Canadian Identity

Canadian identity is something that has become really important for many Canadians in

the past fifty years. Canada is a big multicultural country with its own traditions, culture and

history. However, over time, in a lapse of over three hundred years, everything has changed,

such as the architecture, government and social structure.

Architecture in Toronto in the twenty-first century consisted mostly of skyscrapers, sub

colonial buildings, business offices, libraries, storefront shops and banks, to name a few. As

Blake and Erica were driving through Toronto, on Bloor Street to be exact, they noticed some

similarities and differences such as no libraries, due to the Uprising and houses that still stand

from the twenty-first century as quoted in the novel. "It's one of the old houses, red brick,

with three storeys topped by a sloped roof with black shingles. Two large white dormers set with

little windows are flanked by tall brick chimney's on the outside walls. There's a big wooden

door in the middle sheltered by a covering porch roof. Big windows with white wooden trim

look out from either side of that door. It's not a grand house but it's dignified. I never imagined

living in a place like this." (Janet McNaughton P.12). In the twenty-third century, the houses are

cheaply built but are very high-tech; but the house that Blake and Erica are living in is very old.

But Blake's room is very high-tech, as said in this quote. "...my lovely new room with wall that

can change colour and a ceiling that mimics the sky.." (Janet McNaughton P.13). Another

supporting quote for this statement about how cheaply the houses are made but are very high-

tech is, "Cadence's home is north, in a part of the city I've never seen before, very different from

the quiet old neighborhood beside High Park. Most of the houses are new, high-tech but cheaply

made. Many have stores on the bottom storey. The house we stop at is more sturdy than the

others, but it still bears scars that must come from the technocaust." (Janet McNaughton P.216)

Since the twenty-first century, the architecture took a turn for technology, making houses much

more tech-savvy.

Since the technocaust, the Canadian government has changed from democratic to

dictatorship. The technocaust was a period where everyone's rights were taken away as well as

all technology and libraries were burnt down. Government only wanted the people to have

access to information that was necessary. After the Uprising, staffing was rare in government

which meant that things would take longer to process such as when Blake needed to get her

results for her ID code, it would take longer than usual. This quote from the book emphasizes

why, "There's a political reason, like just about everything else. After the Uprising, the

bureaucracy was purged of anyone who seemed too closely connected with the Protectors. Then

the Transitional Council decided to reduce the bureaucracy to save money. There are half as

many people working in government offices not as there were before, and that's not enough.

They'll have to hire more people before things work efficiently again", Erica says." (Janet

McNaughton P.17). Along with government changing, so did buildings such as the legislature

building in Queen's Park, due to the Dark Times. It was then taken over by the Transitional

Council, which turned the Canadian government from democratic to dictatorship. "Queen's

Park. Long ago, before the Dark Times, it was the legislature building, back when there