THE CANADIAN IDENTITY

On February 22nd 2013, there is a commemoration of the War of 1812 at Prescott, in south-eastern Ontario.  Anglo-Canadian troops cross the St. Lawrence River near Ogdensburg to teach the American troops a lesson.  They’ve been raiding and pillaging the villages in this region of Upper Canada.

Among the Canadians, is historian Stephane Poirier, a military historian.  He believes the War of 1812 was the event that created our Canadian identity.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper sees the War of 1812 as a founding moment of the Canadian Identity.  He invested about 30 million dollars in a campaign to familiarize Canadians today with this conflict.  There have been several re-enactments across the country, a series of television ads, images engraved on our money and key players commemorated on our postage stamps.

Survey after survey has demonstrated that very few Canadians know about the War of 1812, so why spend millions of dollars commemorating the 200th anniversary?

Gerry Nichols rubbed shoulders with Stephen Harper during the five years he was president of the National Citizens Coalition, a group devoted to Conservative causes.  According to Gerry Nichols, Mr. Harper detested the old Liberal regimes of Prime Ministers Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau whom he felt, neglected Canada’s history and military traditions.

Political Scientist, Denis Saint-Martin, of L’Universite de Montreal, believes this reveals a particular aspect of Stephen Harper’s personality.

Prime Minister Harper created more occasions to honour the Canadian military and commemorate its greatest battles.

Under Stephen Harper, the Canadian Navy and air force have once again, become “royal” because the conservative government believes that Canada is deeply attached to the British monarchy.  In his first address to the House of Commons as Prime Minister he emphasized his support for Queen Elisabeth II.

Robert Finch is president of the Monarchist League of Canada.   On this occasion he is assisting at a ceremony in Toronto.  Prince Philip has come over to present the new colours to the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, of which the prince is Colonel-in-chef.  Robert Finch rejoices in the status of the Monarchy under the Harper government.

Political Science professor Tom Flanagan is a member of the group known as “the Calgary School”, a group of Conservative professors from the University of Calgary who have been very close to Stephen Harper for many years.  For him, this emphasis on the monarchy pleases the electorate of Stephen Harper in the western provinces where the power base has shifted.

In 2006, after just months in power, Stephen Harper highlighted Canadian sovereignty over 40 per cent of the Arctic, and described it as essential to Canada’s national identity as a northern country.

He proclaims Canada’s sovereignty on the sea, in the air and on land, where the Rangers, reservists and the majority of Inuit will be the eyes and ears of the Canadian forces.

Stephen Harper returns each year to the North as a reminder of the necessity of protecting this symbolic territory of the Canadian identity.  For professor Stephane Roussel, a specialist in international relations, it is difficult to imagine a threat to Canada’s sovereignty in this region.

So these are the pillars of Canadian identity, as seen by Prime Minister Stephen Harper; a north to protect  and develop, a monarchy that makes us different from the United States, an army that assures we are ready for combat, and a war, 200 years ago, that could be described as a pivotal moment in Canadian history, that forged the base of this Canadian identity, in the union of the French, English, First Nations and British fighters, against the neighbouring American invaders.