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rfmcdonaldI mentioned earlier this month that many Canadian hockey fans preferred, out of the two NHL teams competing for the Stanley Cup, the Boston Bruins over the Vancouver Canucks because the former team had more Canadian players. Reporting from Halifax for the Canadian Press, Michael Tutton described how far more primoridal allegiances are at play in Atlantic Canada.
Why this last effrontery? History--the popularity of player Bobby Orr--plays a role. But genealogy also plays at least as important a role: Atlantic Canada was long one of New England's major sources of immigrants.
I blogged back in April 2005 about Atlantic Canadians' historic relationship with New England, or the "Boston States, arguably going back to the 18th century when first the New England Planters then the United Empire Loyalists established the first major British settlements in the region, but intensified in the late 19th century when post-Confederation economic malaise in Atlantic Canada combined with a huge demand for labour in industrial New England to create a massive shift southwards.
One genealogy website I cam across claims four million Americans (or New Englanders?) are of Atlantic Canadian background, but considering the ease with which Canadians pass form American--indeed, the ease with which they no longer pass at all--I doubt that the volume can be quantified. The outflow has been redirected, first to industrial central Canada then to industrial western Canada, and the last substantial cross-border movement occurred in the 1930s.
Still, these movements leave legacies.
The love of the Boston Bruins among Maritimers can run deep, bolstered by family ties, historic north-south loyalties and long-held passions for Bobby Orr.
As the Stanley Cup finals unfold, the Boston loyalists are increasingly spotted around the region in their jerseys, cheering for their rugged team against a suddenly disliked Vancouver Canucks squad.
Before each game, Nova Scotia Transport Minister Bill Estabrooks drops his front false teeth in his Bruins beer mug — part of his pre-game ritual in a den crammed with autographed player photographs that go back four decades.
Local sports broadcaster Cecil Wright, 56, isolates himself in his Halifax home, wearing his Milan Lucic jersey and forbidding any interruption as he watches a team he's loved since he was six-years-old.
“I don't watch a game of this magnitude in public,” he said. “I don't want my eyes distracted.”
And wherever Canucks fans go in Halifax, they seem to be confronted with the gold, white and black jersey.
Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson found himself surrounded by several Halifax councillors sporting the jersey with the spoked wheel when he came to the city last week.
Why this last effrontery? History--the popularity of player Bobby Orr--plays a role. But genealogy also plays at least as important a role: Atlantic Canada was long one of New England's major sources of immigrants.
“Sometimes Halifax is called the little Boston, or Boston is called a big Halifax,” [one] said.
“If the Bruins win (the Stanley Cup), I will fly down that morning and stay up all night and get a spot somewhere to watch the parade and then come back home.”
[. . .]
Like many Maritimers, Wright's father moved to Massachusetts to find work.
As a result, Wright grew up in Boston and Holliston, Mass., and followed the Bruins as Orr and Phil Esposito led the squad to powerhouse status.
When Wright moved back to Halifax he didn't leave the connection to the Bruins behind.
He also became aware of deep ties between the two cities.
Each year, a towering Nova Scotian Christmas tree is sent to Boston to grace its main square. The tree is in memory of Boston's assistance given in 1917, when a large portion of Halifax was flattened when a munitions ship exploded in the harbour.
To this day, Wright and many other fans watch Boston television and listen to radio broadcasts when the Bruins play, preferring what Wright calls “the home team” commentary.
I blogged back in April 2005 about Atlantic Canadians' historic relationship with New England, or the "Boston States, arguably going back to the 18th century when first the New England Planters then the United Empire Loyalists established the first major British settlements in the region, but intensified in the late 19th century when post-Confederation economic malaise in Atlantic Canada combined with a huge demand for labour in industrial New England to create a massive shift southwards.
The close ties between the "Boston States" and the Island in general remained strong for many years after Island people had made their permanent homes there. Even in the Boston area itself, Islanders were long able to maintain their unique "Island" identify and to preserve kinship ties both there and "back home". This relationship with the New England area in general was quite noticeable when relatives came home to visit during the summer. These American cousins were considered to hail from little more than a geographic extension of the Maritime Provinces whereas friends and relatives who visited from "out west" or "Upper Canada" were not accorded the same recognition."
One genealogy website I cam across claims four million Americans (or New Englanders?) are of Atlantic Canadian background, but considering the ease with which Canadians pass form American--indeed, the ease with which they no longer pass at all--I doubt that the volume can be quantified. The outflow has been redirected, first to industrial central Canada then to industrial western Canada, and the last substantial cross-border movement occurred in the 1930s.
Still, these movements leave legacies.
