Rooting for Canada’s national fruit, the blueberry

We just returned from a trip to Northern Ontario where we picked delicious blueberries and devoured succulent peaches delivered directly from the Niagara Peninsula. All across the land folks are feasting on the explosion of Canada’s incredible bounty in fruit as the growing season hits its peak.

As I slurped that sweet peach, I was given to wondering why oh why Quebec does not grow its own peaches. Why do Quebecers depend on Ontario, and to a much lesser extent British Columbia, for peaches? There are precisely zero commercial peach-growers in Quebec, according to the group that represents the province’s fruit producers.

The same goes for other stone fruits such as the peach’s fuzzless cousin, the nectarine, plums and mangoes. There are two cherry orchards in the province, one of which is near Roberval on Lac St. Jean, which is surprising since pitted fruits are usually pretty picky about growing in very warm weather.

It is, of course, the weather that makes all the difference when it comes to growing fruit. Peach trees, described as the least cold-hardy stone fruit tree, only survive in a few zones in Canada where summers get hot enough and winters are milder. This includes the aforementioned Niagara Peninsula, southern Nova Scotia, and most of the coast of B.C. and the Okanagan Valley.

Based on the above, the peach would be eliminated were there to be a competition to name Canada’s national fruit. What’s so funny? Many countries of the world have honoured a special fruit in the interests of national pride.

At least four nations named the mango as the official fruit: India and Pakistan both agree on this at least, as well as Philippines and Haiti. Two countries chose the noble apple, Germany and Austria; and two lands are crazy for bananas (Cambodia and Central African Republic).

There are a few truly exotic choices, such as Thailand’s purple mangosteen, Jamaica’s ackee, or Malaysia’s nasty-looking but apparently heavenly flavoured durian. China, a world leader in fruit production and export, has designated the kiwi (sorry, New Zealand) as its national fruit.

Canada remains among the nations of the world yet to name a national fruit. That should come as no surprise since we are a land as sparse in national symbols as were are in banana or kiwi trees.

The Government of Canada website lists only nine national symbols. These are: The beaver, “a symbol of the sovereignty of Canada,” the coat of arms, the maple leaf tartan, the maple tree, the Canada horse, the national anthem, the national flag, the national sports (hockey and lacrosse), and national colours (red and white).

Whatever campaign there may be to name a Canadian national fruit, alas, may have to take a number behind other similar campaigns. For example, what seemed to be a slam-dunk drive by the Canadian Geographic Society two years ago to name a national bird has seemingly been grounded. There’s been no action from Ottawa since a contest chose the gray (or grey) jay, that cheeky little chirper, as the national fowl.

That said, it would follow that to be entered into nomination as a national fruit, such an edible should at least be native to Canada, meaning not an import from Europe, Asia or elsewhere. At this point the list shrinks from a plum to a prune to a raisin.

There were essentially no, shall we say sizeable, fruits in the North American cornucopia (though lots of corn) when visitors/colonisers/invaders first came here. Berries? Oh yeah, we’ve got berries au but.

Depending on what source you trust, the big three native fruits of Canada are blueberries, cranberries and some species of grapes - which explains Jacques Cartier naming the island near Quebec City where he observed vines growing Ile Bacchus, later renamed Ile d’orléans.

With no disrespect meant to the cranberry or the grape, we hereby propose the versatile, nutritious, abundant, delicious wild blueberry as Canada’s national fruit. It’s grown from coast to coast to coast (yes, in all three northern territories), a leading export product, and a staple for all manner of wildlife indeed beavers have been known to snack on the berries.

Let’s have a toast of blueberry wine to Canada’s would-be national fruit. The Record welcomes your letters to the editor. Please limit your letters to 300 words. We reserve the right to edit for length, clarity, legality and taste. Please ensure there is a phone number or email where you can be reached, to confirm authorship and current town/city of residence. Names will not be withheld but the address and phone number of the writer are not published, except by request.

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