It’s the fortieth anniversary of perhaps the single most important festival ever held in Canada. Expo 67, Canada’s grand centennial coming out party opened its gates on April 27, 1967.
It was at the time, the largest single event that Canada tackled in the modern era. Expo 67 was a wonderful world’s fair of exciting visions of the future and presented the host country as a proud, vibrant and interesting place to come and share some time with.
From the modern subway system of Montreal (still one of the great systems of the world forty years later) that whisked you to the Ille St. Helene or Notre Dame site, to the Monorails that did the island hopping from exhibit to exhibit, Expo was a magical land that gave Canadians hope and optimism that the best was still to come for the still young nation. Three years later Montreal would be gripped by the October crisis and things would never seem quite the same, but on a spring day in 67 such thoughts were nowhere to be found.
It was by far, Mayor Jean Drapeau’s greatest moment, his vision of islands rising from the St. Lawrence to welcome the world would transform Montreal into a world city of the times, making it Canada’s first city for at least another decade, of course his glow of glory for Expo would eventually tarnish under the weight of Olympic debt in 1976, but for nine years he was probably Canada’s golden boy.
With exotic pavilions such as the American Geodesic dome, the Inverted pyramid of Canada Pavilion, Habitat’s strange looking building blocks and a world of other exotic examples of life from afar, Expo was a living, breathing history and geography lesson.
And for those that just wanted to cut loose and have a good time, La Ronde beckoned with some of the neatest amusement park rides that 1967 could offer.
There was no better way to get an education than to wander the islands in the St. Lawrence River. No better place to run into someone from some far flung corner of the world that had dropped into Montreal to see what was happening and left with an image of Canada that just couldn’t be created from a public relations firm.
Expo represented one of our greatest years, when the nation felt that anything was possible and nothing could stand in our way. Perhaps a little Expo magic can return for the fortieth anniversary, the nation would welcome the chance to dream again.
The Globe and Mail has posted an interesting retrospective on the world’s fair on their website today, including a photo gallery of some of the key exhibits of the day.
The Toronto Star as well, recounts the days when Canada was the IT country of the world, as hip as hip could be.
And the Montreal Gazette looks back to the days when Montreal shone on the world stage.
You can also step back in time by checking out the links below, which offer up a wide range of information about the World’s Fair of 1967 and Canada’s greatest event and introduction to the world.
Universal Newsreel about Expo 67
Expo 67 in pictures
CBC Archives: Montreal welcomes the world
CBC Archives: Opening day
Historica.ca: Canada and the world
Library and Archives Canada: Expo 67 Man and his world
It was at the time, the largest single event that Canada tackled in the modern era. Expo 67 was a wonderful world’s fair of exciting visions of the future and presented the host country as a proud, vibrant and interesting place to come and share some time with.
From the modern subway system of Montreal (still one of the great systems of the world forty years later) that whisked you to the Ille St. Helene or Notre Dame site, to the Monorails that did the island hopping from exhibit to exhibit, Expo was a magical land that gave Canadians hope and optimism that the best was still to come for the still young nation. Three years later Montreal would be gripped by the October crisis and things would never seem quite the same, but on a spring day in 67 such thoughts were nowhere to be found.
It was by far, Mayor Jean Drapeau’s greatest moment, his vision of islands rising from the St. Lawrence to welcome the world would transform Montreal into a world city of the times, making it Canada’s first city for at least another decade, of course his glow of glory for Expo would eventually tarnish under the weight of Olympic debt in 1976, but for nine years he was probably Canada’s golden boy.
With exotic pavilions such as the American Geodesic dome, the Inverted pyramid of Canada Pavilion, Habitat’s strange looking building blocks and a world of other exotic examples of life from afar, Expo was a living, breathing history and geography lesson.
And for those that just wanted to cut loose and have a good time, La Ronde beckoned with some of the neatest amusement park rides that 1967 could offer.
There was no better way to get an education than to wander the islands in the St. Lawrence River. No better place to run into someone from some far flung corner of the world that had dropped into Montreal to see what was happening and left with an image of Canada that just couldn’t be created from a public relations firm.
Expo represented one of our greatest years, when the nation felt that anything was possible and nothing could stand in our way. Perhaps a little Expo magic can return for the fortieth anniversary, the nation would welcome the chance to dream again.
The Globe and Mail has posted an interesting retrospective on the world’s fair on their website today, including a photo gallery of some of the key exhibits of the day.
The Toronto Star as well, recounts the days when Canada was the IT country of the world, as hip as hip could be.
And the Montreal Gazette looks back to the days when Montreal shone on the world stage.
You can also step back in time by checking out the links below, which offer up a wide range of information about the World’s Fair of 1967 and Canada’s greatest event and introduction to the world.
Universal Newsreel about Expo 67
Expo 67 in pictures
CBC Archives: Montreal welcomes the world
CBC Archives: Opening day
Historica.ca: Canada and the world
Library and Archives Canada: Expo 67 Man and his world
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