This has been an argument made many times, usually in the vein of whatever real Canadian nationalism that really exists, made in part by the Federal government and other patrons and diehards of Canadian culture, which often seeks to protect Canadian Culture from a perceived “heavy” and “overwhelming” American influence from films and TV to popular culture and music.  But, ironically enough, some of the greatest American pop culture icons came from Canada-like ‘Superman’ , William Shatner, Nelly Furtado etc.  These facts are sometimes forgotten.  The first captain and star of the pop culture hit “Star Trek” was a Canadian actor…or that the concept of Superman came from two Canadians.  So, canucks have had an early hand in influencing the culture of their American brethern.

So it’s hard to really gauge the impact of America on Canadian Culture.  Obviously, America has ten times the population of Canada and certainly is no featherweight.  But from editing, production and writing, Canada is everywhere in “Hollywood’.  Although Hollywood, Los Angeles is still the Mecca for films and TV, much of its production and talent sits in the “Great White North”, and that fact is certainly not going to diminish anytime soon.  Canada has poured huge amounts of talent into all aspects of Hollywood, which shows no sign of abatement.

After the terrible day when Canada’s pride and joy, in aviation, the “Avro Arrow”, was scrapped by the Canadian conservative Diefenbaker government in the late fifties, much of Canada’s aviation talent went to the USA, contributing to man landing on the moon that greatly impacted their culture for decades to come, influencing movies, television and all other aspects of culture.  But, obviously, America does have an influence on Canadian culture-even with a symbiotic blend of the two in many cases.  This influence certainly is not neglible.  But Canada still retains a distinct culture of its own, and has never wavered that much from who Canadians are, and the distinctiveness from their American cousins.

This culture has come from a blending of English, French, other European, Aboriginal,  Asian and African influence, in which the blending came about, via the geographical, population, race, language and cultural differences in such a way that makes us more distinct and less influenced by American cultural influences.  But also America, itself, is going through a vast change in cultural influences and may actually emerge a more changed reality and region than ever before.  Looking at the aboriginal, native Canadians for a second: they are very distinctive in a number of ways from the American native tribes. 

Therefore, Canadian culture has been maintained from the more larger and dominant American influence through a more beneficial merging of the better aspects of the two distinctive cultures: American and Canadian-maintaining each others’ distinctiveness.  Canadians in their own cultural ways are so different from the USA in every aspect.  But also close and the same in so many ways.  With the planet now so interconnected through the Internet and all of its inormation sharing conveyances, global cultures will be influenced by others.  But many will retain the flavor of who they are.  Essentially, we are a tribal people in a modern setting.  We retain who we are.

Canada also has such a unique cultural base from the USA, through different histories.  History can shape a nation.  Although Canada and the USA have had somewhat of a shared history, it also has had a separate history, and therefore influence.