Mounted

'Like the Mounties, we always get our man!'

When thinking of what symbol of Canadiana to feature this year, there was really only one choice. The maple leaf is beautiful, especially in Autumn, but not really suitable for a FH salute. After quickly deciding I couldn't devote time searching for images of beavers.... I decided on The Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The RCMP have been around for close to 100 years and have always been a symbol of masculinity and Canadian strength. Although today, the RCMP's goal is to hire as many women as men, historically, it was men wearing the red coat and tight blue or black pants. In films, Mounties are generally written as honorable and respectful, usually written in scenes with them searching for criminals through mountains during blizzards and snow storms. Most times that I see Mounties in full uniform on TV or on the news, they are usually sweating through their red serge during a ceremony, funeral or government event.

I remember was I was a kid my parents travelled to Ottawa for a wedding. When they returned, they gave us our souvenirs, mine, a plastic figure of a Mountie on a beautiful white horse. That Mountie remained on my shelves for many years until I left for University. Then, my bedroom became the 'sewing room', and the Mountie disappeared. I felt a sense of nostalgia and safety with that Mountie in my room, watching over me and guarding me when asleep.

Paul Gross in Due South

I felt that same nostalgia again when searching for images for this piece. For the most part, the images, like the Mounties were mostly respectable. Unlike most other professions, that have been sexualized in ever way imaginable, Mounties were left pretty unscathed, well....except for a couple of porn flicks with titles like (Call of the Wild and a few variations of the word Mount.

Daniel Lissing in When Calls The Heart

The Full Mountie:

Colby Keller, not Canadian, but rocking the red!

Arresting...