In January 2017, Donald Trump signed an govt order that banned immigration to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries. Amid the turmoil that ensued, Justin Trudeau posted a message to Twitter.
“To these fleeing persecution, terror & struggle, Canadians will welcome you, no matter your religion,” he wrote. “Variety is our power #WelcomeToCanada.”
Trudeau’s tweet was thought of comparatively provocative on the time. And later, when asylum seekers started arriving at Roxham Road in bigger numbers, the standard knowledge grew to become that the prime minister’s message was a gaffe. He had both invited the inflow of individuals or the problem of coping with that wave of newcomers had proven his tweet to be simplistic virtue-signalling.
However haggling over the tactical worth of the message dangers lacking the fundamental precept that was being conveyed: Canada doesn’t discriminate towards these making an attempt to immigrate to this nation on the premise of faith.
The return of Donald Trump — and his jokes, if that is what they’re, in regards to the 51st state — will probably present new alternatives for Canada to determine how a lot and the way loudly it needs to distinguish itself from its neighbour. Within the course of, might Trump additionally find yourself recharging Canadian patriotism or nationalism?
Trudeau was predictably requested about Trump’s 51st state feedback throughout his two current interviews with American media shops. Unsurprisingly, Trudeau deemed the thought a non-starter.
“Canadians are extremely pleased with being Canadian,” he told CNN. “One of many methods we outline ourselves most simply is, ‘effectively, we’re not American.’ There’s such a depth of delight that that is probably not a difficulty.”
It will arguably be an issue if not being American was all the foundation for Canada’s self picture. Nevertheless it’s not a horrible place to begin — and has been, to some extent or one other, for as long as Canada has existed. And it is perhaps significantly helpful now.
The large variations between Canada and the U.S.
As a lot as Canadians would possibly perceive that they dwell in a definite and sovereign nation, it is price highlighting a number of the variations.
Contemplate, as an example, Canadians’ views of the current U.S. presidential election. Help for Trump in Canada has elevated over the past 4 years, however Environics found last fall that 60 per cent of Canadians nonetheless supported Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, in comparison with 21 per cent for Trump. (If Canada was a state it could be the most secure Democratic state by a large margin, surpassing Vermont, which Harris received by 32 factors.)
Two years in the past, Environics additionally requested Canadians and People about a number of social and political questions to compare responses. These surveys discovered some notable variations.
Seventy-seven per cent of Canadians strongly or considerably agreed the federal government ought to act to cut back the revenue disparity between the wealthy and poor, in comparison with 58 per cent of People. Eighty-two per cent of Canadians strongly or considerably agreed that each lady who needs an abortion ought to have the ability to have one, in comparison with 62 per cent of People. Sixty-one per cent of Canadians agreed it must be unlawful for civilians to personal handguns — simply 29 per cent of People agreed.
No matter Trump’s fondness for annexation memes, a vanishingly small variety of Canadians are eager about becoming a member of the USA. In 2022, Environics found that 83 per cent of Canadians strongly disagreed with the thought and one other seven per cent considerably disagreed. A brand new ballot from the Angus Reid Institute, performed earlier this month, equally found that simply 10 per cent of Canadians supported the thought.
That is maybe unsurprising for those who contemplate a few of Environics’s different findings. Eighty-three per cent of Canadians had a beneficial opinion of the USA in 1983, however that had fallen to 47 per cent by 2024. And as Andrew Parkin of Environics wrote this week, when Canadians have been requested in 2021 to check the 2 nations, massive majorities of Canadians thought their nation did higher when it got here to well being care, high quality of life, training, social safety, authorities, particular person rights and each racial and gender equality. (The U.S. received when it got here to productiveness and expertise.)
Such findings is perhaps contrasted with current worries that Canadians are feeling much less delight in their very own nation.
Does Canadian patriotism want a lift?
Blame for that decline is typically positioned on Justin Trudeau — the idea being that the prime minister has spent an excessive amount of time dwelling on Canada’s faults and never sufficient effort towards enthusing about Canada’s successes.
However that narrative is sophisticated by a number of the accessible knowledge. In accordance with Environics, essentially the most vital drop in delight has occurred amongst Conservative voters, whereas the extent of delight amongst Liberal voters has been constant. Parkin has additionally suggested the decline is expounded to pessimism about Canada’s financial scenario.
Regardless, possibly Canadian patriotism might nonetheless use a shot within the arm — and possibly that explains the optimistic response on-line to Jean Chrétien’s recent pep talk within the pages of the Globe and Mail.
“To Donald Trump, from one previous man to a different: Give your head a shake!” he wrote. “What might make you assume that Canadians would ever hand over the perfect nation on this planet — and make no mistake, that’s what we’re — to hitch the USA?”
Within the house of 1,100 phrases, he used 5 exclamation factors.
Photos gathered from Reuters, Getty Photos, and The Canadian Press.
On the event of his 91st birthday, Chrétien was a paean to the nation he led for a decade — highlighting lots of the issues that Canadians consider their nation does higher than the USA. However he additionally referred to as on right now’s leaders to construct a good stronger and extra resilient nation within the face of threats from the south.
Trudeau’s closing remarks on the finish of Wednesday’s first ministers’ assembly appeared to choose up on Chrétien’s vibe.
“Canada is a welcoming, inclusive, modern and impressive place. It’s residence to bountiful assets, breathtaking magnificence and a proud individuals who have come from each nook of the globe to forge a nation with a novel id price embracing and celebrating,” he mentioned. “And value preventing for.”
The return of worrying about American affect?
The fact of a Trumpian America might, as Chrétien suggests, drive Canadian leaders to interrupt down interprovincial commerce obstacles, broaden east-west electrical energy ties and reinforce the Canadian army’s presence within the Arctic. And it may very well be motivation to strengthen the establishments and values that set Canada other than its neighbour — together with Canada’s parliamentary democracy.
Might it additionally lead Canadians to fret extra — or slightly, once more — about American financial or cultural affect?
In an essay in the New York Times in 1974 — entitled “Canada needs out (of the USA)” — Robert Fulford defined to People that “resistance to American domination, and assertion of a Canadian id,” had “grow to be essential components within the lifetime of Canada.” These emotions or worries have arguably dissipated over the past 30 years — Environics has discovered that help for the North American Free Commerce Settlement has really elevated over time.
However might Trump revive that spirit? Maybe Ontario Premier Doug Ford displaying as much as Wednesday’s first ministers’ assembly in a “Canada will not be on the market” hat is an indication of issues to return.
Nationalism is a fraught philosophy. It could possibly curdle into isolationism, jingoism and exclusion. In Canada’s case, aspiring to be merely higher or extra righteous than the USA might additionally breed complacency.
In Canada Alone, revealed in 2023, Kim Nossal, the overseas coverage scholar at Queen’s College, speculated that Canada might have to fret a couple of additional improve within the cross-border motion of Trumpism’s concepts. In response to occasions in the USA, Nossal added, Canada might additionally see an increase in anti-Americanism, which might additional complicate relations between the 2 nations.
But when American democracy continues down a darkish path, not being American is perhaps greater than an argument towards annexation. In that case, as Rob Goodman, an writer and professor of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan College, has written, “Canadian distinctiveness” is perhaps not a “vainness object,” however an “important safeguard of Canadian democracy.”
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