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Henri Eveleigh 's Let 's Go Canada Poster Essay

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Henri Eveleigh’s Let’s Go Canada poster is one of the most prominent pieces of Canadian wartime propaganda. The purpose of the piece was to encourage involvement in Canada’s first independent war effort. Analyzed critically, the poster symbolizes the overwhelming Canadian sentiment of independent nationalism, provides an opportunity for Canadians to achieve a sense of personal pride and glorification in a time of trouble, but however is incredibly exclusionary of the Canadian population, both in terms of sex and ethnicity—especially in an era which called for the unification of the Canadian population.
World War One famously changed the cultural landscape of Canada; it, “brought a surge to Canadian nationalism, and further notions of autonomy from the British Empire and brought change to the sovereignty of Canada” (Professor R. Lafferty-Salhany, in lecture, September 27, 2016). The war itself is viewed as a pivotal moment from which point onward the country began to adopt its own national identity and sense of autonomy. Tim Cook argued that, “it was not until the fire of battle made the nation that Canadians emerged as a distinct people” (Cook 418). The sentiment which came out of the war led Canadians to refine their sense of nationalism, last prominently seen after the events of the War of 1812, and Eveleigh’s poster attempted to capitalize on these feelings. The poster itself features little text, however places great emphasis on cheering on “Canada”—not Britain, or some

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