The day Canada became a democracy cannot help but be a defining moment in our history. One hundred and sixty-nine years ago, on March 11, 1848 Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine was summoned by the Governor General, Lord Elgin, to form a new government. Why? Because the grand coalition of Upper and Lower Canadian reformers had won a clear majority in the election of 1848. For the first time, in any part of the British Empire, it became clear that the people and not the imperial authorities would decide who was to form the government.

So March 11, 1848 is one of the most important dates in Canadian history. It marks the beginning of what we might call modern Canada. Another way of putting it is that March 11 marks the beginning of Responsible Government in Canada — the now axiomatic idea that governance is properly carried out by elected citizen representatives and not colonial powers. It was a defining moment for representative democracy in Canada, marking a paradigm shift in its modes of governance, and laying the legal foundations for a society based on inclusion and egalitarianism.

In March 1848, a Reform government – it was called The Great Ministry – led by Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin came into power in the United Province of Canada (the territories now known as Ontario and Quebec). During its three years in power, the Reform government laid the legal foundations for egalitarianism, instated a system of public education, and insisted on a non-violent approach to politics. (When protesters burnt down the Parliament buildings in Montreal, the government ordered the police forces not to open fire on the crowds.) It was, as author and ICC co-founder John Ralston Saul has noted, an “astonishingly atypical” beginning for modern democracy in Canada, given the political discord in Europe and the United States at the time. Inclusion, restraint, debate, representation, egalitarianism — the precepts of good governance as we understand it today, forged by an unlikely heroic duo of Francophone Catholic and Anglophone Protestant.

“The first law passed by The Great Ministry created a Canadian immigration policy designed to protect immigrants. This is the foundation of our refugee, immigration and citizenship policies today,” says John Ralston Saul, who wrote a biography on the two leaders. “The example of LaFontaine and Baldwin is that democracy in Canada only works if we are willing to leap forward with important ideas and policies that strengthen egalitarianism and the public good.”

In 2000, John Ralston Saul founded the LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture, an annual lecture given by a prominent public intellectual. The lecture honours the legacy of LaFontaine and Baldwin, gathering Canadians for debate and dialogue in the spirit of the public good. Past speakers have included George Erasmus, Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, His Highness the Aga Khan, Naheed Nenshi, and Robert Lepage. Last year, Naomi Klein inaugurated the ICC’s first ever 6 Degrees Citizen Space with the 14th LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture — an urgent change for call in environmental policy.

This year, as Canada marks its sesquicentennial, the principles of inclusion, good governance, and humanism are as relevant as ever.

Watch Naomi Klein give the 14th LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture here.

The 15^th LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture will take place on September 25, 2017.

Through the Cultural Access Pass, new citizens have the opportunity to experience more than 1,300 of Canada’s premier cultural attractions – museums, galleries, science centres, parks and national historic sites, as well as exclusive travel discounts.

Between 40-50,000 new citizens will sign up for the CAP program every year. Here are some key demographics about our program participants coming to visit your attraction with their family and friends:

• Country of Origin — 30% of CAP members come from the Philippines with India following closely behind at 17%
• Urban vs. Rural – A vast majority live in urban areas – the top 5 cities with CAP members are  Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Edmonton, and Winnipeg.
• Age – Most CAP members fall between the ages of 24-44.
• Families – 56% of CAP members have one child or more. 
• Education – CAP members are often highly educated – 36% have a bachelor’s degree and 31% have a master’s or PhD.

What does this tell us? Our program participants are in the prime of their lives and are ready to be engaged. Many of our cultural attraction partners across the country have used front-desk tracking data and key demographic information about our membership to refine their visitor experience, and better retain this audience over time.

Would you like more information about CAP members in your city? Get in touch with us at cap@inclusion.ca.

Over the past five years, new Canadian citizens have been mesmerized by theatre and opera, live dance, and film, and have attended  some of the best local arts and culture events across the country as part of the ICC’s Cultural Access Pass (CAP) program. This year, in celebration of their 50^th season, Theatre Calgary has generously committed to offering CAP members a minimum of 1000 complimentary tickets to some of their premier performances. This represents a remarkable opportunity for new Canadians living in Calgary to be engaged in arts and culture through  performing arts.

“A gift of this size demonstrates Theatre Calgary’s commitment to inclusion,” said ICC CEO Charlie Foran. “We value the opportunity to add a performing arts dimension to CAP members’ cultural experiences during their first year of citizenship through partnerships like this one.”

We are pleased to have worked with over 25 performing arts institutions across Canada including Canadian Opera Company, Arts Commons, Tafelmusik, Hart House, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, REEL Canada, Pacific Opera, and more, to provide unique cultural experiences to CAP members. These partnerships not only offer CAP members complimentary tickets; they also give them a chance to connect with each other, meet new people, and often get a behind-the-scenes tour. We look forward to continuing to grow CAP and finding innovative ways to engage new Canadian citizens through the performing arts.

About the Cultural Access Pass (CAP)

CAP is the only program of its kind in the world. It offers new Canadian citizens a chance to explore, travel, and discover Canada during their first year of citizenship. CAP provides members with free admission to more than 1,300 of Canada’s premier cultural attractions and discounts on travel in addition to performing arts opportunities. To find out more about joining CAP, contact cap@inclusion.ca.

 

To find attractions in your area, head to Cultural Access Pass Directory and search your city!

Cultural Access Pass alumnus Carol King became a new Canadian citizen in 2015. Her journey to citizenship however, started many years ago when she came to Canada back in 1987 to pursue an education at King Square Collegiate in Toronto, Ontario. She says that she chose to make Canada her home because it is a multi-cultural, safe, friendly and vibrant country – and while her journey to citizenship was a long one, Carol is happy to finally call herself a Canadian citizen.

According to Carol, one of the most important responsibilities of being an active citizen is volunteering and voting. In March of this year, she volunteered at a film shoot about citizenship (which is still currently in production), and she also volunteered during the last  general election. Carol believes  that cultural spaces play an important part in welcoming new citizens, and in building inclusion and belonging, and experienced the value of culture as a new Canadian citizen with a Cultural Access Pass – Carol encourages every new Canadian citizen to get out and use their CAP. And her best advice for practicing active citizenship? Always be polite, and of course, say ‘sorry’ regularly.

As a Canadian citizen, Carol looks forward to exploring Canada and to finishing her education at Ryerson University. She also has plans to visit the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia.

About CAP: For nearly 10 years, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) has delivered the Cultural Access Pass (CAP), an innovative, best-in-class program that gives new citizens access to Canadian culture. It’s time to shift CAP to the digital age. Support the ICC.

Be featured in our newsletter: Tag CAP and use the hashtag #CAPCanada in your social media posts for your chance to be the next CAP member or alumni featured.

By Gayatri Kumar

A warm “Ahlan” from the ICC : Family-friendly tours connect Syrian newcomers to Canadian culture

At the Art Gallery of Ontario, a group of Syrian newcomers are studying the bold colours in Norval Morrisseau’s 1977 masterpiece Man Changing into Thunderbird. As they discuss Morriseau’s depiction of a young man embarking on a spiritual transformation, they draw parallels between the artist’s journey and their personal transformations over the past year of learning and adapting to a new Canadian cultural context.

This group of Syrian refugees, some of whom have only been in Canada for a few months, are touring the AGO as part of our Ahlan Canada program, created in response to the arrival of Syrian refugees in 2015 and 2016. Working closely with Ahlan Canada founding partners the Royal Ontario Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario, and other arts and cultural partners from our Cultural Access Pass©® program, we developed family-friendly tours of Canadian cultural attractions to welcome this group of newcomers and connect them to our shared culture.

Since its inception in April 2016, Ahlan Canada has welcomed Syrian newcomers at several iconic Canadian cultural institutions. Ahlan events have taken place at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Each Ahlan event is supported by wonderful volunteers from our Cultural Access Pass program, who translate the tours for our newcomer families, and share their own stories of becoming Canadian.

The response to Ahlan has been heartening, and the connections it has created– between the members of participating families, between newcomers and volunteers, between our new friends and Canadian culture— speak to the success of the program. Two different families who were friends but had been settled in different locations were reunited at the Ahlan event at the Museum of Anthropology; at the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG), newcomers recreated the paintings of Emily Carr, learning about colour and line and shading with the help of the VAG staff. At every Ahlan event, an Arabic-speaking volunteer from our Cultural Access Pass program shares their story about coming to Canada, enumerating the challenges and triumphs of their journey to Canadian citizenship.

This fall, we will continue to welcome our new Syrian friends and connect them to more iconic Canadian cultural institutions in Montreal, Saskatoon, and Edmonton.

 Ahlan Canada events taking place this fall

• Heritage Park , Calgary – October 2
• Western Development Museum, Saskatoon – October 11
• Aga Khan Museum, Toronto – October 24
• McCord Museum, Montreal – November 6
• Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto – November 13
• Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton – November 20
• Aga Khan Museum, Toronto – November 27
• Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto – December 3
•  The Art Gallery of Hamilton – December 11

Canoo (formerly known as the Cultural Access Pass program) is a mobile app that helps new Canadian citizens celebrate their citizenship by providing free admission to over 1400 museums, science centres, art galleries, parks, and historic sites across Canada.

The app offers free admission for every new citizen and up to four children, every time they visit for the first year of citizenship. The Canoo app is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.