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i ntroduct ion

markreid

In the earl spring of 1977, an eighteen-ear-old Vanouver man reeived

the worst news he ould have expeted.

andsome and athleti, err Fox had plent going for him. e ame

from a tight-knit famil and was taking ourses toward a kinesiolog degree at

imon Fraser Universit. e had reentl visited a dotor to omplain of sore-

ness in his leg. It was a nagging pain that just wouldnt go awamore frustrat-

ing than anthing, as it hampered him when he plaed sports. err thought it

was probabl nothing. But on Marh 2, 1977, the dotor told him that he was

atuall suffering from osteosaromaaner of the bone.

On an given da, dozens of canadians aross the ountr will reeive

similar life-altering diagnoses. For most, it will forever hange their lives. But

hange the ountr? ot likel.

oda, of ourse, we an look bak at that moment in 1977 and all it a

turning point not onl for err but also for the nation. here were others in

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xx introduction

errs life, suh as pril 12, 1980, the da he dipped his artifiial leg in the

tlanti off ewfoundland and began his Marathon of ope. For 100 Days That

Changed Canada, we hose to highlight a darker moment from errs jour-

neeptember 1, 1980the date he announed that his aner had returned,

and that he would have to halt his run.

s ou an see, the stor of canadaour storis rih with momentous

events, some proud, some shameful, others joous or sad. Onl when the are

viewed together do we get a omplete image of who we are as a nation, and

of where we are going.

he hallenge in reating 100 Days That Changed Canada omes not in

nding milestones but in hoosing onl a hundred among the ountless events

that have olletivel shaped our ountr. For instane, onsider ir John

Madonalds national dream of building a railwa aross canada. What moment

would ou highlight? he date the rst spike was hammered or the last? Would

it be Madonalds return to power in 1878ve ears after the Pai andal

drove him from ofewhih enabled him to revive his railwa plan? We hose

Jul 24, 1886, a moment of personal triumph for our rst prime minister. Its the

da he and his wife, gnes, ompleted their train journe aross canada on the

railwa he had fought so long to build.

s ou thumb through 100 Days That Changed Canada, oull disover mo-

ments that make ou smile or bring ou to tears. ome will be unfamiliar, others

instantl reognizable and relevant. youll read the aompaning essas and

learn wh these diverse moments matter.

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introduction

Whether there major milestones suh as sending canadian troops to

fghanistan, ultural moments like Joni Mithells first signifiant publi per-

formane, at Mariposa, or golden moments from the Vanouver 2010 Winter

ames, eah of these hundred das is part of the mosai that makes up the

canadian experiene. Ultimatel, 100 Days That Changed Canada is about

onnetionuniting canadians with their past, and all of us with eah other.