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The American Influence On Canada

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For many decades, writers and authors have accused the American influence on Canada as one of the reasons why Canada is losing its heritage, with one major aspect being the game of hockey. The institutionalization of American Culture began to take root in Canada during the late 1920’s and 1930s as technological advances, specifically the invention of the radio, allowed Canadians to enjoy American entertainment. American stations were much more reliable than Canadian ones, causing American sporting stations such as NBC and CBS to become extremely popular in Canada (Gruneau et al, 1993). As Canada was becoming intertwined with the United States (U.S.), it was becoming less of a satellite of Britain, which made it tremendously difficult for Canada’s elite to protect British ideals such as self-improvement and participating in sport for the game’s sake. (Gruneau et al, 1993). In the early 1940’s, after the great depression forced many franchises to dismantle, the National Hockey League (NHL) was left with six teams, which made up the famous “original six.” At this time, America had a strong influence on the game, as four of the original six teams were based in the United States, and all of the players in league were paid in American dollars (Gruneau et al, 1993). By the early 1960’s, televised sports were emerging in North America, and NHL players were becoming mainstream stars. Inspired by this, along with the threat of the NHL losing its television contract to the Western

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