Daily BrewMost Canadians don’t know Vimy Ridge was a WWI battle, new poll shows
It's not news anymore that many Canadians are woefully ignorant of this country's history, but there's something disconcerting about a new poll that finds a lot of us know little about a pivotal moment in Canada's emergence as a nation.
I'm talking about Vimy Ridge.
And if you're asking yourself, "What's Vimy Ridge," I'm talking about you.
The poll by Ipsos Reid for the Vimy Foundation suggests that while four out of five Canadians knew it was a famous battle, only 47 per cent of those surveyed knew it took place in the First World War. Two out of five put it in the Second World War and the rest guessed anything from the Korean War, Boer War, Afghanistan and even the Northwest Rebellion (extra points for knowing what that was).
“It’s disappointing that a seminal moment in our history like the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the centennial that is a few years away just doesn’t have that click in people’s minds,” foundation campaign manager Jeremy Diamond told the National Post.
Historians generally agree the battle, fought on April 9, 1917, was a defining moment of Canada's development of an independent nation.
[ Related: The best way to mark Vimy Ridge is to pass on its significance ]
It marked the first time a Canadian army made up of four divisions fought together under Canadian command. Almost 3,600 Canadians died in capturing a crucial German position that previously resisted all other Allied efforts to overcome. The victory was credited largely to the innovative preparation by Canadian units and commanders' diligence in ensuring even the smallest units had a clear understanding of the objectives.
The ridge became the site of the iconic Vimy Ridge war memorial on land France ceded to Canada.
The Ipsos Reid poll found two-thirds of those surveyed knew Vimy Ridge was a watershed for Canada's identity. But some (18 per cent) thought it was connected to Canada joining the United Nations and a few believed it led to the writing of O Canada.
The online poll was conducted between March 14-18 and is considered accurate within plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, according to Ipsos Reid.
Older poll respondents were more likely to know the correct answers to the questions, with Canadians in the 18-34 range most in the dark. Diamond said younger people probably feel more disconnected from the battle.
“We of course don’t have any living First World War veterans anymore. So that living link to this time in our history is gone,” he told the Post.
“Those stories just don’t exist [anymore]. And so as a result, to many people it probably feels like it’s 200 or 300 years ago instead of only 100.”
[ Related: Vimy Ridge's shock and awe remembered ]
Only Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Nova Scotia school systems have mandatory history classes, though Diamond observed that doesn't necessarily translate into better knowledge.
For instance, the poll found Quebecers (55 per cent) were least likely to know Vimy Ridge was a famous battle. Apparently 24 per cent thought it was a ski slope at the Sochi Olympics and 16 per cent agreed it was a mountain range. Just over a third correctly pinned it as a First World War battle.
We shouldn't blame our schools completely, anyway. I believe a knowledge of Canada's history is an essential component of citizenship. While schools can plant the seed, it's up to us to discover how our country came to be.
The foundation commissioned the poll as it embarks on a campaign to increase Canadians' knowledge as the battle's centennial year approaches. Diamond told the Post he hopes at least three-quarters will be better informed by this time in 2017.
