Johnny Canuck - Canadian Icon



Posted: Tuesday, July 08, 2008

by
Carraig Creative Writing and Editorial Services

Is he a bird? A plane? A candied duck? No! He's aCanadian, eh? Not a real one, but hey, even Canucks can't define a real Canadian. Unless it's the guy in a Jack shirt, jeans, and rubber boots who has a Tim Horton's coffee in his hand. But the "real" Johnny Canuck started life in 1869 as the artistic rendering of a Canadian counterpart to G.I. Joe or the British Bulldog.

How did he get the name Canuck? We don't know. Seriously. Almost every dictionary you consult will have a different origin for the word "canuck", including:

Canuc: a vulgar and contemptuous term for a Canadian. Possibly French in origin

Connaught: a French nickname given to Irish immigrants who moved to Quebec in the early 1800s, over the objections of the resident Quebecois.

Canuchsa: an Iriquois word for anyone living in a "kanata", or village, the word from which "Canada" was derived.

Kanaka: a Hawaiian word for south sea islanders. In Canada? Strange as it may seem, French Canadians and the very same islanders, were both involved in the Pacific Northwest fur trade. Theory is that the fur freighters fractured for fun, the words "Canadian" and "Kanaka", and came out with Canuck.

Whoever started it, to this day, there are those who think that Canuck is still an insulting name for a Canadian. But we don't believe that, eh? A Canuck is just another Canadian. It's our national identity.

When Johnny Canuck burst on the scene in 1869, he was the wholesome image of Mr. Average Canadian, often portrayed as a farmer, soldier, logger or rancher. But generally acknowledged as being of low intelligence. Which doesn't say a lot for Canadians or his creators. A product of editorial cartoonists, he came in handy to portray the country's real heart, the men and women who struggled against the machinations of their southern neighbors.

He would languish in obscurity for three quarters of a century, until 1942, when patriotism caused cartoonist Leo Bachle to resurrect him as the Canadian destroyer of all things evil about the war. Johnny enjoyed another brief moment in the sun in 1975, when his army fatigues were swapped for red and white, thermal electric tights. Zowee. He became Captain Canuck, who in an attempt to balance nationalism and patriotism, worked with his French counterpart, Capitaine Kebec, demonstrating that Quebec could cooperate with the rest of Canada. Les deux capitaines were last seen at a Tim Horton's, having a coffee.

Betty Sleep is a freelancer, author and owner of Carraig Creative Writing and Editorial Services http://www.carraigcreative.com.  She is the author of “Ten Minute Trivia”, the award winning middle grade novel “Purrlock Holmes and the Case of the Vanishing Valuables”, and is a regular contributor to the Uncle John Bathroom Readers.  Her latest work in print appears in one of the new series from the Chicken Soup publishers, The Ultimate Dog Lover’s Book, release date November 2008.

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