Canuck

For other uses, see Canuck (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Kanak people.

An editorial cartoon, c. 1910, portraying Johnny Canuck

Canuck (/kəˈnʌk/) is a slang term for a Canadian, though its semantic nuances are manifold.[1] A variety of theories have been postulated for the etymological origins of the term.[2] The term Kanuck is first recorded in 1835 as an Americanism, originally referring to Dutch Canadians (which included German Canadians) or French Canadians.[2][3] By the 1850s, the spelling with a "C" became predominant.[2] Today, many Canadians and others use Canuck as a mostly affectionate term for any Canadian.[2][4]

Johnny Canuck is a folklore hero who was created as a political cartoon in 1869 and was later re-invented as a Second World War action hero in 1942.[5] The Vancouver Canucks, a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL), has used a version of "Johnny Canuck" as their team logos.[6]

The Canadian military has used the term colloquially for several projects: Operation Canuck, the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck and the Fleet 80 Canuck.

Captain Canuck is a Canadian comic book superhero who first appeared in Captain Canuck #1 (July 1975).[7] The series was the first successful Canadian comic book since the collapse of the nation's comic book industry following World War II.[8]

  1. ^ "Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles, Third Edition, s.v. "Canuck", def. (1a)". dchp.arts.ubc.ca. 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Orkin, Mark M. (1970). Speaking Canadian English: An Informal Account of the English Language in Canada. Taylor & Francis. p. 175. ISBN 978-1-317-43632-4.
  3. ^ Dollinger, Stefan (2006). "Towards a fully revised and extended edition of the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles (DCHP-2): background, challenges, prospects". HSL/SHL Vol. 6.
  4. ^ The Mavens' Word of the Day, archived from the original on April 17, 2001
  5. ^ Bachle, L.; Kulbach, A.; Dak, P. (2015). Johnny Canuck. Comic Syrup Press. pp. 17–21. ISBN 978-0-9940547-0-8. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  6. ^ "Canuck". The Canadian Encyclopedia. July 8, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  7. ^ Markstein, Don. "Captain Canuck". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  8. ^ Edwardson, Ryan (November 2003). "The Many Lives of Captain Canuck: Nationalism, Culture, and the creation of a Canadian Comic Book Superhero". The Journal of Popular Culture. 37 (2): 184–201. doi:10.1111/1540-5931.00063.