Tag: Fathers of Confederation

Replacing Canada’s Historical Symbols in New Passport With Bears and Birds Is a Poor Exchange

Commentary A nation’s symbols define and conserve a shared way of life and bring about social cohesion. A country needs its symbols. However, over the past generation, such needs have been dismissed as atavistic prejudices, which must be swept away wherever they stand in the way of schemes for national transformational projects. The default position…


Macdonald’s Legacy (Part 3): Canadian Confederation’s Indispensable Man

Commentary This is Part 3 of a multi-part series examining Macdonald’s legacy. Click here for Part 1 and Part 2. Rightly or wrongly, for better or worse, the essence of Canadian nationhood has always centred around the single-minded conviction that we are not American. Descendants of British Empire Loyalists, French Canadians, northern indigenous peoples, and…