4 high school students from Steinbach, Man., answer: 'What does Canada mean?'

Wildlife. Religious freedom. When the game goes into overtime.

These are a few of the things that grade 11 students in Steinbach, Man., say that Canada means to them.

It's nice to see how far we've come.- Katie Cook, teacher

Katie Cook, teacher and librarian at Steinbach Regional Secondary School, wanted to do something with her Canadian History students for Canada 150. For the school's second annual "Innovation Day" — where teachers have a whole day to tackle ambitious projects that couldn't otherwise be achieved in a single class — Cook paired history students with the IT class to make short videos about what being Canadian means to them.

"It's nice to get a teenager's point of view," says Cook. "What do they feel like?"  

One student, Rachel, touched on the first thing that comes to many people's minds when they think of Canada: wildlife.

But among other students, an unexpected theme emerged: that the country, and their community, feels like a safe place to be different.

"I didn't know if they would feel that sense of openness. Sometimes in our school we see the negative things," says Cook. "So it was nice to see that that's not how to the kids see it."

Cook says that 15 years ago, teenagers would have had a very different view, and that a lot has changed over the years for the small town an hour outside of Winnipeg.

Freedom means you can make your future your own.- Brittany, student

"At least 40 per cent of our students do not speak English as their first and probably their second language…. In our school, when you walk down the hall you are just as likely to hear a different language than English. When the immigration wave started, there was a lot of 'why aren't they speaking English?' And now it seems like, 'Whatever. Who needs to?'"

For Cook's student Brittany, Canada means having the freedom to express your religious beliefs and pursue your dreams.

Steinbach, with a population of just under 16,000, made news last year for hosting its first ever pride parade.

And for student Michelle, Canada means having the freedom to choose your partner.

"It's not that we wouldn't have had gay or queer or transgender kids in the past," says Cook. "In fact I know darn well that we did. I know some of them as adults. But, it wouldn't have been something that they felt like they could talk about and talk about openly in a school project."

In addition to the great outdoors and Canada's rights and freedoms, the students also covered our nation's beloved sport: hockey.

For Hannah, a defining Canadian moment was watching Canada win gold in women's hockey, beating the U.S. in overtime, at the Sochi Olympics.

Cook says the project was a good reminder that the students are happy to celebrate each other's differences. "It's nice to see how far we've come."