Canadian Historical Influences

• Historical Influencers in Canada include nationalism, health sciences, and toxic masculinity.
• History is important for demonstrating analytical ability to think outside the box and go beyond the status quo.

British North American Act - 1867

• Creation of the Dominion of Canada occurred in 1867.
• The British North American Act of 1867 made no mention of sport.
• Public education jurisdiction lies with individual provinces.
• Physical Education is governed by the provinces but controlled by local school boards.

Egerton Ryerson

• Appointed Ontario's first Superintendent of Education of Upper Canada in 1842.
• Authored the 1847 Report on Industrial Schools, which advocated for the creation of industrial schools to "civilize" Indigenous children through Christian education.
• His influences were Dr. Thomas Arnold, headmaster of Rugby, and "Muscular Christianity," combining Christian principles and physical courage.
• Gymnastics was impressive after the European & North American Tours of Schools between 1844-5.
• Developed Public School System and Toronto Normal and Model School.
• Henry Goodwin was appointed as a “Gymnastics Master."
• Training included military drill, light apparatus gymnastics, calisthenics, and fencing; games were not played, but rather rational amusements.
• Ryerson University is changing its name to Toronto Metropolitan University.
• Published several articles on “Physical Training in Schools” in the Journal of Education for Upper Canada.

Lord Strathcona (1820-1914)

• Served as Canada's High Commissioner to Great Britain from 1896 to 1913.
• Donated $500,000 to encourage physical training and military drill in schools, becoming the Strathcona Trust (equivalent to $17M today).
• The Department of Militia administered the Strathcona Trust.
• Annual interest of $20,000 was donated to develop programs.
• Funds were provided for Military Personnel to teach Physical Drill to teachers in training at Normal Schools.
• The British Syllabus of Physical Exercises for Public Elementary Schools occurred in 1904.

Dr. Arthur Stanley Lamb

• Graduated from Springfield College in 1912 (B.P.E).
• He was the Physical Director at McGill University.
• Elected as the first President of the Quebec Physical Education Association.
• Known as the "Father of physical education in Canada".
• Questioned the Tin Soldier Approach to PE.

World War II (1939-45)

• Physical education focused on physical fitness purposes during the war.
• Fitness levels were low; 45% of 2,000,000 US military applicants were rejected.
• The scientific movement became an established part of the physical education profession during the war.
• PE content included drills, calisthenics, rhythmic movements, tumbling, athletic contests, team games, swimming, dance, golf, and tennis.

Influence of the Cold War & Nationalism

• The Soviet Union participated in the Summer Olympics for the first time since 1912 in 1952.
• Lack of Success for Men's Ice Hockey Defeats.
• Declining Canadian performances were dramatized by television, in context of the Cold War.
• The Conservative Government under John Diefenbaker takes power in 1957.

1970’s – Sport for Unity & for All

• The Canada Games in Quebec City in 1967 had the theme of “Unity through Sport”.
• There was a National Unity Crisis (October Crisis in Quebec).
• In 1976, the First Minister of State for Fitness and Amateur Sport was appointed.
• The mandate was set to raise fitness levels of Canadians and improve participation in physical recreation and amateur sport.

Major Issues of the 19th Century

• Diseases like cholera, typhoid, diphtheria, and scarlet fever impacted society.
• There was a belief in "Mens sana en corpore sano" (a healthy mind in a healthy body).
• The body was seen as a potential avenue for disease.
• Physical education emerged as a way to train the body and was initially rooted in the medical profession.
• Social justice issues, including moral and character development, hygiene, and community development, began to emerge within physical education.
• Urbanization & Industrialization

The Influence of Science

• Study of Locomotion: Eadweard Muybridge.
• Exercise was used to fight disease.
• Exercise improved mental capabilities.
• Evolution facilitated by exercise

Builders of PE in the United States

• Dr. Dudley Sargent believed exercise "Fortified the Well".
• He identified four aims of physical education: hygiene, education, recreation, and therapy.
• Founded the Harvard Summer School in 1887.
• PE training for teachers by Sargent.
• Used anthropometric measurements for talent identification, individualizing goals and programs for students.

Legitimizing PE

• Social development promoted overall development and group dynamics which overtook the emphasis on gymnastics, discipline, and medical purposes.
• Promoted loyalty, sportsmanship, friendliness, honesty, and leadership.
• Emphasized moral and ethical values.
• Highlights included the educational value of athletics.
• Disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and education influenced Physical Education.
• Play, games, dance, and sport became the primary modes of physical education.
• Physical & Cognitive Development: Educational testing was a means to determine intelligence = increased interest in quantification of constructs.
• Science of Anthropometric work led to tests of physical efficiency (e.g., skill based assessments).
• Fitness and Skill Testing Emerges due to Educational testing
• There was increased research examining the relationship between fitness & intelligence.
• Rogers Athletic Index: Strength + Physical Fitness + Intelligence = Athletic Ability.

R. Tait McKenzie (1867-1938)

• Raised in Almonte, ON.
• Entered McGill University in 1885 (Naismith – boyhood friend, also there) & finished M.D. at McGill.
• Replaced Naismith as Director of Gymnastics at McGill University (1894-1904) and served as Medical Director of Physical Training (the first in Canada).
• Took a Summer course with Dudley Sargent at Harvard.
• Used sculptures to study physical exertion & physical activity.
• He accepted the chair of Physical Education at the University of Pennsylvania (1904-1931).
• McKenzie stressed the importance of mind and character through play.
• In 1914, he joined the British Army Royal Medical Corps as a surgeon & rehabilitation officer.
• In 1918, McKenzie worked on Reclaiming the Maimed.
• PHE Canada & AAHPERD – R. Tait McKenzie Award of Honour
• McKenzie was a member of the American Eugenics Society which supported the ideologies of racial superiority and the advocacy of forced sterilization of “unfit” individuals.
• Supported the belief that the use of physical education was a means to distinguish between those deemed fit and unfit members of society.
• PHE Canada has removed all names from their Awards.

James Naismiith (1861-1939)

• McGill University (Montreal), philosophy degree (graduated 1887)
• Presbyterian College (Montreal), religion degree (graduated 1890)
• YMCA Training School (Springfield, MA), physical education degree (graduated 1891)
• Gross Medical School (University of Colorado), medical degree (graduated 1898)
• Physical education director, McGill University (1887-90)
• Physical education instructor, Springfield College (1890-95)
• Associate professor and chapel director, University of Kansas (1898-1909)
• Professor and university physician, University of Kansas (1909-17)

Cold War Era

• In 1959, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip, spoke to the Canadian Medical Association (CMA).
• He decried the state of fitness of Canadians and urged an active role to improve it.

Women in Sport

• Women's involvement in sports was minimal.
• Women were mainly spectators and social participants.
• Female frailty was a medical opinion regarding sport and perceived harm.
• Restrictive clothing limited women's participation.

Ethel Cartwright

• Cartwright helped establish the McGill Dept of PE in 1912
• She instituted mandatory PE for women in each of their 4 years.
• Cartwright was a women's athletic director at U Sask.

Margaret Eaton School

• It was an All-girls school in Toronto founded by Emma Scott Raff.
• The school valued physical education as a necessary component to the study of literature, languages, and dramatic arts.
• 1907: Literature and Expression became the Margaret Eaton School.
• When the school closed, it was a national leader for Physical Education in Canada.
• Replica of the Kalokagathon Greek Theatre.

Mary Hamilton

• 1910: Head of PE at Margaret Eaton School (MES).
• 1925: helped to open Camp Tanamakoon (Algonquin Park) for girls; the only institution in Canada that offered camp leadership training combined with a regular physical education course.
• 1926- appointed Principal of Margaret Eaton School.
• Established - 2 yr PE program:
  • Theoretical courses: anatomy, physiology, hygiene, anthropometry, gymnastics theory, games theory, applied anatomy, psychology of exercise, methods of teaching, first aid, and home nursing.
  • Practical courses: American and Swedish gymnastics, remedial gymnastics, practice teaching, and folk and aesthetic dancing.

Florence Somers

• 1934 – took over from Hamilton as principal of MES.
• Part of the first Advisory board for the Women’s Athletics Committee (1937- 1973).
• In 1939, she was elected the first female President of the Canadian Physical Education Association (CPEA).
• 1941 – MES merged with U of T to create the first Bachelor of PE program in Canada within the School of Physical and Health Education.

Canadian Women Sport Pioneers and Role Models

• The first modern Olympic Games in 1896 excluded women entirely.
• One hundred years later, Canada’s Olympic team consisted of more women than men.

Where do we stand now?

• A growing country with new ways to move and play.
• Accessibility standards and opportunities have evolved.
• Indigenization and Acknowledgments are increasingly recognized.
• Sex parity & gender identity issues are being addressed.
• Professional and amateur sports are popular.
• There are concerns about unjust treatment and athlete activism.
• Sedentary lifestyles and a decrease in mandatory PE classes are of concern.
• Sport for Development / Peace initiatives are underway.
• National Identity issues are being discussed.
• Other considerations include values as Canadians (From Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms).