OF course not. And it’s not just the 18-34 year olds. A lot of people born here don’t identify as settlers.
UselessPsychology432 on
I’m really glad a majority of people are rejecting this divisive settler/colonizers narrative.
It’s fucking disgusting to hold people even tangentially responsible for things that other people did, just because of their skin colour. It would be so dumb if it wasn’t malicious.
All of this identity politics stuff is meant to divide the working class along racial, gender etc lines to fight amongst itself, rather than focus on the politicians and their corporate masters that are really fucking us all
ImperialPotentate on
I was born on this land fair and square, so I’m no “settler.” It’s time to get over this divisive bull-shit.
Brendan11204 on
The land was already settled when I was born. I’m happy about it too, my life is pretty great.
KageyK on
Sorry, I was born here. Therefore, I’m native Canadian, as were my parents.
I might have ancestors that settled here somewhere back in my family line, but I hardly had control of their decisions.
Difficult-Celery-891 on
Just wait until the NDP make illegal to say you’re not a settler based on the colour of your skin.
Asherwinny107 on
The only European descended people I’ve ever met who “proudly” wear the label of colonist, are often wealthy college kids who wouldn’t know a hards day work if it slapped them in the face.
I’ve never understood this whole propaganda campaign. Did anyone actually expect majority of Canadians to shoulder the actions of ancestors they are sometimes three generations removed from? Or in most cases shoulder the action of people they have no connection to?
WardenEdgewise on
While I completely understand and appreciate the indigenous peoples situation, my ancestors have been on this continent for 10 generations. Am I a settler? If I am a settler, what do I do about it?
Cascadian_Canadian on
That’s because I’m not a settler or a fucking colonist. My ancestors like 5 generations ago were. I’m just a dude trying to pay my bills. Don’t fucking label me.
bigjimbay on
I settled where I was born
Long_Ad_2764 on
Why would we.
geeves_007 on
I mean on one hand our leaders clamour to defend “Jus soli” despite the fact that it is routinely exploited by birth tourists. Are these people “settlers” too?
I am 4th generation Canadian, but not First Nations. I am a settler, apparently. But a baby born today as a result of birth tourism is somehow not a settler, unless they are European. Am I getting that right?
CrabbyPatty1876 on
By this standard then even the “natives” settled here
OpinionedOnion on
My grandparents are immigrants and I was born here. Why should I feel like a settler?
Western-Bad-667 on
Some of my ancestors bought a bill of goods from the federal govt about the land of milk and honey, emigrated from Britain, and found themselves dumped in the middle of the bald prairie with no water for miles. They worked unbelievably hard just to survive and eventually built farms, helped to build a church and a school and a town, and kept their end of the deal. They were settlers. I am fortunate to be a Canadian because of them. I am not a settler – that honour belongs to them.
Funnyhowyoudie on
We are all Canadians, why does it matter if we where born here or not. Indigenous people need to get off whatever high horse they think they were born on and join us in the 21st century. It’s time they moved on from the thinking that there land was stolen. They didn’t understand land ownership when the first people came. Not the first time in history that happened, look at south American. But it’s only the Indigenous who seem to think they still have some claim to it.
ergocup on
Encouraging to see people reject this divisive identity policy that aims to demoralize. Instead of focusing on the real issues that affects all Canadians, this government has been stubbornly focusing on virtue-signalling distractions and ruses. This must end.
jjames3213 on
My family on both sides has been here for at least 3 generations. My children will be 4th generation. Before that, they were: a) British commoners, b) Scottish commoners, and c+d) peasant farmers with no rights, living under the thumb of their local ruler.
Canada is the only country I have ever known. How would I be a ‘settler’ in any way except the academic one?
Yeah, our ancestors settled this land more recently than the Native Canadians settled it. Even the natives have not been here forever. Every people settled, conquered, or immigrated to land at some time or another. We shouldn’t ascribe value to people based on the order in which they settled an area.
Euler007 on
Did the indian tribe see themselves as asian settlers? They had a 12,000 to 30,000 head start.
SpankyMcFlych on
Well duh, I was born here and am not a settler.
Angry__Liberal on
Hard to view yourself as a settler when your grand parents, parents and, you were born here. We didn’t migrate nor settle. For the most part, our lives have been a stuggle as well. It is probably past time to do away with the division and focus on making everyone’s lives better, starting with getting clean water for every Canadian.
PreemoisGOAT on
at work we had someone come tell us how there are no such things as Canadians
HurlinVermin on
If you were born here or became a naturalized citizen, you’re a Canadian. That’s the only identity you need.
shikodo on
We’re not, we were bloody born here…
Being_and_Thyme on
A lot of people in this thread completely missing why the poll was even conducted. Just look at the splits between French and English Canadians. The association that commissioned the poll was clearly trying to investigate a possible discrepancy between the historical reality of Canada as a settler colonial nation and popular understanding of “settler.”
GomarMeLek on
Almost 50% of people living in Canada are either migrants or second generation migrants.
More than 60% if we include 3rd generation “migrants”. So of course almost no one feels like a settler.
Edit : updated the 2021 % with 2024 estimates.
Shakethecrimestick on
My question to this idea of settlers/colonizers – where do we draw the line?
Surely someone who has ancestors who lived in ancient cultures of South America are not “colonizers” as their ancestors were colonized by the same people who colonized present day North America. What about those from India, they were colonized at a time, or other areas of South East Asia, or Africa…..so why not just outright say it, it’s not “colonizers” or “settlers”, it’s Western European….but Western Europeans colonized each other over history, so who is colonizing and who is colonized? If I have Irish ancestors who were starved out of Ireland but the English (the same English who colonized), do I have the “generational trauma” of colonization?
Humans are nomadic. Over the entire history of humanity, people/tribes moved around and took land from each other. Why is land divided by the North Atlantic so unique in how it was taken? And don’t kid yourself, before that happened, North America wasn’t some Utopia of peace and prosperity – it was land fought for and taken over by fighting tribes. So what, as long as skin colour is close enough, we don’t acknowledge?
A_Snow_Mexican on
Should really stop finger pointing at the average Canadian and maybe blame The Governments of the past and the Churches that made the mess. We just live here man.
Krytan on
Why would they? The first european settlement in Canada was over 400 years ago.
That’s about the same timeline to the fall of Constantinople. Do you think the Turks who rule there now view themselves as invaders or occupiers? Of course not. Even 100 years is a long time, stuff stretching back 400 or 500 years may as well be to the dawn of time as far as most people are concerned.
Redditface_Killah on
If you feel like you are a settler, you are free to pack your shit and move to an unclaimed fairyland.
travlynme2 on
Three grandparents from the UK.
The other grandparent on my mom’s side goes way way back.
rwags2024 on
I’d wager the majority of indigenous people don’t see themselves as settlers either
“We all” came here from somewhere
AlanYx on
To be a “settler”, you have to have somewhere you could (at least in theory) return to. Most of us who were born here, and whose parents were born here, simply have nowhere else to go. It’s unfair to call that sort of person a settler.
34 Comments
I don’t remember settling anything.
OF course not. And it’s not just the 18-34 year olds. A lot of people born here don’t identify as settlers.
I’m really glad a majority of people are rejecting this divisive settler/colonizers narrative.
It’s fucking disgusting to hold people even tangentially responsible for things that other people did, just because of their skin colour. It would be so dumb if it wasn’t malicious.
All of this identity politics stuff is meant to divide the working class along racial, gender etc lines to fight amongst itself, rather than focus on the politicians and their corporate masters that are really fucking us all
I was born on this land fair and square, so I’m no “settler.” It’s time to get over this divisive bull-shit.
The land was already settled when I was born. I’m happy about it too, my life is pretty great.
Sorry, I was born here. Therefore, I’m native Canadian, as were my parents.
I might have ancestors that settled here somewhere back in my family line, but I hardly had control of their decisions.
Just wait until the NDP make illegal to say you’re not a settler based on the colour of your skin.
The only European descended people I’ve ever met who “proudly” wear the label of colonist, are often wealthy college kids who wouldn’t know a hards day work if it slapped them in the face.
I’ve never understood this whole propaganda campaign. Did anyone actually expect majority of Canadians to shoulder the actions of ancestors they are sometimes three generations removed from? Or in most cases shoulder the action of people they have no connection to?
While I completely understand and appreciate the indigenous peoples situation, my ancestors have been on this continent for 10 generations. Am I a settler? If I am a settler, what do I do about it?
That’s because I’m not a settler or a fucking colonist. My ancestors like 5 generations ago were. I’m just a dude trying to pay my bills. Don’t fucking label me.
I settled where I was born
Why would we.
I mean on one hand our leaders clamour to defend “Jus soli” despite the fact that it is routinely exploited by birth tourists. Are these people “settlers” too?
I am 4th generation Canadian, but not First Nations. I am a settler, apparently. But a baby born today as a result of birth tourism is somehow not a settler, unless they are European. Am I getting that right?
By this standard then even the “natives” settled here
My grandparents are immigrants and I was born here. Why should I feel like a settler?
Some of my ancestors bought a bill of goods from the federal govt about the land of milk and honey, emigrated from Britain, and found themselves dumped in the middle of the bald prairie with no water for miles. They worked unbelievably hard just to survive and eventually built farms, helped to build a church and a school and a town, and kept their end of the deal. They were settlers. I am fortunate to be a Canadian because of them. I am not a settler – that honour belongs to them.
We are all Canadians, why does it matter if we where born here or not. Indigenous people need to get off whatever high horse they think they were born on and join us in the 21st century. It’s time they moved on from the thinking that there land was stolen. They didn’t understand land ownership when the first people came. Not the first time in history that happened, look at south American. But it’s only the Indigenous who seem to think they still have some claim to it.
Encouraging to see people reject this divisive identity policy that aims to demoralize. Instead of focusing on the real issues that affects all Canadians, this government has been stubbornly focusing on virtue-signalling distractions and ruses. This must end.
My family on both sides has been here for at least 3 generations. My children will be 4th generation. Before that, they were: a) British commoners, b) Scottish commoners, and c+d) peasant farmers with no rights, living under the thumb of their local ruler.
Canada is the only country I have ever known. How would I be a ‘settler’ in any way except the academic one?
Yeah, our ancestors settled this land more recently than the Native Canadians settled it. Even the natives have not been here forever. Every people settled, conquered, or immigrated to land at some time or another. We shouldn’t ascribe value to people based on the order in which they settled an area.
Did the indian tribe see themselves as asian settlers? They had a 12,000 to 30,000 head start.
Well duh, I was born here and am not a settler.
Hard to view yourself as a settler when your grand parents, parents and, you were born here. We didn’t migrate nor settle. For the most part, our lives have been a stuggle as well. It is probably past time to do away with the division and focus on making everyone’s lives better, starting with getting clean water for every Canadian.
at work we had someone come tell us how there are no such things as Canadians
If you were born here or became a naturalized citizen, you’re a Canadian. That’s the only identity you need.
We’re not, we were bloody born here…
A lot of people in this thread completely missing why the poll was even conducted. Just look at the splits between French and English Canadians. The association that commissioned the poll was clearly trying to investigate a possible discrepancy between the historical reality of Canada as a settler colonial nation and popular understanding of “settler.”
Almost 50% of people living in Canada are either migrants or second generation migrants.
More than 60% if we include 3rd generation “migrants”. So of course almost no one feels like a settler.
Edit : updated the 2021 % with 2024 estimates.
My question to this idea of settlers/colonizers – where do we draw the line?
Surely someone who has ancestors who lived in ancient cultures of South America are not “colonizers” as their ancestors were colonized by the same people who colonized present day North America. What about those from India, they were colonized at a time, or other areas of South East Asia, or Africa…..so why not just outright say it, it’s not “colonizers” or “settlers”, it’s Western European….but Western Europeans colonized each other over history, so who is colonizing and who is colonized? If I have Irish ancestors who were starved out of Ireland but the English (the same English who colonized), do I have the “generational trauma” of colonization?
Humans are nomadic. Over the entire history of humanity, people/tribes moved around and took land from each other. Why is land divided by the North Atlantic so unique in how it was taken? And don’t kid yourself, before that happened, North America wasn’t some Utopia of peace and prosperity – it was land fought for and taken over by fighting tribes. So what, as long as skin colour is close enough, we don’t acknowledge?
Should really stop finger pointing at the average Canadian and maybe blame The Governments of the past and the Churches that made the mess. We just live here man.
Why would they? The first european settlement in Canada was over 400 years ago.
That’s about the same timeline to the fall of Constantinople. Do you think the Turks who rule there now view themselves as invaders or occupiers? Of course not. Even 100 years is a long time, stuff stretching back 400 or 500 years may as well be to the dawn of time as far as most people are concerned.
If you feel like you are a settler, you are free to pack your shit and move to an unclaimed fairyland.
Three grandparents from the UK.
The other grandparent on my mom’s side goes way way back.
I’d wager the majority of indigenous people don’t see themselves as settlers either
“We all” came here from somewhere
To be a “settler”, you have to have somewhere you could (at least in theory) return to. Most of us who were born here, and whose parents were born here, simply have nowhere else to go. It’s unfair to call that sort of person a settler.