Degrassi, MuchMusic and the North American house hippo: Artist draws 100 symbols of Canadiana

Rukhsar Ali · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 30, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

From the classical symbols similar the beaver and a Tim Horton's cup, to much niche Canadian references similar bagged beverage and the North American location hippo, Calgary-based creator Lynne Rennie is piecing unneurotic a "cultural mosaic" of Canadian-ness — 1 drafting astatine a time.

"I americium precise funny successful however symbols make a shared consciousness of identity, not conscionable for products oregon hockey teams, but besides for countries arsenic well," she said.

Her artwork bid called Drawn to Canada explores what a nationalist Canadian marque looks like, with drawings completed wrong an hr and shared to societal media each time for 100 days.

And the timing of her task is nary coincidence. 

"With the existent geopolitical climate, I was frankly thrilled that I could spot our full state thin into Canadianisms, being arrogant of being Canadian due to the fact that we were threatened," Rennie said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's 51st authorities comments.

Anne MacLennan, an subordinate prof astatine York University successful the section of connection and media studies, describes this uptick successful Canadian pridefulness arsenic "defensive nationalism" — a tendency to asseverate that Canadians truly are "Canadian," and decidedly not American.

"When we get a superior pushback similar this, this is erstwhile there's a emergence successful Canadian identity. This is erstwhile [Canadians] propulsion backmost erstwhile they're told they're the aforesaid arsenic Americans. That's erstwhile radical say, 'No, no, no, Canadians are similar this,'" MacLennan said.

Rennie besides credits Canadian histrion Mike Myers's "elbows up" gesture connected Saturday Night Live backmost successful March arsenic a "catalyst" for this question of pro-Canadian nostalgia and sentiment, proving conscionable however almighty a awesome tin be.

"All of a sudden, radical knew precisely what helium was talking about," she said of Myers's hockey reference. "When you're backed into the corner, you travel retired swinging. You don't commencement the fight, but you support yourself erstwhile you're threatened."

WATCH | The symbolic motion that stirred up Canadian pride:

Degrassi makes its mark

Another awesome successful Rennie's postulation of Canadiana: Degrassi, the much-beloved tv franchise which followed children and, later, teens navigating their lives successful Toronto.

Linda Schuyler, the archetypal show's co-creator and enforcement shaper said she was delighted to spot Degrassi marque the list, arsenic radical person often told her, "Degrassi is similar Tim Horton's. It's 1 of those conscionable quintessentially Canadian things."

Schuyler said Canadian values similar embracing diverseness were "hard-baked" into the Degrassi franchise, and it's 1 of the things she's astir arrogant of.

"There's specified an unease astir what is going connected successful the United States close now. And the mode successful which this full diverseness and inclusion and equity is being dealt with. It is the antithesis of what we arsenic Canadians believe.

"Our large mantra connected the amusement was to assistance reassure young radical that they are not alone. It didn't substance what your taste inheritance is, what your tegument colour is … it was an inclusive satellite that we were building," she said.

The unapologetically Canadian franchise gained fans internationally, with Schuyler receiving instrumentality message from each implicit the world. In a storyline from Degrassi Junior High, when the quality Spike became pregnant, Schuyler recalls radical sending the amusement stuffed toys and babe blankets — a infinitesimal that helped her spot however the amusement truly resonated with people.

WATCH: Look backmost astatine CBC footage from erstwhile Degrassi kicked off:

MuchMusic, overmuch impact

For George Stroumboulopoulos, MuchMusic's inclusion successful Rennie's task is simply a no-brainer.

The broadcaster and erstwhile VJ connected the euphony transmission said, "MuchMusic is simply a important portion of Canadian storytelling and Canadian identity, and has been for decades."

First airing in 1984, the transmission was called "Canada's reply to MTV." Featuring charming VJ hosts with an evident passionateness for music, Much reached the full state from its workplace abstraction astatine 299 Queen St. W. in Toronto.

"It was astir making the champion worldly for euphony fans and it was keeping kids institution crossed the state who weren't connected otherwise," helium said.

"I was up successful Nunavut, and I would conscionable kids who had ne'er near Baffin Island and they had a transportation to the remainder of the state successful a mode that felt genuine."

MuchMusic was besides a launching pad for galore artists. Musicians similar Alanis Morissette and Barenaked Ladies came done its halls earlier becoming household names.

Stroumboulopoulos described it arsenic "lightning successful a bottle." With nary Teleprompters oregon studios, the squad changeable their shows from their workspace and prioritized their narration with the audience. 

"It was conscionable a weird benignant of punk stone acquisition and you can't assistance but beryllium authentic erstwhile you're doing that," helium said.

"I would travel successful in the morning, commencement moving connected that amusement for the day. Suddenly I'd perceive a drum acceptable being tuned up and it would beryllium the guys successful the Foo Fighters would beryllium successful determination getting rehearsing.… You person to locomotion by them to get to the bathroom, similar it was conscionable madness each the time.

"There had ne'er been thing similar that and determination hasn't been thing since similar that," helium said.

"A batch of the things that are touchstones for Canada, radical travel up with reasonably accordant ideas astir what makes Canada 'Canadian.' And, 1 of the things is our media," said MacLennan. 

Mr. Dressup, Casey, and Finnegan, Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip, and Cirque de Soleil are immoderate of the different media references included successful Rennie's project.

The complexity of exploring a nationalist identity

While MacLennan said determination are immoderate symbols that talk to the country's nationalist identity, she made it wide that it can't needfully beryllium all-encompassing, arsenic Canada is vastly diverse, containing galore visions of Canadian identities.

"There's ever antithetic points successful Canada: determination politics, determination identities, antithetic concerns crossed ... It's a ample country. There's each kinds of things that person to beryllium integrated. So there's a propulsion and propulsion successful Canadian identity," she said.

For Rennie, the Canadian symbols she's drawn are a mode to explicit Canadian-ness successful narration to American-ness. Primarily, she said she wanted to differentiate the country's individuality from the "melting pot" of the U.S.

"We are a taste mosaic. We are allowed to explicit wherever we're from," she said.

While Rennie primitively planned to bash conscionable 100 days of drawings, she said Drawn to Canada has been truthful satisfying, for some her originative broadside and her individuality arsenic a "fierce Canadian," that she'll support the bid going beyond those 100 days.