Top 10 Canadian Heritage Minutes
Script written by William Goodrich.
Canadians: you know them, you love them, and you can probably liberally quote them. In this video, http://www.WatchMojo.com counts down our picks for the top 10 Canadian Heritage Minutes. For this list, we're counting down the best of the best when it comes to these one-minute vignettes, which were all over Canadian television throughout the '90s and early aughts teaching kids – and probably millions of adults – a little something about their national heritage. After nearly a decade of down time, Historica Canada recently started making a new batch of Heritage Minutes, which means it's high time we go into the vault and wax nostalgic about Canada.
Special thanks to our user Raymond Leduc for submitting the idea on our Suggestions Page at WatchMojo.comsuggest
top 10 Canadian Heritage Minutes
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Canadians, you know them, you love them, and you can probably liberally quote them. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 Canadian Heritage Minutes. For this list, we’re counting down the best of the best when it comes to these one-minute vignettes, which were all over Canadian television throughout the ‘90s and early aughts teaching kids—and probably millions of adults—a little something about their national heritage. Depicting stories of exploration, politics, war, sports, and uh whatever that was about, these spots were at varying times educational, heartwarming, thought provoking, and a little goofy. After nearly a decade of down time, Historica Canada recently started making a new batch of Heritage Minutes, which means it’s high time we go into the vault and wax nostalgic about Canada.
#10: “Jacques Cartier”
Our list begins with an epic, as this 60-second re-enactment of Jacques Cartier’s first encounter with the Iroquoian Chief Donnacona plays like a minute out of “The Mission.” Cartier was the man who claimed Canada in the name of France in the 1500s, and here we see how his first interactions with the native peoples might’ve played out. Sure, you could say this Heritage Minute depicts the origin of the name “Canada,” but we see it more as the Aboriginal peoples’ early encounter with the arrogance and willful ignorance of European explorers and the Church. Well, that and it’s a vital moment in the country’s history.
#9: “Superman”
This Minute illustrates Canada’s favorite national pastime. No, not hockey; it’s telling Americans that the things they love are actually Canadian creations. Superman, the ‘Man of Steel’, defender of “Truth, Justice and the American Way” was actually created by Toronto-born illustrator Joe Shuster. He may’ve had help from Jerry Siegel of Cleveland, Ohio, but no one ever made Heritage Minute about him, so for all intents and purposes, Superman is Canadian – just ask any Canuck, they’ll tell you so. In fact, you might say that Clark Kent and his alter ego are the epitome of the Canadian stereotype: humble, mild-mannered and strong all at the same time.
#8: “Laura Secord”
Most Canadians today would tell you that Laura Secord is a famous chocolatier, but clever branding and image co-opting aside, the real, historical figure of Laura Secord was a legit war hero. During the War of 1812, Secord traveled on foot over 20 miles of forbidding terrain to warn Lieutenant James FitzGibbon and his British forces of an imminent sneak attack by the Americans. No one knows for sure how she found out about the attack, but her act of patriotism eventually made her a household name in her home country. Also, her chocolates are delicious.
#7: “Jackie Robinson”
In 1945, baseball’s color barrier was crossed when Jackie Robinson was signed by Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey. Robinson spent the 1946 season playing in Canada with the Dodgers’ AAA affiliate, the Montreal Royals, before he moved up to Major League Baseball the following year where he faced racism and finally acceptance. Wait, first, Superman and now baseball? These Heritage Minutes sure did run roughshod over America’s greatest national heroes!
#6: “Underground Railroad”
At number six is this heart-wrenching Heritage Minute dedicated to the Underground Railroad and the more than 30,000 slaves who escaped covertly to Canada. Now, for any non-Canadians out there, you have to keep in mind that if you were a kid watching TV in the early ‘90s, you’d see this: sandwiched somewhere between this and this. This is exactly why these Heritage Minutes are seared into the collective unconscious of every Canuck born after 1979. Don’t worry kids: Pa makes it.
#5: “Orphans”
These poor kids just lost their parents to ship’s fever during an Atlantic crossing from hell, and now the church wants to strip them of their names. Cheer up Molly, being an orphan isn’t all bad. Plus, you might just find a new home with a nice Quebec family. We like this Heritage Minute because it celebrates the little guy; it pushes aside the founding figures and sports heroes, and shines a light on all the anonymous, forgotten individuals that made up Canada at its inception.
#4: “Basketball”
Most popular sports played today are the product of the multi-century evolution of games played since time immemorial – but not basketball. In 1891, Canada’s own James Naismith came up with the 13 foundational rules for the game, something he devised to break up the winter boredom for his Phys-Ed class. And Canadians have dominated the sport of basketball ever since… Ahem, okay that may not be the case, but basketball has become one of the world’s most popular sports. That, plus the three-pointer moustaches on all the guys, earns this Heritage Minute the number four spot on our list.
#3: “Baldwin & LaFontaine”
Any minute that starts with an angry, torch-wielding mob and a guy getting punched in the face is pretty good television. These wily politicians pulled off what seemed like a miracle when they each overcame linguistic prejudice and were elected as representatives in French and English Canada, respectively. The story of Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine is a key moment in the history of Canada, as the two men worked together to create the idea of responsible government and set Canada’s foundation as a bilingual country. It may not be the sexiest Heritage Minute, but these two played an important role in the union of the Canadas.
#2: “Halifax Explosion”
All jokes aside, this Heritage Minute is one tightly wound little thriller – and maybe the most affective of all the Minutes. Vince Coleman was just a common train dispatcher when he gave his own life to save 700 others from the worst man-made explosion in history prior to the atomic bomb. This Minute is a testament to the power of economic storytelling, the sort that runs throughout the very best Heritage Minutes. Before we reveal our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: - “Winnie” - “John Cabot” - “Nitro” - “Jennie Trout” - “Sam Steele” - “Jacques Plante”
#1: “Wilder Penfield”
¬In putting together our list of the Top 10 Heritage Minutes, there was never a doubt which one would take home the top honors. This tribute to the revolutionary neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield coined a national catchphrase. “I smell burnt toast” is as pervasive in the Canadian lexicon today as it was when these spots were running regularly on TV. All the humor, nostalgia and warm feeling that characterize this series can be found in this one-minute masterpiece. For those reasons, it’s the definitive Heritage Minute. Do you agree with our choices? What other Heritage Minutes should we have put on this list? For more inspiring top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
