A Tale of Caution From Canada
Canada is in crisis, and the crisis of our northern neighbor is a source of concern for America. For some decades Canada’s liberals have been trending toward a “post-national” identity, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau once remarked.
As part of this aspiration, Canada has tried to move on from its traditional view of their country as an Anglo-French multinational nation-state to a multicultural post-national one. What this means was summed up as follows, “It’s not how Canadian you are, it’s who you are in Canada.” As part of that effort to build a post-national Canada, one of the favorite policies has been to allow mass migration. That fact, together with the collapse of traditional morality and social structures, as everywhere in the West apparently, has brought Canadian society to social distress. For example, Canada’s birth rate has fallen below replacement levels. Yet Canada’s population has grown in record numbers, mostly driven by mass immigration. Currently, Canada’s population is 74% native born with 23% immigrants, the highest number in decades.
Though it appears that Canada is still not very far along in the crisis of mass migration and national identity as other Western countries, it is clearly en route to that crisis. For instance, Geoff Russ at Modern Age explains that:
“The results of this [post-national] experiment have not been harmony but gunfire, arson, and interethnic violence. Cosmopolitan obsessions and social media make it impossible to ignore the passions of distant conflicts. Those passions are fast replacing Canada’s distinct cultural bonds that once allowed its citizens to recognize each other as brethren. […] Fueled by the fever of the Israel–Hamas war, antisemitic insurgents have set upon Canada’s long-established Jewish community, setting fire to synagogues, firing upon Jewish schools, parading through their communities, and throwing up Nazi salutes. Meanwhile, Hindu temples have been attacked by radicals who call for the creation of Khalistan, a Sikh breakaway state in India.”
Therefore, the pincer movement conservative writer Helen Andrews has described, where native-born majorities face a race against demographic shifts to curb mass migration before losing the political power to do so, is taking effect in Canada. Though it appears they still have time. Furthermore, as Russ notes in his essay, for example, under current policies there has been an increase in border encounters with Canada. Slowly eroding the security of the world’s most peaceful border.
Moreover, with the increase of non-western migrants and population, Canadian foreign policy is slowly starting to shift. As Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly implied, it is the present demographics of Canada that are driving its anti-Israel policies.
Additionally, as Mathieu Bock-Côté wrote in The American Conservative, the current levels of immigration and political dysfunction have produced a resurgence of Quebecois nationalist-separatism, which had been quelled after the 1995 referendum. Therefore, it would not be surprising if Canada faced problems and challenges maintaining its unity as a nation-state in the future. One further complication from the American national interest perspective would be that as Canada moves leftward and adopts a new population originating from developing nations, it is conceivable that it might drift from a reliable American ally into a less reliable one less reliable one.
This is a natural development under current trends. As Thomas Sowell and Jason Richwine have noted, different groups of migrants bring cultural views and attitudes that precede their settling in the new country. When that happens, eventually politics and political parties tend to adapt and adopt the interests of these groups in order to expand their coalitions. Politics evolves to accommodate these new constituents. Which is partly why immigration requires prudence and thoughtful consideration, since a nation changes in accordance with the groups that it incorporates and a nation’s people has a right to define itself as it sees fit through its immigration policies.
In short, mass migration, anti-nationalist policies and liberal mis-governance risk rupturing the Canadian socio-political fabric. Conservative philosopher Sir Roger Scruton explained that nationalism, the nation-state, is usually formed by pre-political loyalties which identify the nation-state as ours. In other words, the nation, the sense of belonging and cultural identity pre-exist political developments, in a way. As an example, conservative writer and activist Patrick J. Buchanan noted that America existed as a nation and a distinct people long before the Declaration of Independence. In the context of America and Canada, these are two Euro-descendant nations formed within a particular European civilization. Canada, like America, are Western nations. These facts are deeply ingrained in their social fabrics, and will not change solely by liberal diktat.
Traditionally, as the historian Conrad Black recounts, Canada understood itself as a multinational nation-state founded by two peoples, the English and the French. The Canadian tradition is best exemplified by its statesmen such as John Macdonald, William Lyon Mackenzie King, or Stephen Harper. Canada is a nation of heroes with so much to be proud of. The post-national nightmare that Canada is living through is not sufficient to hold a great nation together. Without a common nationality and culture, Canada could break apart. Or change rather drastically into an unrecognizable country
It seems that even the Liberal Party has realized the danger, since Trudeau himself has admitted to immigration “mistakes” (among many others). Understandable, then, why Trudeau’s government was “one of the most unpopular in the country’s history.” Consequently it should be no surprise that Trudeau resigned in disgrace and that the Canadian conservatives are in route to a resounding electoral victory. It is highly unlikely that the solutions to Canada’s current predicament will ever come from a Liberal, progressive establishment. It is up to Canada’s conservatives to begin a program of national renewal. What will that look like, is it possible to achieve? Only time will tell. There is, however, reason to be optimistic. Canada is a remarkable nation, may it find its way again soon.