Cory Morgan: Canada Needs to Foster National Pride and Identity

Commentary

Those revelling in undermining Canada over the past several years in the name of progressiveness have suddenly discovered the value of national patriotism. Now, after over a decade of efforts to diminish national pride, they are discovering that if they insist Canada has no heritage or deep-rooted identity, they find themselves in a predicament when challenges to Canada’s sovereignty emerge.

Whether Donald Trump is simply trolling by proposing Canada become the 51st U.S. state or if his utterances are some trade negotiation tactic, they must be taken seriously. The man about to lead Canada’s largest trading partner and ally appears to view Canada as an asset to be acquired through economic pressure rather than a partner to negotiate with. Leaders of nations don’t typically muse about expansionism into their neighbours. Even in jest.

A recent poll indicates only 13 percent of Canadians would like to see a merger between the two countries. The risk of a widespread movement within Canada to join the USA is slim. With the issue of Canadian sovereignty and identity being discussed, though, it’s being found that Canadians aren’t sure who they are or what they stand for.

In a CNN interview, Prime Minister Trudeau was asked how Canadians define themselves. The best answer he could muster was, “We’re not Americans.” If the prime minister can’t offer a cogent definition of what makes a Canadian, how are citizens expected to?

What did Trudeau mean or expect when he said back in 2015 that Canada would become a post-national state?

The strength of a nation is tied to the collective pride and unity of its inhabitants. Citizens must have a shared connection and sense of purpose in being part of a nation. Pride in both the history of the nation and its current actions is essential in this bonding of people. In Canada however, a narrative of collective shame has been fostered.

At nearly every public gathering and event, a land acknowledgment is read out. It’s a prayer-like form of apology offered to indigenous people for an alleged intergenerational theft of land. A sense of shame is implied, and with the ceremony being repeated enough times a person could begin to feel guilty for the actions of centuries gone by. It certainly doesn’t endear one to the current nation. The entire affair is performative but it causes damage to the national psyche.

Academics and politicians alike refer to “settler culture” and chide non-indigenous people for perceived intergenerational wrongs. Even if a person’s lineage can be traced within Canada for centuries, they still can be pejoratively labelled as settlers. It’s a race-based sin of the father attitude and it’s demoralizing.

In Ontario at Queen’s Park, a statue of Canada’s founding Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald has been covered for nearly five years due to constant vandalism. While most nations celebrate key historical figures, Canada has villainized them to the point that activists attack statues of them. Authorities failed to do their job to defend the statue so they have covered it up in perpetuity. To protect the statue or try to lay charges against the vandals would be considered culturally insensitive. How dare we venerate the man who helped create the nation we live in today!

Millions of immigrants have come to Canada in the last decade. Becoming accustomed to a new country, a new culture, and often a new language is a difficult task at the best of times. What must new Canadians think when they arrive to find existing Canadians referring to themselves as genocidal, colonial settlers? It certainly doesn’t encourage them to put down roots and immerse themselves in the population. If anything, it fosters introverted immigrant populations and cultural ghettoization.

Canada is in a period of unprecedented flux. Trudeau is on the way out while Trump is on the way in. Trump won’t be marching the troops into Canada, but he could impose some damaging economic policies upon the nation. But what can one expect? Why should he respect Canada as a nation when Canada doesn’t respect itself?

Aside from navigating a possible trade war, the next leader of Canada must embrace policies designed to reignite national pride and identity. Pandering to activists who perpetuate the divisive narrative of Canada being a horrific, genocidal state must end. Every country has warts in its history, but they all can celebrate the good aspects of development too, and Canada has many.

The next prime minister will be tasked with many responsibilities. One of those will be the ability to define what a Canadian is rather than what one isn’t. Then, the work to foster a sense of national identity and pride among Canadians can get underway. A nation without an identity will not remain a nation for long.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

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