Hey, Kids, Let's Put on a Canadian National Exhibition!

 

Thanks to COVID-19, there was no CNE this summer: a depressing absence of a grand old end-of-summer Toronto tradition. Rumours are that it may fold forever from that financial hit. The fair that I attended in 2019 may be the last one. And even it was a smaller and less energetic affair than five years ago.

The CNE has mostly lost its reason to be: introducing the locals to the latest snappy consumer products. For years, the new car models were its centerpiece.

That seems no longer necessary. Television killed as lot of it; but at least TV was too expensive for many products. Advertising on the Internet, or finding products on the Internet, is in reach of all.

The CNE reinvented itself once. It began as an agricultural fair; as Toronto industrialized, it shifted to an industrial exhibition. If it is to survive, it needs to reinvent itself again.

Some will suggest that it needs to become more multicultural, to reflect the new face of Canada. It was all a relic of the “white” settler past. But another festival used to do that: Caravan. It died out due to lack of interest. Portuguese-Canadians do not need to go downtown to learn about their Portuguese heritage; and it began to feel a little too much like a human zoo.

I had a Greek-Canadian girlfriend. She would not let me go near the Greek pavilion. She found it too embarrassing. I had a Dutch-Canadian girlfriend. She would not let me go near an exhibitor at the local market wearing wooden shoes.

Here’s an idea: make it the Canadian National Exhibition.

What Torontonians most need now is better awareness of Canada. Most of Toronto today was born elsewhere. The government has put a lot of money into fostering “multiculturalism,” celebrating differences, and little into integrating new arrivals into Canadian culture, or fostering a sense of unity. Why not an annual celebration of Canada? It isn’t happening anywhere else.

This also means no exhibits celebrating only one ethnic group: no aboriginal pavilion, for example, and no francophone pavilion. Only those things we all at least potentially share.

The centerpiece could be a debate competition, featuring high school and university students. The traditions of civil debate, after all, are the foundation of our system of government.

The various political parties could sponsor exhibits around this.

There could be, in the same vein, a mock court, featuring law students or even working lawyers, presenting and arguing famous cases from Canadian history as a spectator sport. This could be a good way for newcomers to be introduced to Canadian legal norms and traditions, another essential part of our culture. It is often overlooked that, along with a common language, the various English-speaking democracies also share a common-law legal tradition.

The armed forces could exhibit their equipment and techniques, as they have been doing at the CNE. Nothing more fun for boys than sitting in a cockpit or climbing on a tank.

There should also be a shared police pavilion: federal, provincial, municipal. Nothing is more central to the Canadian identity than the Mounties; policing in general is central to the Canadian ideal of “peace, order, and good government.” And it is in everyone’s interest to foster good feelings between the police and the urban populace. Young people need to believe that the police are not their enemies.

There ought to be a royal pavilion. Canada is a monarchy, after all, the Queen is supposed to be a unifying symbol, and every immigrant in their oath of citizenship pledges her loyalty.

For the sake of our shared literary cultural heritage, there ought to be a Green Gables exhibit, a Mariposa exhibit, and a Klondike pavilion. Anne of Green Gables should be strolling around the grounds. Green Gables could reproduce sets and show costumes from the latest TV series; Mariposa could present dioramas and scale models of the imaginary town, and exhibits of small town Ontario life circa 1912. The possibilities for a Klondike pavilion are endless.

“Mon pays, c’est l’hiver”: one pavilion might be dedicated to the traditions of winter. Margaret Atwood identified winter as the essential unifying Canadian experience, and a “winter” pavilion was a standout at Montreal’s old Terre des Hommes exhibition. Hockey and hockey history should of course be a large part of it. Ideas for recreational opportunities in the winter, and how to make the most of the season: recent arrivals from other climes may have no idea.

There should be an exhibit on maple syrup: how it is made, and a selection of cuisine for sale. This might be part of a larger “Spring” pavilion, including something on identifying common local wildflowers and edible plants.

There ought to be a humour pavilion. Humour, for anyone who has not noticed, has always been a Canadian specialty. The “Just for Laughs” festival in Montreal is a wildly successful model. And getting the jokes is an essential part of fitting in, for a newcomer. Exhibits could feature classic political cartoons. Anthologized clips of Canadian humourists of the past could be shown: Mack Sennett, Wayne and Schuster, Dan Ackroyd, NFB animated shorts, and on and on. And, of course, live stand-up performances by young comics.

An art pavilion could feature the works of one important Canadian artist each year, assembled from various collections. Such exhibits could then go on the road to other municipal galleries in Canada throughout the subsequent year.

A music pavilion could showcase traditional Canadian folk songs, music, and dancing. Visitors could be given basic instruction in how to folk dance. A sing-along display could encourage attendees to “follow the bouncing ball” on folk songs, Canadian standards, and campfire songs, reviving an old summer tradition. This was Canadian karaoke before there was karaoke; a lot of Asian-born Canadians will take to it naturally.




An outdoor screen could show classic and recent Canadian movies.

A resources pavilion might feature a display of Canadian minerals, something on the long history of forestry and the fur trade, exhibits on oil and hydro-electric power. Canada, with its huge territory, has always been all about natural resources, after all.

The grounds might be tied together, and footsore attendees accommodated, by a miniature railroad, in part commemorating the importance of the railroads in unifying Canada. Logos of various historic and present rail systems could be featured on the cars. Canadian Pacific, Grant Trunk, Kettle Valley Railroad, and so on.

Headliners at the stadium should of course be the biggest current Canadian acts. A tent on the grounds could feature a Cirque du Soleil performance nightly.

Another pavilion should promote the national and provincial parks: reminders for city dwellers of opportunities to escape into the great Canadian outdoors. Given the timing of the exhibition, at the end of summer, seeing fall colours could be the theme. Along with fishing, camping, woodcraft, and canoeing exhibits.

Concessions might offer any sort of food, but we might also have a food pavilion, as does the current CNE, featuring strictly Canadian specialties immigrants may never have tried. Pate Chinois, Jiggs’ dinner, Montreal bagels, fiddleheads, and so forth.

Essential funding could legitimately come from government, to undo some of the harm of multiculturalism policies over the years. Promoting national unity and a sense of citizenship is their legitimate concern. Private sponsors might also be interested in hosting many aspects of the exhibition: Canadian-branded companies like Hudson’s Bay Company, Tim Horton’s, Vachon, CP Rail, and so forth. Not to mention any other company who would like to be seen by Canadians as Canadian. Which is just about any company selling to consumers.

Living as I have for most of my adult life with immigrants and others hoping to move to Canada, I bet that such a CNE would be wildly popular, in particular, with more recent immigrants. It could also, unlike the current version of the CNE, be an immense draw for foreign tourists.