Abstract

With their stunning lakefront views and pristine forest trails, summer camps have been a hallmark of a Canadian summer since their inception in the 1890s. Established out of anti-modernist and anti-urbanist sentiments among the upper-middle class, summer camps have been cemented as an important rite of passage for Canadian youth. They are also integral in the construction of national and masculine identities. This thesis takes one of the oldest summer camps in Canada and considers how the overlapping currents of religion, colonialism, and national identity practice took shape at the YMCA of Montreal’s Kamp Kanawana. Located an hour north of Montreal, Kanawana has operated since the 1890s and thousands of young children have passed through its gates. From 1894 to 1967, Kanawana was open only to boys and through its varied programming, helped form distinctly masculine and Canadian young men. This thesis is divided in three thematic chapters that each look at an important phase of Kanawana programming: active Christian citizenship, playing Indian, and the myth of the voyageur. Drawing from archival research and personal experiences at a different YMCA camp, this thesis explores the legacy of summer camps like Kanawana in the Canadian imagination.