My name is Chris MacLean. My dad left Inverness, Scotland with his family (Maclean) for Canada when he was 12, in 1953. My mom’s family (Carfra, previously spelled Carfrae), came to Canada from Edinburgh a couple of generations before that, settling in the Canadian Prairies before migrating to Montreal, where she met he and the result was me.
I grew up in Canada, joined the Canadian Army and served a proud career, had a family and two great kids, retired young and eventually found myself with a great job in Edinburgh, Scotland, back where my people are from. I was struck by the fact that there are, according to the 2011 census, over 4.7 million Canadians of Scottish descent in Canada, compared to a total population of 5.3 million in Scotland. There are almost as many Scots in Canada as in Scotland! Consider the number of Scots around the world, descended from those who left after the 1745 Rebellion, The Clearances, or since to seek a better life in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand ….
Many of us have not had the opportunity to come back; we’ve found new lives, worked hard and made new connections. Some can come for a vacation and visit some of the places we know by name and legend … The Borders, The Highlands, The Hebrides, The Shetlands … Sterling Bridge, Culloden Moor, Scone ….
I’m back, and everywhere I look I see land my people have walked on for millennia, since the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age. In some ways I’m here to reclaim a little of what’s mine and yours as Scots. I hope what I find and share here inspires more like me to come home, for a visit, or for more. I also hope that, seen through new eyes, Scots who haven’t left perhaps gain a renewed appreciation of how incredible this land and its people are, and how rich our ancient history is.
Rediscovering Scotland 