Nationalisms in Canada

Last updated January 16, 2021

There has historically been, and continues to be, several rival nationalisms in Canada. Canadians have differing cultural and political identifications which often overlap. Loyalty towards Canada is tempered by strong regional and ethnic identities, and an affinity toward a common North American culture shared with the United States.

The largest and most-apparent differences are between English and French Canada, with the federal government recognizing the Québécois as "a nation within a united Canada".^[1] Among the provinces, Newfoundlanders also have a strong sense of national identity, having had a period of separate nationhood before joining the Canadian Confederation. Additionally, there has been a revival of Indigenous nationalism, identifying with a specific nation or with First Nations in general.

Also common are diaspora nationalisms, with nearly every such community represented in Canada. Most Canadians see no conflict in being loyal to Canada while retaining a sense of ethnic identity and connection to the homeland. With an increasingly diverse cultural landscape in the country, some have advocated for civic nationalism based on shared citizenship and common rights.

Identifying nationalism

There has long been a recognition by scholars that English and French Canada have divergent views of the nation, often referred to as the Two Solitudes, from the title of a 1945 novel.

The existence of multiple strains of nationalism within nineteenth century English-speaking Canada was first explored by historian Carl Berger in his 1971 book The Sense of Power ^[2] and his article in The Journal of British Studies .^[3]

History

First Nations, first nationalism?

In the historiography of nationalism there is significant dispute over whether true nationalism existed in pre-modern societies. Canada's First Nations peoples were generally organized into small societies which anthropologists call bands, which were sometimes part of a larger grouping called a tribe. Occasionally several tribes would form a larger group called a confederacy (the Iroquois, Seven Nations of Canada, Huron, Blackfoot, and Plains Cree-Assiniboine were or are confederacies). None of these resembled nations as understood in Europe in terms of scale or permanence. Today these groupings are referred to as "First Nations", representing their historical and modern role as sources of identity for many First Nations people.

Settler and refugee nationalism arrive

The first Europeans to exhibit nationalism in Canada may have been the French settlers who inhabited New France. They showed a great deal of loyalty and community in the face of repeated attacks by British and Iroquois rivals during the French and Indian Wars. However, by the end of the French regime in North America, acadiens and canadiens may have already been showing signs of developing identities distinct from France.

The interrelated British ideologies of nationalism, unionism, loyalism, and imperialism arrived first in Newfoundland then the Maritimes, and finally in Central Canada with British traders who followed the British Army into these regions as each was successively won from France, ending with the Treaty of Paris (1763). They were reinforced from the 1770s to 1810s by the United Empire Loyalists: pro-British refugees fleeing the American Revolution.

Rival nationalisms under British rule

Reactions to British and American encroachments produced movements for solidarity between native tribes across much of eastern North America during Pontiac's Rebellion of 1759 and Tecumseh's Rebellion of 1811. By the end of the War of 1812, however, natives had lost their national sovereignty across most of Eastern Canada.

The influx of British settlers into Canada helped to prompt the development of French-Canadian nationalism which was quite evident during the 1837 rebellion against British rule in Lower Canada. At the same time a few English-speakers in Upper Canada were switching from a British to a Canadian form of identity, as evidenced in the contemporaneous Upper Canada Rebellion, although this was a minority position.

Not long afterwards, many English-speakers in Canada became attracted to American nationalism, in the form of annexationism, highlighted by the Montreal Annexation Manifesto of 1850.

Irish nationalism in its strong form of physical force Irish republicanism was evident in Canada during the Fenian Raids of the 1860s and assassination of Thomas D'Arcy McGee in 1868.

Nationalism and Confederation

When the Canadian Confederation was established in 1867, British and Canadian forms of identity and political allegiance continued to coexist. In 1891 election, Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, himself a Scotsman, wrapped himself in the Union Jack, swore to keep Canada British, and called proposals for freer trade with the United States "veiled treason".

In Western Canada, native tribes retained their autonomy from Canadian society far longer than in the east. The interaction of European and Canadian traders with Indians in the interior led to the creation of an entirely new nation, the Métis. Along with Indian allies, the Métis asserted their national rights during the two Riel Rebellions (1870 and 1885).

The turn of the 20th century to the Great Wars

The project of Imperial Federation (creating a federal government for the entire British Empire), had important advocates in English Canada (the "imperialists") around the turn of the 20th century, but it ultimately floundered due opposition from ("anti-imperialist" or "nationalist") French-Canadian leaders such as Henri Bourassa and Wilfrid Laurier, and to indifference in Britain.

"British feeling" in Canada was in decline following the Alaska boundary dispute in 1903, in which Britain sided with the United States' border claims over Canada's. Imperialists in Canada tried to correct this with the creation of the Empire Club of Canada that same year.

Newfoundland had persistently resisted offer to join the Canadian Confederation since 1867, and so was elevated to the status of a dominion in 1907, co-equal to Canada within the British Empire. This further solidified Newfoundlander identity and added a period of separate nationhood to the later mythos of Newfoundland.

By the 1910 Canadian federal election – which again centred on trade with the United States and also the creation of a Canadian Navy separate from the British Royal Navy – Prime Minister Laurier complained that in Quebec he was called an imperialist, in Ontario a separatist, but, he protested, he was simply a Canadian.

Canadian participation in the World Wars was both divisive and unifying in different ways. French Canadians resisted the implementation of conscription during the crises of 1917 and 1944, leading to an erosion of francophone identification with the Canadian federation. In contrast English Canadians, especially recent immigrants from England, rallied to join the military in large numbers out of a sense of British loyalism. They saw their experience of the war, fighting in the Canadian Corps, as "the birth of a nation", when Canada replaced Britain as their primary focus of loyalty.^[4]^[5]

After the wars

Canadian ties with Britain were loosened when Canada became fully legislatively independent of the United Kingdom by the Balfour Declaration of 1926, created its own citizenship law in 1946, and its own flag in 1965. Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, though Newfoundlander identity did not disappear.

In Quebec traditional religion- and culture-focused French-Canadian nationalism was being replaced with a new state-centred Quebecois nationalism during the Quiet Revolution, leading many to adopt the goal of Quebec's secession from the Canadian confederation. This has for the most part been a peaceful movement, aside from a string of terrorist attacks by the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) in 1969 and 1970, leading to a government crackdown in 1970.

Since the 1970s, there have also been movements that have sought to turn the habitual feelings of Western alienation into a movement for Western separatism or Alberta separatism, although these movements often overlap with annexationist movements.

Also since the 1960s and 1970s there has been a revival of Aboriginal nationalism in Canada. This can take the form of identification with a specific band or tribe or with First Nations in general. Cree and Inuit nationalism in northern Quebec (which is generally mutually exclusive with Quebecois nationalism) lead to the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (1975) which was concerned with native title over northern Quebec's crown lands. However the potential fate of northern Quebec if Quebec were to secede from Canada remains a point of controversy. Inuit activism (perhaps nationalism) has led to the creation of the federal territory of Nunavut (1994) and intra-provincial territories of Nunavik (in Quebec), Nunatsiavut (in Newfoundland and Labrador), and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (in the Northwest Territories and Yukon).

Present day

Diaspora nationalisms are quite common in Canada, with nearly every diaspora community in the world represented. Prior to the liberalization of Canadian immigration laws in the 1960s, the largest diaspora populations were groups with European or Near Eastern origins like Ukrainian, Irish, Azerbaijani or Armenian nationalists, and Zionists (people who support the existence of Israel). These have since been joined by groups from other continents, especially Asia, such as Punjabi Sikhs, Sri Lankan Tamils, etc.

As of 2012^[update] the two largest strains of nationalism in Canada are Canadian nationalism and Quebec nationalism. Most citizens of Canada have a strong sense of loyalty towards Canada and other Canadians, however this is tempered with strong regional and ethnic identities and an affinity towards a common North American culture shared with the United States. Most non-Aboriginal English-speakers in Canada consider Canada to be their "nation" and are hostile towards any proposals to divide the Canadian Confederation into smaller states, or join it to the United States. French-speakers in Quebec generally refer to Quebec, and not Canada, as their "nation" – although they may also have a strong sense of Canadian-ness and many "soft nationalists" are federalists (wanting to remain in Canada) rather than sovereigntists (seeking separation). Linguistic minorities (French-speakers outside of Quebec and English-speakers in Quebec) tend to be passionately pro-Canadian, seeing the continuation of Confederation as their only guarantee of continued cultural survival. A minority of the public in provinces other than Quebec also think of their province as their main source of loyalty, instead of Canada. Aboriginal peoples may (or may not) think of their band or tribe as their primary sources of identification, and may at the same time reject Canada as a colonial state or feel no animosity towards Canada (although resentment of perceived instances of racism is high). Recent immigrant groups are often accused in the populist media of being insufficiently loyal to Canada (e.g. being called "Canadians of convenience").

According to the political philosopher Charles Blattberg, Canada should be seen as a multinational country. All Canadians are members of Canada as a civic or political community, a community of citizens, and this is a community that contains many other kinds within it. These include not only communities of ethnic, regional, religious, and civic (the provincial and municipal governments) sorts, but also national communities, which often include or overlap with many of the other kinds. He thus recognizes the following nations within Canada: those formed by the various aboriginal First Nations, that of Quebecers, that of the anglophones who identify with English Canadian culture, and perhaps that of the Acadians.^[6]

Related Research Articles

Québécois ; feminine: Québécoise, Quebecois, or Québecois is a word used primarily to refer to a native or inhabitant of the Canadian province of Quebec that speaks French as a mother tongue; sometimes, it is used more generally to refer to any native or inhabitant of Quebec. It can refer to French spoken in Quebec. It may also be used, with an upper- or lower-case initial, as an adjective relating to Quebec, or to the French culture of Quebec. A resident or native of Quebec is often referred to in English as a Quebecer or Quebecker. In French, Québécois or Québécoise usually refers to any native or resident of Quebec. Its use became more prominent in the 1960s as French Canadians from Quebec increasingly self-identified as Québécois.

French Canadians, or Franco-Canadians, are an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to French colonists who settled in Canada from the 17th century onward. Today, people of French heritage make up the majority of native speakers of French in Canada, who in turn account for about 22 per cent of the country's total population.

The Quebec sovereignty movement is a political movement as well as an ideology of values, concepts and ideas that advocates independence for the Canadian province of Quebec.

Quebec nationalism or Québécois nationalism asserts that Quebec and the Québécois people are a nation, distinct from the rest of Canada. It promotes the unity of the Québécois people in the province of Quebec.

Quebec has played a special role in French history; the modern province occupies much of the land where French settlers founded the colony of Canada in the 17th and 18th centuries. The population is predominantly French-speaking and Roman Catholic, with a large Anglophone minority, augmented in recent years by immigrants from Asia. The political alienation of the Francophones from the Anglophones has been a persistent theme since the late 19th century. Tensions were especially high during the First World War. Historically, British merchants and financiers controlled the economy and dominated Montreal. The Catholic Church, in close cooperation with the landowners, led a highly traditional social structure in rural and small town Quebec. Much of that changed during the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s. Quebec's separatists, calling for an independent nation, gained strength but were narrowly defeated in two referenda. Quebec imposed increasingly stringent laws favouring the French language; many Anglophones left, as did many of the national and international corporations that had been based in Montreal. From 1966, Montreal's population fell until the 1980s, according to census data. Montreal had been twice the size of Toronto for almost all of the 20th Century. But by 2001, it was finally, no longer the largest city in Canada.

Irish Canadians are Canadian citizens who have full or partial Irish heritage including descendants who trace their ancestry to immigrants who originated in Ireland. 1.2 million Irish immigrants arrived from 1825 to 1970, and at least half of those in the period from 1831–1850. By 1867, they were the second largest ethnic group, and comprised 24% of Canada's population. The 1931 national census counted 1,230,000 Canadians of Irish descent, half of whom lived in Ontario. About one-third were Catholic in 1931 and two-thirds Protestant.

In politics, regionalism is a political ideology focusing on the "development of a political or social system based on one or more" regions and/or the national, normative or economic interests of a specific region, group of regions or another subnational entity, gaining strength from or aiming to strengthen the "consciousness of and loyalty to a distinct region with a homogeneous population", similarly to nationalism. More specifically, "regionalism refers to three distinct elements: movements demanding territorial autonomy within unitary states; the organization of the central state on a regional basis for the delivery of its policies including regional development policies; political decentralization and regional autonomy".

Federalism in Quebec is concerned with the support of confederation in regards to the federal union of Canada: that is, support for the specific principles and/or political system specific the government of Canada. This issue has been summarized as revolving around the concepts of Quebec remaining within Canada and opposition to the desires of Quebec sovereigntists.

There have been various movements within Canada for secession.

Canadian nationalism seeks to promote the unity, independence, and well-being of Canada and the Canadian people. 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. 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. Canadian nationalism became an important issue during the 1988 Canadian general 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. 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 supported the "yes" side, resulting in a razor-thin majority in favour of the "no" side that supported Quebec remaining in Canada.

Post-Confederation Canada (1867–1914) is the history of a new nation from its formation to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Canada had a population of 3.5 million, residing in the large expanse from Cape Breton to just beyond the Great Lakes, usually within a hundred miles or so of the Canada–United States border. One in three Canadians was French, and about 100,000 were aboriginal. It was a rural country composed of small farms. With a population of 115,000, Montreal was the largest city, followed by Toronto and Quebec at about 60,000. Pigs roamed the muddy streets of Ottawa, the small new national capital.

The history of Canada (1960–1981) refers to the period immediately following the prosperous 1950s until the new constitution of 1982, the Canada Act.

Canadian identity refers to the unique culture, characteristics and condition of being Canadian, as well as the many symbols and expressions that set Canada and Canadians apart from other peoples and cultures of the world.

Anti-Quebec sentiment is opposition or hostility expressed toward the government, culture, or the francophone people of Quebec.

Canadianism or Canadian patriotism refers to a patriotism involving cultural attachment of Canadians to Canada as their homeland. It has been identified as related, though in some cases distinct, to Canadian nationalism. In contemporary times, this patriotism has commonly emphasized Canada as a multicultural cosmopolitan society.

The Québécois nation motion was a parliamentary motion tabled by Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 and approved by the House of Commons of Canada on Monday, November 27, 2006. It was approved 265–16 with supporters in every party in the Commons. The English motion read:

Many scholars argue that there is more than one type of nationalism. Nationalism may manifest itself as part of official state ideology or as a popular non-state movement and may be expressed along civic, ethnic, cultural, language, religious or ideological lines. These self-definitions of the nation are used to classify types of nationalism. However, such categories are not mutually exclusive and many nationalist movements combine some or all of these elements to varying degrees. Nationalist movements can also be classified by other criteria, such as scale and location.

English Canadians, or Anglo-Canadians, refers to either Canadians of English ethnic origin and heritage or to English-speaking or Anglophone Canadians of any ethnic origin; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadians. Canada is an officially bilingual country, with English and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but often retain elements of their original cultures. The term English-speaking Canadian is sometimes used interchangeably with English Canadian.

Polyethnicity Presence of multiple ethnicities in a society or an identification with multiple ethnicities

Polyethnicity, and also pluriethnicity or multiethnicity, refers to specific cultural phenomena that are characterized by social proximity and mutual interaction of people from different ethnic backgrounds, within a country or other specific geographic region.

The language policies of Canada's province and territories vary between the provinces and territories of Canada. Although the federal government operates as an officially bilingual institution, providing services in English and French, several provincial governments have also instituted or legislated their own language policies.

References

↑ Hansard; 39th Parliament, 1st Session; No. 087; November 27, 2006
↑ Nationalisms in Canada at Google Books
↑ Cole, Douglas (May 1971). "The Problem of "Nationalism" and "Imperialism" in British Settlement Colonies". Journal of British Studies. 10 (2): 160–182. doi:10.1086/385614. JSTOR 175353.
↑ Nersessian, Mary (April 9, 2007). "Vimy battle marks birth of Canadian nationalism". CTV News. Toronto: Bell Media. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
↑ Cook, Tim (2008). Shock troops: Canadians fighting the Great War, 1917–1918. Toronto: Viking.
↑ Blattberg, Charles (2003). Shall We Dance? A Patriotic Politics for Canada. Montreal: McGill–Queen's University Press.

v t e Canadian identity
Canadians Constitutional debate in Canada Culture of Canada Canadian cultural protectionism Demographics of Canada Multiculturalism in Canada Canadian values
National identities in Canada	Annexationism Canadian nationalism Quebec nationalism Western alienation Alberta separatism
Relations between English and French Canada	Acadian movement Anti-Quebec sentiment National question (Quebec) Federalism Sovereigntism Distinct society État québécois Two Solitudes Notable events: Manitoba Schools Question (1890–96) Regulation 17 (1912) Conscription Crisis of 1917 Conscription Crisis of 1944 Quiet Revolution Vive le Québec libre speech (1967) October Crisis (1970) Quebec referendum, 1980 Quebec referendum, 1995 Unity Rally Québécois nation motion (2006)
Multicultural politics	Canadian Multiculturalism Act Cultural mosaic Section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Reasonable accommodation Global Centre for Pluralism Multicultural media in Canada 1976 separate schools case 1985 and 1986 Sunday shopping cases 1985 day-of-rest case 1986 separate schools case 1986 homeschooling case 1990 RCMP turban controversy 2001 religious university case 2004 succah case 2006 Kirpan case 2006 school etiquette case Quebec Charter of Values (2013) 2015 niqab case Quebec ban on religious symbols (2019)
Language politics	Official bilingualism in Canada Gendron Commission Language policies of Canada's provinces and territories Legal dispute over Quebec's language policy Official bilingualism in the public service of Canada Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism Timeline of official languages policy in Canada
Immigration to Canada	Canadian nationality law Economic impact of immigration to Canada History of immigration to Canada Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Permanent residency see also : Template:Canadian citizenship
Race and ethnicity	Canadian Anti-racism Education and Research Society Canadian Race Relations Foundation Ethnic origins of people in Canada List of ethnic interest groups in Canada Visible minority Racism cases 1899 coalminers' case 1903 voting rights case 1914 employment case 1939 tavern case 1946 Japanese deportation case 1951 housing case 1970 liquor law case Quebec historical anti-Semitism controversy Saskatoon freezing deaths Carding (police policy)
Indigenous politics	National organizations Métis Red River Rebellion (1869) North-West Rebellion (1885) Indian Act (1876-present) Indian Register 1969 White Paper Oka Crisis (1990) Self-Government Inuit territories Inuvialuit (1984) NunatuKavut claimed Nunavik (no final agreement) Nunavut agreement 1993 establishment 1999 First Nations territories Eeyou Istchee James Bay Nitassinan claimed Royal Commission (1991–96) Kelowna Accord (2005) Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2008–) Idle No More protest movement (2012–2013) Missing and murdered Indigenous women 2020 Canadian pipeline and railway protests see also Template:Canadian Aboriginal case law
Federal–Provincial– Territorial relations	Province building Royal Commission on Dominion-Provincial Relations (1937–40) Royal Commission of Inquiry on Constitutional Problems (1953–56) Patriation debate (1960s to 1982) Fulton–Favreau formula (to 1965) Canada Act 1982 and Constitution Act, 1982 Canada Health Act (1984) Victoria Charter (1971) Meech Lake Accord (1987–90) Citizen's Forum on National Unity (1990–91) Charlottetown Accord (1992) Calgary Declaration (1997) See also template:Constitution of Canada , Category:Federalism in Canada , and Category:Canadian federalism case law
Symbols in Canada	National Provincial and territorial Royal Flags Heraldry Debates and legislation: Name (1867) Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 Great Canadian Flag Debate (1963–64) National Anthem Act (1980) Debate on the monarchy in Canada (Monarchism in Canada and Republicanism in Canada)