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WEEKS TO GO
Canadian treasures CANADA: NATURAL SOURCE OF PRIDE SINCE 1867
Quiz TEST YOUR CANADIAN KNOWLEDGE
Alouette 1 — Canada’s stellar space-age debut
QUESTION 1: It officially became our national anthem in 1980, but Canadians had been singing it for a century by then. Who composed the music to O Canada in 1890? QUESTION 2: What name is commonly used to refer to the political and social movement that swept Quebec in the early 1960s? QUESTION 3: Its familiar sound echoed through Canadian households during the heyday of dial-up Internet, allowing us to easily surf the web… as long as no one needed to use the phone! In what year was the 56k modem invented by Toronto native Dr. Brent Townshend? QUESTION 4: Only three players returned to the NHL following their induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux are two; who was the third?
take care of the launch.
On September 29, 1962, Canadamade history by becom- ing the first non-American, non-Soviet country to build an artificial satellite and send it to space. The launch of Alouette 1 kicked off one of the most advanced space programs ever seen, but this success story starts with a surprisingly low-tech device: the radio. In 1947, at the dawn of the Cold War, the Canadian gov- ernment created the Defence Research and Telecom- munications Establishment (DRTE) with the goal of improving the military’s radio communications. To do so, researchers at the facility focused their studies on a particular slice of the Earth’s atmosphere that allows radio waves to travel long distances called the iono- sphere. Canada’s ascension to the stars truly began a decade later, when the newly formed NASA invited the world to collaborate on a satellite programdedicated to studying the ionosphere. Dr. John H. Chapman, a young physicist at the DRTE, answered the American agency’s request with an ambitious plan for a satellite able to analyze the ionosphere fromabove. More convinced by the prospect of an international partnership than by the blueprints themselves, NASA gave Alouette 1 the green light in 1958. Both countries agreed that Canada would design and build the device at the DRTE facility and NASAwould
Over the next four years, Dr. Chapman and his team worked tirelessly to build the satellite—and most of its components—entirely from scratch. Even as it neared completion, the project had more than a few doubters. NASA itself judged the undertaking too advanced for the technology available at the time. So when the count- down reached zero in the early hours of September 29, 1962, no one really knew what to expect.
And then the sky over California’s Vanderberg Air Force Base lit up.
Not only did Alouette 1 achieve orbit as planned, but its mission exceeded even the most optimistic expecta- tions. Built to orbit the planet for a single year before being shut off, Canada’s first satellite remained active for an entire decade, providing researchers with a record- shattering amount of data. After the tremendous success of Alouette 1, the DRTE built three more satellites, all launched by NASA. Each of thesemissions further cemented Canada’s reputation as a cutting-edge contributor to space technology and helped pave the way for today’s industry-leading Cana- dian Space Agency.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ART, LITERATURE AND ENTERTAINMENT
Where are we from? THE 52 LARGEST GROUPS IN CANADA’S MULTICULTURAL MOSAIC
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY
SPORTS AND LEISURE
infO Canada THE STORIES BEHIND OUR SYMBOLS
Trinidadian community
The first significant wave of Trinidadians arrived in Canada during the 1920s. They were recruited to work in mines, shipyards and on the expanding railroad system as labourers, porters or chefs. Some Trinidadians enlisted in the Canadian army during the Second World War as part of the allied war effort and were allowed to remain in Canada after the conflict was over. Around 65,000 Canadians who voluntarily filled out the National Household Sur-
The pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) is BC’s provincial flower. Blossoms proliferate in trees six to eight metres high on Vancouver Island and along the Fraser River. The white petals are actu- ally modified leaves grouped around a cluster of tiny green flowers. The floral symbol was officially adopted in 1956. Flower: Pacific Dogwood BRITISH COLUMBIA
vey in 2011 reported having some degree of Trinidadian background, but current estimates place the figure much higher—around 150,000. These Canadians find their roots in a small Caribbean country off the coast of Venezuela called Trinidad and Tobago. Canada was among the first to recognize the nation’s independence from Great Britain in 1962, making relations between the two countries historically strong. While vibrant Trinidadian communities exist in cities from coast to coast, the greater Toronto area is home to Can- ada’s largest concentration of Trinidadian Canadians. Every summer, the city hosts Caribana, Canada’s largest Ca- ribbean festival, and Trinidad and Tobago is always featured prominently throughout the colourful event. The very concept of the carnival in Canada can be traced back to early Trinidadians; calypso and steel band music are other cultural contributions of note. In recent years, many Trinidadian Canadians have made an impact on our cultural scene: novelist Neil Bissoondath and recording artists k-os and Keshia Chanté are a few among many.
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Wednesday, July 13, 2016
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