Canada Is Turning 150. Oh, to Be 100 Again.

Lovely article. What I wouldn't give to go back and visit those crazy pavilions again - the inverted Canadian pyramid, the sloping Russian roof, the Bucky Dome. I would even be wiling to line up and not sneak in the back, which was the only way to see the best ones back then. Go on Google Images and key in Expo 67 Pavilions - what a collection - doubt there will ever be anything like it in one place.

To help observe the 150th, I've tracked down my Centennial bracelet and brooch, which I proudly wore when I was 13. My family drove from Saskatchewan to Montreal for Expo and the memories are indelible. The whole year was exciting, however, with special events in the schools, the Centennial Train and even an impossible to forget song: Ca-na-da by Bobby Gimby.

To read of the horrors that European-descended Canadians visited on First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people--read the other Times article about Canada's residential-school system--it's going to take a lot more than one surviving piece of artwork from 1967 to make national amends. I wish Canadians the best in this effort, and that their hearts are sincere.

Got in a Ford Falcon wagon and made the trek from Boston with the family as a seven year old. The only things I recall from the trip were the rubber subway tires, that Canada still used silver coins, and that the motel we stayed at was in Longueuil, which at the time seemed to me to have the strangest name of any place on Earth,

My college roommate and I went to Expo 67. We drove from her home in Rochester, NY. What a wonderful visit we had. It's amazing how much I remember from that long-ago event. We stayed in a room in a private home because of the great demand for lodging. Since we spent all our time at the Expo, the accommodations were unimportant, but they were certainly adequate, and I don't think we were charged too unreasonably. I remember how clean and organized things were. Yes we stood in lines, but the atmosphere was festive and we were all thrilled to be standing shoulder to shoulder with people from all over the world. Some high spots were the magnificent glass exhibits from Czechoslovakia, my first experience with the term "geodesic dome" and the name of futurist Buckminster Fuller, a wonderful dinner at the Swiss Pavilion where we had to decide if we wanted a French, Italian or traditional Swiss dinner. I remember being astonished by the beauty of the circular panoramic movies. But what overwhelmed me even more were several photographic collages where the pictures kept changing. We take that for granted now, often displaying our photos as screen savers in this format, but at the time slide shows were purely linear. I remember standing in front of one such display watching the images shift for quite a while. Over all, as I think back to that long ago time, I remember the general optimism and pride shared by all. Thanks for reminding me.

I remember Expo '67 as the experience that taught me that I had a culture and it wasn't universal. When I took advantage of an offer through my Michigan university to purchase travel to Montreal and tickets for the Expo, all I was expecting was entertainment, to see the sights and amusements associated with a world's fair, possibly my only chance. Only when in Montreal du Nord did I begin to comprehend that not everyone spoke English or lived in a subdivision. But it was the moment I and my friends disembarked from the train into the Expo that I will never forget. The four of us were met by a Quebec native who who opened the door to greet us in French and English and said, "Ah, Americans!" though none of us had uttered a word or moved from our seats. He knew simply from our clothes and mannerisms that we came from the US. That's when I realized the impact of cultural differences for the first time, envisioning a little how profoundly culture fashions how we think and what we take for granted. Such a small thing, that moment, but it has affected my professional and personal life every since. I am grateful to Expo and the opportunity i was offered to attend. Without going more than a few hours from home, I had a taste of what would have taken much more time and expense. I have traveled much since, repeating the lesson: people can see the world and live in it differently and validly. Our way is not the only way to live. Thank you, Canada.

In the summer of 1967, I had a summer job washing dishes on a CN Railways dining car. It was a pretty good job for a college student and I got to travel frequently to Montreal and visited Expo 67 on several occasions. Canada was much less inclusive in those days but I was fortunate to live within walking distance of an excellent public high school and one of the country's best universities from which I later graduated without any student loan debt and unburdened by fears of being sent off to Viet Nam. The country was just beginning to become a more inclusive society but it still had a lot more work to do. It was a big deal in my circles when Bora Laskin became the first Jewish member of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1970.
In 2009, my college's alumni magazine did a cover story on 30 years after Stonewall. Four years after gay marriage had become legal across Canada, the US was still tearing itself apart over the issue. Meanwhile, in downtown Toronto, the skyscraper where I had worked in the summer of 1968 had not been swallowed up by an angry God.

I was 21, just graduated from university and working as a guide at the Dow Planetarium, which was a fairly new attraction, in downtown Montréal. We used the break time between the afternoon and evening planetarium shows to hop on a bus to Expo, grab a quick bite, and see a pavilion or just talk to some of the people who came from all over the world to visit or work at the site. Thanks for the memories.

Awesome story. As a former Montrealer, Expo 67 remains in a dear place in my heart. It is iconic and timeless.

Isolated in a small town in east central Alberta as a 7-year old, Expo 67 probably made less of an impression on me. But I distinctly remember that there was a train that came through town that summer for several days, full of Canadiana. Made us prairie-dwellers at least feel like we were a part of it all.

And the "CA-NA-DA" song. And the stylized maple leaf made of triangles, each triangle representing a separate province and territory (we had to colour the icon in school).

p.s., bring back the Expos!!

We went to Montreal and Expo 67 to begin our honeymoon in August '67, then went on to Prince Edward Island. We are going back to PEI to celebrate our 50th later this summer. Happy Birthday Canada and Happy Anniversary Jean!

As a kid, I remember the airwaves bombarding us with the "Expo '67 Montreal" commercials. Then came the National League baseball team named after the Expo 67 World's Fair.

I have been to la belle province several times. More Americans should avail themselves of Montreal - a great, great city, more European of course, and oh by the way, you never hear complaints about health care there.

It would be great if an American League team moved to Montreal to achieve synergy with Toronto. Not only that, but it would encourage fans of the Red Sox and Yankees to have the Quebecois experience. It's a short drive and another world.

Oh to have Canada 100 again. I would just be born again as well. sigh ...

I enjoyed the little history lesson and melancholia to a different time. However, the odd thing ( other than having the son as Prime Minister of one of Canada's greatest Prime Ministers who came into his own during that time ) is that hopefulness and thinking anything is possible, including greatness, is back in vogue.

We have A Leader and government that is closely resembling the country ( especially in women participation in power ) and the future does indeed look bright.

We don't need a pavilion to celebrate that, but we could use our Expos back.

Regardless, I will not only be raising a pint tomorrow to my fellow Canadian brethren,but also to all of you yanks.

Happy Canada Day.

As a Canadian/American living in the US, can you guess which country I am more proud of at this time?

I revere our northern neighbors. Canada is what the United States thinks it is.

Age 15, end of freshman year, our all boys HS had the trip to Expo '67. Ah, who do I want to room with at the El Convento Hotel, hmm, will it be 4 guys in a room or 2....? NO, El Convento is an old Convent school converted for the Expo. 4 in a room? no! try 15 bunk beds for 30!! Of course, trying to start a pillow fight, who hits a fluorescent and shatters it, then trying to sweep it up while just in my briefs. The 'disco' of the 'hotel' used to be the chapel! But, overall, a good trip! Got to go again several weeks later with my scout organization, and we had girl scouts with us! I remember the Mexican pavilion did a good biz selling serapes to many of the young ladies!!

My first sight of Expo 1967 was from a ship as it glided past the Expo site at night to dock in the Montreal Harbour. All the passengers from many countries were on the deck taking in the spectacle. Next day I visited the Exhibition, my first full day in Canada. On that day, the pavilions, the people and the city took my breath away. It still does every time I cross the border to visit Canada.
Happy Birthday Canada.

My wife and I wish Canada a happy 150th. We met and fell in love at Expo 67.

I was 10 years old when we drove the family truckster from MN to Montreal. The things I remember most were the Iranian, German and US Pavilions. The 360 degree movie about Canada with the Mounties on horses. We were there in June when the 6 day war broke out in Israel and I remember things being very tense, but not really understanding why. It was also the first time I saw a 100 dollar bill. I don't know why I remember that so clearly. I also remember it was the last family vacation we took together before my brother went off to the Marine Corps.

I was 18, living in Montreal and just finishing high school. My interests were girls, music (The Stones) and parties.
Along came the summer of love and Expo, with girls, outdoor beer gardens, exotic food, state of the art amusement park and a 6 month party. Possibly the best time and place ever.

Yes indeed. I still have the Centennial Song on a 45 rpm, written by the "Pied Pipers of Canada" Bobby Gimby. Back then the lyrics boasted "now we are twenty million." We've come a long way since then. Happy 150 Canada.

I was 5 when my family visited Expo 67. We were planning on driving (or so all of us kids thought...) from Philadelphia to Montreal but as we drove by the airport my father said "It's such a long drive, why don't we fly". So we all had our first plane ride. It was a very memorable trip. I still remember riding the monorail, and watching cartoons in french in our hotel. And somewhere there are photos of me wearing one of those Canadian Mountie hats. Thanks for writing about it and bringing back some fond childhood memories!

Still remember landing in Montreal and seeing Expo in 1969, returning from a postgraduate architectural sojourn in Rotterdam.

It was an uplifting experience, looking optimistically to the future. Canada is still so, with a political culture that is truly democratic.

Unfortunately for us, the US is looking backwards, pesimistic and steeped in political corruption — only a revolution can change that.

This brings back great memories. I was 7, recently moved from Toronto and all that summer, my parents friends and family came to stay with us to attend this unbeatable vacation highlight (Good luck finding a hotelin Montreal that summer!)

Everyone let me tag along so I went 10 times and have so many great memories - the scary Labyrinth, the model of Moscow at the Russia Pavilion, the cool overhead monorail, the car factory at the British Pavilion, the part at the Kodak show where you fly over the cliff, the miniature boats at the Canadian pavilion, my Dad getting us a pass to the backdoor Marine guarded entrance to the US pavilion with the unbelievably cool real Mercury capsule and space suit, that On-tar-rio song, a whole lot of pavilions from strange (to me) countries like Ghana, and Cuba, taking the monorail over to La Ronde to get soaked on the log flume, riding down the mouth of the volcano on the Gyrotron with my Uncle Pete screaming in mock fear and of course, the pizza.

I think the adults enjoyed themselves too!

Nice story. Thnx. Canada ain't perfect, but it's sweetly close https://youtu.be/etGX4XKrbLc

Wonderful story. At age 15, two friends and I spent a week at Expo 67, without parents (unimaginable today), and I still remember the spectacle, the new media, and most of all the wonderful differences in our neighbor to the north. My recollections were recently published in the Montreal Gazette:

http://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-fifty-years-after-expo-67-a-v...

Happy birthday Canada!

Interesting to read this first-hand account, but just want to point one thing out: there actually was also an Indians of Canada pavilion that was quite gorgeous, with large murals by indigenous artists (some also trained in graphic design) and interior exhibits on indigenous life and manifestos of sorts.

I was 12. My folks took me on a "National Lampoon" vacation to Expo. I remember almost nothing about the Expo itself, but I still recall the magnificent food all over Montreal, even at the Holiday Inn where we were staying, and the flowers. Floral arrangements everywhere; there even were clocks, sculptures and signs made out of flowers. I have been to few places as beautiful in my life, before or since.

Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. was 90, and had 28 years on the Court under his belt, when at the sight of a pretty girl he exclaimed, "Oh, to be 70 again!"

In 1967 I returned home for a summer of vacation after my first year of graduate school in England. I was studying architecture, and so I went to Montreal to see the sights. What struck me was the strange dichotomy of the promise of a bright new future and the shabby realities. Fuller’s geodesic dome was wonderful from a distance, but the automatic motorized triangular roller shades had failed. They were designed to unfurl as the sun moved over the course of the day, but they were stuck in various stages of deployment – some open, some closed, some torn. With the sun pouring in, the air conditioning was overwhelmed and the heat was terrific. Over at the Russian pavilion, things weren’t much better. Tilted structural members held up a curved concrete roof, but where they penetrated the enclosing glass curtainwall the glass was shattered, perhaps by unanticipated movement or thermal stress. The effect was like a comic book drawing, with jagged pieces of glass surrounding the concrete like an exclamation. I had a wonderful time, but I returned to school a little wiser about the limits of our aspirations. That was pretty much the story of the whole decade.

I served as a guide in Bucky's bubble/birdcage. That little bauble of hope is what we need now more than ever. In the midst of the most hideous shame we face with a president who humiliates and degrades, we need to hold onto the beauty, optimistic faith in human beings to achieve great things and to embrace the whole. That's what Expo 67 did, it lifted up every nation and said we are united in our desire to be kind, helpful, and loving. Thank you for letting me serve this country with honor and dignity. Sheri

Many of these posts have an ah-youth tone to them with which I can readily sympathize. In 1967 I was working at a journeyman job in a small college town roughly equidistant from Montreal and Boston. Those cities were my refuge, and the Montreal Expo a special bonbon. I too would like to have (some of) the intervening years back--and a do-over for the others.

In 1967 my parents took me to Montreal to visit Expo 67. It was grand! Much of the whole world had a presence there. The US pavilion, now the Biosphere, was one of the highlights of the fair. The Apollo program was featured prominently in the US exhibit. The feeling at Expo 67 was wonderful. Iran's pavilion displayed particularly memorable art from Islam. Montreal opened its brand new subway that year. In that centennial year, cities throughout Canada built their own centennial project. Expo 67 may have had nothing to do with the centennial year, but it did happen that year and it seemed to be very much part of it. True centennial projects were of a smaller scale. My own little town on the far north shore of the St Lawrence river, called Sept Iles, built a library.

Happy Birthday Canada!

I was 16 when my family rented an apartment in Montreal for a week-long visit to Montreal for Expo 67. I was fascinated by not only Expo 67, but Montreal itself. Being a bilingual city, I picked up more French from all the bilingual signage than I had in high school French class. Expo 67 itself was like nothing I had seen before. Unique architecture, modern monorails, and Habitat 67, the modular apartment building that was to be the vanguard of future construction. I recall one pavilion showed a film that was shown in a theater where the audience stood in a horseshoe-shaped viewing area. The film was projected onto both a vertical screen on the wall and a horizontal screen on the floor. When a rock was thrown from the wall screen, you then saw it land in the water shown on the floor screen. Fascinating! Montreal and Canada, you put on a great show. Thank you, 50 years later!!

The site has survived better than the past 4 or 5 Olympic sites.

As a very young child, somehow I got separated from my family at Expo '67 for several hours.
I kept wandering around by myself looking for them, then sat down and cried. Reunion was shortly thereafter.

Happy 150th Canada. Seems like just yesterday you turned 100! I remember Expo '67, visiting with my family several times from our home in up state NY. The memories subsequently burned in by watching my Dad's 8 mm home movies of our visits again and again. I've since visited Canada with my wife and kids including Montreal and the site of the Expo several times (mainly the bio-dome.) We also made it to associated amusement park, La Ronde once which was probably the best part of visiting Expo '67 for this 10 year old 50 years ago.

Canadian politics in '67? Canada's battle against Quebec's independence movement was rising to the fore when EXPO '67 took place. Many, many millions of federal dollars were used to help show Quebeckers how much the rest of the country loved them. I was three and my earliest memories are from that fair - eating an ice cream cone on a "cable car" moving slowly above things. I had never been "so high" above the world. It was truly fun for me, but it was unquestionably a political tool used by the federal government. Hot, young French-Canadian stars were rising to the fore in the ruling Liberal Party. Pierre Trudeau and Marc Lalonde were the flashiest among them and during that time quickly became political "giants" in Montreal, Quebec and Canada. Money was used to keep Quebeckers as happy and content as possible. The political swell known as "Trudeaumania" swept the country one year later and I am certain that the EXPO fair unquestionably helped the Liberals Party stay in power.

I was 11 years old when my family traveled from Portland to Vancouver for Expo 86. I have many happy memories of collecting pins and tshirts from the exhibits and seeing people from all over the world. I believe the Canadian IMAX film referenced in the article still plays at the Canadian pavilion at Epcot in Disneyworld. My childhood memories came full circle when I took my sons to Vancouver this year and we watched the original Fly Over Canada film ride from Expo. They fell in love with Canada too and can't wait to go back.

I was 13 and lived in Montreal. With an Expo passport in my hand, I was there every day, traveling the world and into the future. I ate a potato baked in a micro-wave oven (an innovation then!) in the Russian Pavilion, sat in a cool sunken living room in the futuristic Japanese Pavilion, learned about the Holocaust in the Israeli Pavilion, was amazed by the multi-screen films at the NFB Pavilion, played with my first computer, saw my first light and music show at the French Pavilion. In my young mind, it felt like the future was here and it was good. Luckily, that feeling has never quite left me.

The giant geodesic biosphere Buckyball skeleton remains gorgeous, testament to a visionary of those times.

The wikipage on Fuller offers this:

"Fuller believed human societies would soon rely mainly on renewable sources of energy, such as solar- and wind-derived electricity. He hoped for an age of "omni-successful education and sustenance of all humanity." Fuller referred to himself as "the property of universe" and during one radio interview he gave later in life, declared himself and his work "the property of all humanity"

How far down we've come in 50 years in the USA, 40 of which were seemingly devoted to only greed, division, religious fundamentalism & selfish consumerism.

I want Bucky back, and his vision for sustainability that isn't only about greed, and I want a Trudeau for the USA, and I want those 40 years back which were taken from US society when our culture was rendered light-less, toxic & diseased by greed with the advent of fundamentalist reaganism, and I want a national flag that celebrates a tree...

O Canada.

Your article prompted my digging out a scrapbook last night. That July I was about to retire after two seasons in the Chattanooga Boys Choir (voice changing, of course) and our appearance at Expo 67 was the lynchpin of our annual tour. We'd spent a week on a bus with concerts in D.C., New York and Boston but for most of us kids the idea of crossing an international border to French-speaking Canada was the most exciting part of that trip. When we got to Montreal we were given two days to enjoy the fair besides the day devoted to singing, and I look back at the exposure to international culture through those pavilions as sparking my love of travel. I particularly remember the Czech and U.S. pavilions -- I took the overhead tramway around the park several times just because I enjoyed the ride through the latter so much. I've been back to the site a couple of times in the years since -- glad La Ronde is still there -- but thanks for the reminder of the original experience!

Canada 100 happened when I was 8 years old, but I remember the celebrations that year; I still have the Canada centennial coin they handed out to school children that year. Because we lived in the isolation of northern Manitoba, a trip to Man and His World wasn't in the cards. But we saw it on tv and it looked amazing. I also remember meeting Justice Minister Trudeau when he came up north in his first bid to be Prime Minister; I got his autograph and one for my sister. It is incredible to be celebrating Canada 150. Today, I think we have even more to celebrate than we did 50 years ago. While so much of the world has become misogynistic, Canada still retains its positive outlook. While so many have become afraid of the other, Canadians still welcome immigrants, many of them through the sponsorship program. There is much to celebrate in Canada this year...after 50 years, we are still strong and free.

I was 19 that summer and drove up from the NY area with a couple friends. We stayed with a French-speaking family in a suburb, and I remember not doing very well with my high school French. I also remember the Doors' "Light My Fire" on the radio, and a big screen saying something like "See you in Osaka 1970" as the park closed for the night. I did make it to Osaka, although 22 years late for the Fair.

Happy birthday, Canada. If not for my luck in the first draft lottery I might very well be one of you now.

I presume that Moishe Safdie's housing is still intact. I think it was called Habitat.

The German pavilion, a tension and tent structure designed by Frei Otto was sensational

The soft and uniform exterior lighting created by William Lam was revolutionary in that light was reflected from convex panels situated above the light source. Did Lam not also design the lighting for the D.C. Metro?

Excellent restaurants in many pavilions.

I was 10 and lived in Montreal at that time. A fantastic experience. Boundless optimism. People from around the world joined in celebration. And now one of the signature pavilions a casino. Shows you where the world has gone.

I was 9 and we drove from Toronto to the Great Expo. It was magical. So many memories.

It was such an exciting time in 1967. I loved Expo 67. People from all over the world visited Canada. Canada stopped being dreary that year.

My parents met at Expo '67. My father, Stanley Tupper, was the US Ambassador, having served six years in Congress prior. My mother, Jill Kaplan, was a guide at the US Pavilion, fluent in French. For them it really was the summer of love. They married a year later. I grew up with Expo tales (the gaudy uniforms the guides were required to wear; my father's interactions with Harry Belafonte, Carol Channing, Haile Selassie) and Expo memorabilia (geodesic domes imprinted on glasses, paperweights, necklaces). I'm sorry I missed it. And grateful for its existence. I would't be here without it.

As a nine year old, Expo 67' left a lifelong impression on me. All the country's of the world were showing off their best, together in one place. A budding little technology wonk, I got to ride the monorail through the US pavilion, then walk across to gawk at the USSR's prideful display of space achievements. I rode in my first hovercraft and helicopter, saw the apartment complex of the future and commuted via Montreal's cool new subway. It all had an indescribable wow-factor that stimulated the imagination and provided hope in a time of fear.

I think this reporter could use a trip to Vancouver and Victoria, which have been growing by leaps and bounds. Ditto for Calgary and Edmonton. Montreal represents for Montreal and Eastern Canada - but Canada does not stop at Toronto, and concentrating on Montreal as symbolic of Canada is a farce. Go west!

Can PM Trudeau make a brief visit to The White House and show our POTUS how to play well with others?
Seriously. Before WWIII starts?

I was 15 when my family decided to drive from Detroit to Montreal. We got a campsite near one of the new subway stations, and we each had a 7-day Passport. I still have mine, with the symbols of all the exhibits we visited rubber - stamped or glued in it; a priceless souvenir.
We were there a whole week! The folks let my brother and I loose and we covered a lot of ground, especially discovering the "back door" ways into pavilions that bypassed long lines. (Often it was the restaurant, and who can deny a kid who really Really REALLY needs the bathroom??)
The Czech glass was beautiful, the American sphere was bright and fun, Canada's inverted pyramid was exciting. The National Film Board's giant concrete Labyrinth left us shaking with the power of film at its absolute best. Cuba was stark in its black and white design--I guess that's how everything was in Cuba; everything was either black or white in 1967. I didn't understand that stuff at 15.
It was all beautiful and amazing, and the likes of it may never be seen again. Now I just hope to one day actually see the City of Montreal--we never crossed the river on that trip!

O Canada... Happy Birthday, Bon Anniversaire. May you have many more and may you be the beacon of hope and rationality for those of us in the States that desperately need one just now.

I was a 9 year old from suburban Boston -- when my family drove to Montreal to see and experience "Expo 67." I still remember the jingle we would hear on the car radio "Come one and all, to Expo 67 Montreal!" I don't remember particularly liking it or disliking it, but I remember the crowds and the modern pavilions - especially the huge United States globe - and the international food, and the flags -- oh my goodness the flags!! -- from all over the world. Thanks for refreshing my memory!

I've always admired Canada and Canadians. They're what America and Americans should be. Happy Birthday, Canada!

I was a 20 year old university student during that summer and I had the good luck of working at a steak and chicken restaurant across the plaza from the U.S. pavilion. The U.S. pavilion was a wonder to see each day which was Buckminster Fuller's 250 foot diameter geodesic dome.

I began the summer working as a bus-boy cleaning tables and spent the next three months working on the grill cooking steaks for customers. During that time I met and talked with many wonderful people especially Americans, many of whom were from the New England states. They would tell me of their wonderful experiences and pleasures of visiting and touring Expo 67.

Working at the steak and chicken restaurant was great because it helped me pay for my university tuition and other expenses. But the work was hard. I worked 12 hour shifts for six days a week. The seventh day I slept.

I only wish todays university students would have such opportunities to support them in paying their university tuition and other expenses. I hear of too many horror stories of large numbers of university students being forced to take on great debts to complete their university dreams. And then after graduation, and even in those cases where they do not graduate owing to these debts, today’s university students are burdened with these debt obligations for a long time !!! Oh how times have changed !!!

The very selective photography in Austen's article makes Parc Jean-Drapeau, the site of Expo 67, look like a drab, forlorn place, where all one can do is play at the casino, watch a car race and feel nostalgia for better days. The truth is much different. The site is a beautiful, multifunctional parc that is enjoyed by 1.5 million visitors per year and is ranked number one for outdoor concerts in Canada.