Canadian nationalism

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

National flag of Canada

Canadian nationalism seeks to promote the unity, independence, and well-being of Canada and the Canadian people.[1] Canadian nationalism has been a significant political force since the 19th century and has typically manifested itself as seeking to advance Canada's independence from influence of the United Kingdom and the United States.[1] Since the 1960s, most proponents of Canadian nationalism have advocated a civic nationalism due to Canada's cultural diversity that specifically has sought to equalize citizenship, especially for Québécois and French-speaking Canadians, who historically faced cultural and economic discrimination and assimilationist pressure from English Canadian-dominated governments.[2] Canadian nationalism became an important issue during the 1988 Canadian federal election that focused on the then-proposed Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement, with Canadian nationalists opposing the agreement – saying that the agreement would lead to inevitable complete assimilation and domination of Canada by the United States.[3] During the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty that sought to determine whether Quebec would become a sovereign state or whether it would remain in Canada, Canadian nationalists and federalists supported the "no" side while Quebec nationalists largely supported the "yes" side, resulting in a razor-thin majority in favour of the "no" side that supported Quebec remaining in Canada.

Canadian nationalism in English-speaking Canada opts for a certain level of sovereignty for Canada vis-à-vis other sovereign states, while remaining within the

conquest of New France in the mid seventeenth century. Although radical French-speaking reformers in the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837 supported the creation of a new Québécois republic, a more accurate portrait of French Canadian nationalism is illustrated by such figures as Henri Bourassa during the first half of the twentieth century. Bourassa advocated for a nation less reliant on Great Britain whether politically, economically or militarily. After Bourassa and during the Quiet Revolution, French Canadian nationalism in Quebec evolved into Quebec nationalism
. Quebec nationalists include sovereigntists who believe Quebec should secede from Canada, and autonomists who believe Quebec should hold extensive self-governing power within Canada.

History

The goal of all economic and political nationalists has been the creation and then maintenance of Canadian sovereignty. During Canada's colonial past there were various movements in both

Conservative Party of Canada
fought for economic independence from the United States.

Free trade with the United States

Representatives of the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States sign the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1992

Starting before Confederation in 1867, the debate between

classical liberal approach and supported the idea of an "open market" with the United States, something feared in eastern Canada but popular with farmers in western Canada.[4]
The National Policy also included plans to expand Canadian territory into the western prairies and populate the west with immigrants.

In each "free trade election", the Liberals were defeated, forcing them to give up on the idea. The issue was revisited in the 1980s by

deficit and a terrible economic recession during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The agreement was drawn up in 1987 and an election was held on the issue in 1988. The Liberals, in a reversal of their traditional role, campaigned against free trade under former Prime Minister John Turner
. The Tories won the election with a large majority, partially due to Mulroney's support in Quebec among Quebec nationalists to whom he promised "distinct society" status for their province.

After the

New Democratic Party
both of whom opposed the agreement received 51% of the vote, showing opposition from a clear majority of the population.

World wars

"Keep All Canadians Busy Buy 1918 Victory Bonds"

The impact of World War I on the evolution of

English-speaking Canadians had a hybrid imperial-national identity, the war's effects on Canada's emergence as a nation are complex. The Canadian media often refers to the First World War and, in particular, the Battle of Vimy Ridge, as marking "the birth of a nation."[5] Some historians consider the First World War to be Canada's "war of independence."[6]
They argue that the war decreased the extent to which Canadians identified with the British Empire and intensified their sense of being Canadians first and British subjects second.

This sense was expressed during the

Chanak crisis
when, for the first time, the Canadian government stated that a decision by the British government to go to war would not automatically entail Canadian participation.

Other historians robustly dispute the view that World War I undermined the hybrid imperial-national identity of English-speaking Canada. Phillip Buckner states that: "The First World War shook but did not destroy this Britannic vision of Canada. It is a myth that Canadians emerged from the war alienated from, and disillusioned with, the imperial connection." He argues that most English-speaking Canadians "continued to believe that Canada was, and should continue to be, a 'British' nation and that it should cooperate with the other members of the British family in the British Commonwealth of Nations."[7] Nevertheless, there are two possible mechanisms whereby World War I may have intensified Canadian nationalism: 1) Pride in Canada's accomplishments on the battlefield demonstrably promoted Canadian patriotism, and 2) the war distanced Canada from Britain in that Canadians reacted to the sheer slaughter on the Western Front by adopting an increasingly anti-British attitude.[6]

Still, Governor General

Montreal Gazette dubbed the statement "disloyal."[9]

Québécois nationalism

Fête Nationale du Québec
(or Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day) celebrated here in June 2006

Another early source of pan-Canadian nationalism came from Quebec in the early 20th century.

Conservative Party of Robert Borden in that election, a party with strong pro-imperialist sympathies.[11]

In the

French Canadian nationalism and support for maintaining French Canadian culture would inspire Quebec nationalists, many of whom were supporters of the Quebec sovereignty movement
.

This Quebec sovereignty movement gained traction through the Quiet Revolution and burst on the Canadian scene in the latter half of the twentieth century. In 1970, radical sovereigntists under the FLQ sparked the October Crisis when they kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross in an effort to further the cause of Quebec sovereignty. Although this crisis soon abated, the sovereignty movement continued. Quebec held two referendums about whether the province should separate from the rest of Canada; the Canadian federalists defeated the Québécois separatists in the 1980 Quebec referendum by a margin of 59.56% to 40.44% and narrowly won again in the 1995 Quebec referendum by a margin of 50.58% to 49.42%. This second referendum marked the high water mark of the Quebec sovereignty movement and the broader Québécois nationalism continued to decline in the early twenty-first century.

Under the Coalition Avenir Québec government, Québécois nationalism has risen in a new form. In 2019, the provincial government passed Act respecting the laicity of the State.[12] It prohibits the wearing of religious symbols by certain public employees in positions of authority and grandfathers in those who were already in office when the bill was introduced. In 2022, the provincial government introduced An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Quebec which would greatly expand the requirement to speak French in many public and private settings.[13] The government has justified both of these measures, which are strongly opposed in the English-speaking provinces, as necessary to preserve the secularism and the French language that are central to Québécois nationalism.

Nationalist politics

Modern attempts at forming a popular Canadian nationalist party have failed, a phenomenon decried by Canadian philosopher George Grant in his seminal 1965 Lament for a Nation. Grant's thesis is that Prime Minister Diefenbaker's defeat in 1963 was the last gasp of Canadian nationalism and that the Canadian nation has succumbed to the continentalism of the United States.

The

organic farmer and nationalist activist from Saskatchewan named David Orchard attempted to bring a nationalist agenda to the forefront of the former Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. In spite of attracting thousands of new members to a declining party he was unsuccessful in taking over the leadership and preventing the merger with the former Canadian Alliance.[14][15]

Various activist/lobby groups such as the

Security and Prosperity Partnership and earlier talks between previous Canadian and US governments on "deep integration
".

As of 2010[update] concerns regarding national unity have ebbed to some degree and nationalist sentiment among the population overall has increased. Even in Quebec, long a hotbed of secessionist sentiment, a large majority has emerged that expresses pride and loyalty toward Canada as a whole. Canada has even been described as post-national, a description that some critics have argued runs counter to current trends in Europe and the United States.[16] Prime Minister Trudeau, elected in 2015, has however espoused distinctly anti-nationalist sentiments during his tenure (or at least sentiments that are contrary to traditional nationalism).[17][18] To the extent Canadians have embraced nationalism in recent years, it has been a more inclusive, civic nationalism, as contrasted with the exclusive nationalism that has arisen recently in the US and some other Western nations.[16]

List of nationalist groups in Canada

Centre-left, left-wing and far-left groups

Centre-right, right-wing and far-right groups

Canadian government departments responsible for cultural promotion

Notable people

Canadian nationalists

Canadian anti-nationalists

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Motyl 2001, pp. 68.
  2. ^ Recent social trends in Canada, 1960–2000. Pp. 415.
  3. ^ Motyl 2001, pp. 69.
  4. ^ Bélanger, Claude (April 2005). "The National Policy and Canadian Federalism". Studies on the Canadian Constitution and Canadian Federalism. Marianopolis College.
  5. ^ Nersessian, Mary (April 9, 2007). Vimy battle marks birth of Canadian nationalism Archived February 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. CTV.ca
  6. ^ a b Cook, Tim (2008). Shock troops: Canadians fighting the Great War, 1917–1918. Toronto: Viking.
  7. ^ Buckner, Philip, ed. (2006). Canada and the British World: Culture, Migration, and Identity. p. 1. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.
  8. ^ Smith, Janet Adam; John Buchanan, a Biography; London, 1965; p. 423
  9. ^ "Time: Roya Visit; October 21, 1957". Archived from the original on May 13, 2007.
  10. ^ Levitt, Joseph. Bourassa, Henri. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica.ca.
  11. Richard T. Clippingdale., ed. McClelland and Steward Limited.
  12. ^ "- Act respecting the laicity of the State". www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  13. , retrieved 2022-05-20
  14. ^ "2cards.ca - Two Parties - One Vision". Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  15. ^ "Orchard's strategic influence". Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  16. ^ a b "Nationalism on rise, poll finds" (PDF). National Post. March 8, 2010.
  17. ^ Todd, Douglass (March 13, 2016). "The dangers of Trudeau's 'postnational' Canada".
  18. ^ "Nationalist movements could smother Justin Trudeau: Paul Wells". Toronto Star. November 25, 2016.
  19. ^ "Committee for an Independent Canada | The Canadian Encyclopedia".
  20. .
  21. ^ Elspeth Cameron. "Adventures in the Book Trade," in Saturday Night, November 1983. p. 33 "I decided that I didn't want to be dependent on foreign agencies. I saw that a logical decision in London or New York could cut our volume in half. A Canadian nationalist was born overnight."
  22. . Retrieved 29 September 2021. [In 1973] Newman "described his love affair with Canada" as follows: "Perhaps my real ideological swing has been away from a blind acceptance of the 'small-l' liberalism of the Fifties to a strongly-felt nationalism."

Bibliography

Further reading