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The Province
24-06-2025
- Politics
- The Province
The story behind that Canada logo you see everywhere
The federal government's wordmark is stamped across Ottawa and even made it to outer space. But few know it was designed in one afternoon by a man who was paid a single dollar. The Canada wordmark adorns the top of the R.H. Coats building in Tunney's Pasture. Photo by JULIE OLIVER / Postmedia The Canada wordmark is ubiquitous in Ottawa. For decades, the logo has been emblazoned on federal buildings and signs, making the presence of the government felt throughout downtown. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors And its reach has been far beyond the National Capital Region, as it has bookended government television commercials, become a symbol of Canada abroad, and even made its way into space on the Canadarm of the International Space Station. Most Ottawa residents would recognize the wordmark, but they might not know how it came to be. It was created in the 1960s by designer Jim Donoahue and adopted by the federal government in 1982 as its 'official symbol of government.' Donoahue died in 2022, but the Ottawa Citizen spoke to those who knew him to tell the story of the wordmark that has become a visual part of Ottawans' daily lives. Good strong mark Donoahue was working for MacLaren Advertising in the 1960s when he was assigned to design a series of tourism advertisements for the federal government. While designing those pieces, he realized that there was no official government logo for the bottom of the ads. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He told his copywriter colleague, Peter Bonner who said 'well, do one,' according to Blair Thomson, a graphic designer, historian and archivist. So he did. In one afternoon, according to Thomson, Donoahue designed what is now known as the Canada wordmark. He used Baskerville typeface, which he was fond of, and he thickened it as it was light and delicate and could fade in smaller reproductions. The Canada wordmark can be sign on signs and federal buildings all over Ottawa. Photo by JULIE OLIVER/Postmedia Photo by JULIE OLIVER / Postmedia The 'D' in 'Canada' rose like a flagpole, so it was a perfect place for the flag to 'fly off,' said his daughter Zoe Donoahue in an interview, echoing her father's words. 'Good strong mark, a lot of fun,' Jim said of the wordmark in a video recounting its creation. The wordmark quickly gained recognition as it was used in high-profile centennial events, according to Tracey Headley, director of the communications and federal identity policy at the Treasury Board Secretariat. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In the 1970s, the government used different logos, designs and fonts, which made it 'difficult for the public to identify federal department and federal services,' Headley said in an interview. But then the federal identity program stepped in 'to standardize the government of Canada's corporate identity,' she added, and the federal government eventually adopted Donoahue's symbol as its official wordmark. Jim Donoahue designed the Canada wordmark. Photo submitted by Blair Thomson Photo by submitted Another day, another dollar But Donoahue did not receive a cent initially for the work he had done on the wordmark, as it was a byproduct of the advertisement project that had been commissioned, said Thomson. Thomson said the federal government later sent Donoahue a 'nice letter' and a cheque for $1 to 'formalize ownership.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I'm sure that it's worth a lot more than that, but it was just the way the process happened,' Thomson added. The Treasury Board Secretariat couldn't confirm that the federal government had issued Donoahue a $1 cheque, nor the exact year when the wordmark was created. The Canada wordmark sits on a government building downtown. Photo by Jean Levac/Postmedia Photo by Jean Levac / Postmedia But Donoahue's daughter, Zoe, recalled her father talking about it. She said he was never bothered by receiving a $1 cheque, and that he even 'got a kick out of that. He laughed about it for sure.' She described her father as someone who loved the process and puzzle of design into his 80s and she said the wordmark was one of his greatest prides. Donoahue's work on iconic Canadian logos was fairly expansive, having also designed the old emblems for TSN, Global TV and Toronto's Eaton Centre among others. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The 1960s in Canada was a time of identity-building that saw the country's centennial and Expo 67. This time led to the development of a number of national symbols, including the Canadian flag in 1964, and a Canadian design boom. Several iconic Canadian logos, like those of CBC, the GO Transit and CN Rail, came out of this time. Thomson, whose website Canadian Modern looks to preserve the rich history of the modern Canadian design movement, said the country's design can be characterized as 'functional,' 'clear' and 'understandable.' 'It says what it is, but also there's like this proud, like we're holding our flag up to say this is who we are, elbows up,' said Thomson, who also manages a physical archive of Canadian graphic design. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Over the years, Thomson has met with the lead designers of the era, including Donoahue, learning what he could from them and preserving that knowledge. Blair Thomson in his archives for Canada Modern. Photo submitted by Blair Thomson Photo by submitted Is it time for a revamp? In 2000, a survey conducted by Angus Reid Group on behalf of the federal government found that 85 per cent of Canadians agreed that seeing the wordmark made them 'feel proud to be Canadian.' The report found that 'there is overwhelming support for the continued use of the Canada wordmark as the Government of Canada's brand identifier.' The report also found that the wordmark gave credibility to information shared by the federal government. In more recent reports conducted by the Strategic Council, a public opinion research firm, for the Privy Council Office from 2023 and 2024, the Canada wordmark continued to be associated with trusted, unbiased and official information. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The iconic Canada wordmark has even made its way into space on the Canadarm. Image courtesy MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. Photo by courtesy MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. / Postmedia Wire In a November 2023 report, every member of four focus groups from different regions found that the wordmark was recognizable and several participants also said it evoked feelings of national pride. In another study conducted between December 2023 and January 2024, every member of a focus group recognized the symbol and many believed it represented the federal government. When asked how they typically determine if information comes from the federal government, many described a logo that sounded like the wordmark. 'In an era of increasing misinformation and disinformation, a symbol like the Canada wordmark ensures that the public can have confidence that the information they are receiving is in fact coming from the government of Canada,' Headley said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Revamping the wordmark is a non-starter for Thomson. He said recreating the wordmark would be the 'Holy Grail' of projects, but that it would be unnecessary. The Canada wordmark adorns federal government buildings in Ottawa. Photo by Julie Oliver/Postmedia Photo by JULIE OLIVER / Postmedia For Thomson, the wordmark is special in its timelessness and symbolism of Canadian identity. He said it represents 'all the positives of Canada' and that it's 'not trying to do more than it needs to.' 'It's not like it feels outdated or it feels wrong or feels like it doesn't tell the right story, or it feels inappropriate,' Thomson said. 'I think it feels wholly appropriate, and it's so consistently used, it's just become omnipresent.' Zoe Donoahue agreed that the wordmark is timeless. 'I can't imagine you would want anything fussy or ornate,' she said. 'I just think it's so clear.' She said she is just grateful that so much of her father's work still survives today. 'It's really special to us to be able to see his marks still out in the world,' she said. 'I know that would really mean a lot to him, and it means a lot to us as well.' Read More Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks News News
Ottawa Citizen
21-06-2025
- General
- Ottawa Citizen
Pellerin: Too much garbage? One man's trash is another man's treasure
Not to boast, but I once sold personal accident insurance door-to-door in rural Quebec. I feel this makes me uniquely qualified to find a spot for our trash now that the Trail Road waste facility is near capacity and we seem thoroughly unable to change our behaviour or think outside the garbage pail. Article content If only we'd had some warning though, eh? We might have been able to prepare ourselves: for instance encouraging people to throw out less stuff by giving them a discount on their property taxes or, say, cash prizes. Instead, we imposed a three-item limit on garbage at the curb, when 85 per cent of us were already throwing out less than that. Which is another way of saying: we did nothing. Article content Article content Article content I have written about this topic a few times, going as far back as 2021. Many others have weighed in memorably about the issue, including fellow Citizen scribes Bruce Deachman and Randall Denley. I am confident Citizen readers know we have a problem in a city where we keep adding people, and where the people we add produce garbage that gets added to the trash already produced by the people who already live here. I'm terrible at math but even I can see it doesn't add up. Why can't the municipal experts we pay to manage just this kind of problem do their job? Article content Most who live in this town are good citizens, from a refuse standpoint. We dutifully sort our blue bin items from our black bin items. Many painstakingly compost. We shun single-use plastics and unnecessary packaging. We carry cloth shopping bags everywhere. We have emergency back-up ones in the car, and in handbags, too. The problem is, there are just too many of us for our dump's future capacity and this is something that's been known for some time. Why has this problem not been fixed yet? Article content Article content Yep, in the late 1990s. First, I took a sales class that lasted two weeks. Then I started working with a mentor. That, too, lasted about two weeks. Let's just say that I knew even at age 19 that going door-to-door to sell people something was not for me. Article content Yet, in a remarkable and entirely non-ironic turn of events, that is precisely what's needed at this point in time: selling our trash to … well, anyone or any group who will take it. Article content In sales training, you learn to defeat people's objections. Like, 'I don't need this stuff,' which can be countered with, 'Oh, but you do; let me show you how.' Article content Ottawans' trash is no ordinary garbage, you know. It's what the residents of the capital city throw out. It's genuinely official trash. How often have you met this much discarded junk from a government town?
Ottawa Citizen
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
Deachman: Put Ottawa back on the map, prime minister
Article content If, as expected, the government decides to reduce the size of its workforce, it needs to do that responsibly and with compassion and consideration, not just for the workers who will be without a job and their families, but also for the overall health of the city that will, by these losses, sacrifice some of its vitality. The federal government needs to help make workers and Ottawa whole again. Article content It makes sense, then, that the president of the Treasury Board, responsible for managing the public service, should almost by default always be an area MP: someone who understands that the public service and the Ottawa area are inextricably enmeshed. By my count there have only been four locals to hold the position since it was created almost 60 years ago: Bob de Cotret, Marcel Massé, John Baird and Mona Fortier. It's time for another. Make it happen, Prime Minister. Article content Article content At the same time, the federal government has its thumbs in numerous other local pies. Notably, it oversees the National Capital Commission, where important decisions regarding the region's future are made or carried out. Consider, for example, the fates of 24 Sussex Drive and Wellington Street in front of the Parliament Buildings, or the development of LeBreton Flats and the building of a sixth bridge spanning the Ottawa River. Actions by the NCC on these projects aren't abstract. They significantly affect Ottawans' day-to-day lives. Yet there hasn't been an Ottawa-area MP responsible for overseeing the NCC since Stephen Harper gave the portfolio to John Baird. That also needs to change. Article content Additionally, while the mayors of Ottawa and Gatineau each have a seat at the NCC's board table, neither has a vote in the agency's edicts regarding Ottawa and Gatineau's urban planning. The NCC has made major strides in recent years to become less of a star chamber. Giving the region's mayors a greater say in its vision for the area would be a welcome change. Article content Article content It's too easy to get mired in Ottawa's symbolic significance as the nation's capital, proclaiming that it should reflect Canada's values and identity without saying what that means. But this city should reflect real, day-to-day principles of generosity and compassion. The number of homeless or impoverished people living in the shadow of the Peace Tower is unacceptable. The growing challenges the city faces in terms of housing, transit and infrastructure need federal assistance.
