With Canada Day approaching, there’s plenty to celebrate! A day of national pride, we see the flag displayed everywhere and few would fail to recognize the maple leaf as our most prominent national symbol. But there is another, lesser appreciated symbol, which, throughout our history, has played an important role in making Canada what it is today… the Beaver!
As we enjoy warm weather, barbeques, a much needed day off and grand fireworks displays, let us contemplate the industrious nature of the beaver, the largest rodent native to all the provinces in Canada; and the first to appreciate and conserve our greatest natural resource, water.
There was a time when the beaver itself was considered Canada’s greatest natural resource, drawing explorers deep into the wilderness across the country to trap and trade for valuable beaver pelts. Used as currency and to make the fashionable fur top hats that were in such high demand in the late 1600’s and early 1700’s, English and French fur traders were eventually selling beaver pelts in Europe for 20 times their original purchase price!
There were an estimated six million beavers in Canada before the start of the fur trade. But with 100,000 pelts being shipped to Europe each year at its height, the trade was so lucrative that Canadian beavers were in danger of extinction. Fortunately, around the mid-19th century, Europeans began to want silk top-hats, and the demand for beaver pelts virtually disappeared, at which time populations began to recover.
But before that, everyone wanted a piece of the action, including the powerful Hudson’s Bay Company, which profited from the fur trade so much, it put the beaver on the shield of its coat of arms in 1678. The same year, the Governor of New France suggested the beaver as its emblem; but the Canadian beaver began to be honoured as a symbol as early as 1621, when Sir William Alexander created the first North American coat of arms to depict a beaver after he was granted title to the area now known as Nova Scotia.
The beaver became an official emblem of Canada on March 24, 1975. So this Canada Day, or whenever you look at a nickel, find a beaver dam, or enjoy a beaver tail dessert, think of the important history of this remarkable little animal in our great country, and how lucky we and our environment are that the beaver is alive and well today!
In honour of Canada and its illustrious emblem, we’ve put together some items featuring… you guessed it! Beavers. Enjoy!
