scottish origin have generally supported
the idea of Canadian national identity.
One of the principal reasons for this desire for
national identity is the historical heritage of the Scottish peoples. As
pointed out in the first chapter, the Scot almost since the day of the
Roman invasions has had to fight to maintain his independence whether
against Anglo-Saxons, Danes, Anglo-Normans, English or even French. It
seems almost to be an inbred condition, a conditioned reflex that he
should have to battle to maintain the fact that he is a Scot. Although
some of the Scots such as Bishop Strachan or Sir Alan MacNab do not seem
to have been willing to take a stand for Canadian self-assertion, most
seem to have felt that they had to defend their Canadianism against the
influences of both the mighty neighbour to the south and the mother
country across the Atlantic. While cherishing their Scottish heritage
they have transferred their primary loyalty to Canada, echoing the words
of George Brown of The Globe after he had paid a visit to
Scotland: "It is Canada for me."
It is not surprising, therefore, that the Scots who
have come to Canada and their descendants have been an influential
factor in Canadian history. It has not been because of their large
numbers, but primarily because of their historical inheritance, the
Scottish Tradition. And, in this day and age when Canadian governments
at every level, big business and big labour often appear to have little
real interest in maintaining a distinctive Canadian identity, it is
perhaps time that Canadians of Scottish origin should refurbish their
sense of independence to insist that Canadian identity must be not only
maintained but also strengthened and reinvigorated, in order that all
Canadians, of whatever ethnic origin, may take pride in being Canadians.