i) Normative Narratives

For Canadian’s, feeling at home could mean many things. It could be anything from being physically present in your house in Canada to playing Canadian sports such as hockey, curling or lacrosse. In addition, many people relate to being Canadian and feeling at home when they are surrounded by other Canadians. The normative narrative that is present in these stories and readings, consists of the idea that Canada is extremely inclusive, and therefore being around Canadians, or others who share the same Canadian pride, inevitably means that you are at home. This is evident in a reading by James Daschuk. He opens up with, “As Canadians, we think of ourselves as decent, even good people. We’re nice. We take care of each other…”. By taking care of one another we are creating the sense that despite differences, Canadians are inclusive to one another and will always be welcoming with open arms. This narrative is also present in Karly’s piece. She tells the story of a chaotic and loud household at Easter. It shows that you don’t necessarily have to be at home to feel at home. You can be with those you love and still get the same feeling and the final line in her story shows that; “My family is filled with chaos, but it wouldn’t be home without it.” Similar to Karly’s piece, Annissa shared her story about a Canadian experience in London. She went to a pub with a friend where Jennifer Jones’s national curling team won the gold medal game at the Winter Olympics. All it took was for her to be surrounded by other Canadians singing the National Anthem to realize that she needed to be at home. This small encounter defines the normative narrative of being surrounded by other Canadians to feel at home. Similar to Karly and Annissa’s stories, my story detailed a memory of me at the Canada Winter surrounded by ringette team. Being at the rink, in the dressing room with my teammates makes me feel more at home than I do anywhere else. 

The normative narrative of feeling at home surrounded by others is evident in all three of these stories. This is common for Canadians everywhere. We initiate our Canadian pride by being together and it is represented all around us. It is represented in the media, in our everyday lives and even in our identities. An article was written after Game 3 of the NBA finals stating that after the win, Raptor’s fans gathered together in Golden State’s stadium, the Oracle, to sing the Canadian anthem. Even though it was a road game, many of these fans would have felt at home because they were surrounded by other Canadian fans who were singing Oh Canada with Canadian pride. 

These patterns show a feeling of belonging and being at home with our fellow Canadians. This unintentionally shows our great experiences of being in Canada. However, other Canadians may not feel the same way. They may not feel as comfortable as some of us do being surrounded by other Canadians. We should be asking ourselves, how can we make others feel like they belong? What can we do as Canadians to allow others to feel fully Canadian too?

ii) Creating Counter-Stories: Disrupting Normative Narratives

Karly, Annissa and I stated in our stories that we feel as though we are at home when we surrounded by our loved ones or other Canadians. In contrast to this feeling, Minseo writes about her family coming to Canada from Korea. It was a very exciting time for her family. At the end of her story she states how she feels embarrassed with everyone glancing and looking at them when her family grabs all their luggage, which is much more than everyone else. Even though Canada is now her home, she may not have felt that way because she felt judged by her fellow Canadians around her. Minseo’s story is a perfect example that disrupts the normative narrative that Canada is inclusive, and therefore being around Canadians, inevitably means that you are at home.

Karly, Annissa and I stated in our stories that we feel as though we are at home when we surrounded by our loved ones or other Canadians. In contrast to this feeling, Minseo writes about her family coming to Canada from Korea. It was a very exciting time for her family. At the end of her story she states how she feels embarrassed with everyone glancing and looking at them when her family grabs all their luggage, which is much more than everyone else. Even though Canada is now her home, she may not have felt that way because she felt judged by her fellow Canadians around her. 

Some stories have the ability to silence other stories. In this context, these Canadian stories silence the stories of Indigenous people. According to the article Thank God for Canada!, we make it seem that Canadians are amazing individuals who save everyone and because of our “welcoming” personalities we make people feel at home as soon as they step foot on Canadian soil. However, this is not the case every single person or even groups of people. Like Minseo stated in her story, “A little bit embarrassed, I try to ignore the people glancing at us”, shows that Canadians are still quick to judge and a may not be accepting of immigrants or other cultures right away. This is also evident in the rebuttal to Thank God for Canada! by Melanie Delva. Her rebuttal is a clear example of how Canadians do not make other Canadians feel at home in Canada. For example, the Indigenous peoples are isolated to reserves with low quality living conditions. Instead of feeling as though they are home around other Canadians, they feel as though they are constantly being ridiculed and prejudiced against. 

As stated in Melanie’s article, “our national narrative identity that we are nicer, kinder, and more compassionate than other countries/peoples”, is not true. Yes, we may seem like we are but in reality, we are not. We tend to associate Canada as a welcoming country but are we really? The judging glances that Minseo’s family received when they first arrived in Canada and how the Indigenous peoples are constantly being isolated and ridiculed shows that maybe we aren’t creating the narrative that home is being surrounded by other Canadians.