Almost nine decades have passed since Chestermere resident, Art Longair arrived in Canada by boat. During these years – Longair always thought of himself as a Canadian Citizen but to his surprise, when he applied for a passport for the first time in 1991, he discovered otherwise.
In July of 1924, at 11 months old, Arthur Nelson Longair accompanied by his parents, boarded the S. S. Marburn and sailed from Great Britain to Canada; eventually landing in Quebec City.
From there, they travelled west by train to the Peace River Country where his father had a job in the sawmill and in time his parents bought the Claremont Hotel, which they were then forced to close during the 1930’s Depression.
The Longair’s moved throughout Alberta, living in Edmonton and near Benalto where he attended elementary school.
While the young man was in Grade 10, his mother got a job as matron in the Wood’s Home in Bowness which brought the family to Calgary where Longair graduated High School. Wood’s Home, a multi-service children’s mental health care centre, is still there today.
Following High School, Longair went on to join the Air force, and trained as a navigator. During WWII he was sent to England where he spent a short time before returning home at the end of the war.
Longair attended the University of Alberta graduating in Agriculture and after working in the agricultural industry for a number of years, he made the decision to go back to University where this time, he received his degree in Education.
Then followed 32 years of teaching in Calgary Schools, 9 of which was spent as a principal. When Longair speaks of his memories teaching, his eyes light up and he smiles. “I loved teaching, it did a lot of good for me” he says.
It wasn’t until after he had retired from teaching and his wife had decided to become a tour hostess for a local travel group that the idea of traveling leisurely became of interest to him.
This is when he discovered that he was not in fact a Canadian citizen. “I was in the air force, I paid taxes, I voted, and I taught school here, I was always Canadian” says Longair, but when he applied for his first Canadian Passport, he was told that he needed a British passport because he was not in fact Canadian at all; instead he was considered a landed immigrant in this country.
“When we came to the country, we belonged to the British Empire and then when Canada became independent (in 1947), I thought that I became a Canadian with it” says Longair. “Because I had never gone anywhere further then British Columbia, I had never owned a passport.”
In reality, all this time he was simply considered a British citizen living in Canada, because as an immigrant, he had not applied to become a citizen after the first Canadian Citizenship Act was passed in 1947. And then later, in 1948 the British Nationality Act was passed making all British subjects citizens of the United Kingdom.
However, despite the changes that the Act brought forward and regardless if British subjects formally applied to change their status to Canadian or not, they were still allowed the same freedoms and rights they were previously granted in Canada.
When Longair discovered this puzzling identity jumble, he figured that it would not be an easy process to become Canadian at that point so he didn’t bother with it at the time. Longair used his British Passport and his Permanent Residents Card to travel but despite this new information, he still always considered himself Canadian. “I thought that after 65 years they would make me start all over again so I didn’t do it.”
It was years later, in 2011 when Longair heard that becoming an official Canadian Citizen for folks in his unique situation was as easy as filling out some paperwork and submitting a fee to the government – so that’s when he made the decision to go ahead with it. “Two years ago I found out that I could become a Canadian citizen without going back to the beginning to start all over – so I did it, I sent in my $200 cheque, and that was it” explains Longair.
The long awaited ceremony was held at the Harry Hays building on September 5, 2013 in Calgary, with about 100 other excited individuals who also took the oath of citizenship. Longair says he was happy to be a part of the ceremony and added “My kids were pretty excited; they really wanted me to do this.” He and Dorothy have 5 children combined, and 9 grandchildren.
At 90 years old, Longhair now enjoyed reminiscing of days gone by – but not at all forgotten. He has lived a fascinating life and can still recount vivid memories during his years teaching and of many adventures like sailing, fishing and hiking. After retirement he joined an active seniors hiking group and developed a love for the outdoors.
Smiling, he shares a memory of one particular backcountry ski trips in the mountains, where he tricked well-known climbing guide and mountaineer; Chic Scott, into taking him along on a 2 week traverse from Lake O’Hara to Kananaskis covering over 125kms of remote, technically demanding and dangerous terrain on skis.
At the time, Longair was 70, but he told Scott he was in his 60’s so that he could join the trip. “I lied, but I was in good shape and I knew I could do it – we had a great time.” The two men still remain friends to this day and Longair treasures the relationship they share.
Longair and his wife Dorothy moved to Chestermere in the 80’s and lived in a small cabin on the lakefront while they built their home on the same property, just 3 feet in front of the cabin – where they still live today, surrounded by Dorothy’s beautifully maintained gardens. “We worked every night, until 10 p.m. for a year and a half building this house ourselves” says Longair. “We’ve had some incredible times – it’s just been great”
As we sit together in his sunroom, off of the back of his home I sense that his passion for living is eminent and I clearly understand how this seemingly youthful man is still very much enjoying life at 90 years old.
The Canadian Citizenship Act of 1947 defined what it meant to be a Canadian – but talking to Mr. Art Longair, I realize that he has known these qualities and characteristics for a lot longer than that because it is clear to me he embodies everything that it means to be a Canadian – and he has for a very long time.
