I learn so much about Canadian history every time I read one of your posts. It's great - I'm finally putting together what I grew up in and understanding how things have changed (or should I say degenerated?) over my lifetime.
I was so surprised to read about how advanced Canada was from 1946-1963. I'm GenX, so I grew up in the tail-wind of that period - Canada was already going into decline by my 1970s childhood.
And yet it took a while for things to completely unravel. My husband was an apprentice mechanic in Australia in the mid-80s, and he remembers working with car parts that were stamped, "Made in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada." He thought he was immigrating to a great country when he first came here as a young man.
Things have changed a lot in a very short period of time. It's good to be reminded of what we were - for hundreds of years - before it all started to go south.
Superb. Well done. It is a testament to Trudeau's charlatanism that he's been in power as long as he has. His post-nationalist schtick is wholly anti-Canadian bullshit, but so much of the country bought it hook, line and sinker.
I can understand the need to move away from Harper's conservatism, but it was abundantly clear within Trudeau's first mandate that he and his people were bound and determined to destroy the country, yet we voted for him twice more.
The only lesson I take from the disaster that has been the last nine years is that traditional Canadian conservative principles matter and that leaders and parties who eschew these principles in favor of the mush political middle will fail.
Scheer and O'Toole were basically Liberals, who were compromise choices, and both predictably failed when they should have won. I'm skeptical of how Pierre will govern, but you can't fault the man for most of the policy positions he's taken and his rhetoric.
When he's elected, if he hews closely to the traditional Canadian principles you highlight in your piece, he'll easily win a second majority. Canadians - those of us who were born here or who've been here for thirty years crave Peace, Order and Good Governance - not the bromides and tripe Trudeau, Freeland and Dom Leblanc spout on the daily. They're 21st-century snake oil salesmen of the very worst kind, and they can't be shown the door quickly enough.
LOL. Hard to think of Canadians as "less liberal" these days, but your question makes sense in the context of "historical" Canadians as described by Fortissax.
I do think our geography and climate have shaped us to a certain degree - but I tend to think our genetics might count for more. Hard to say, really.
But there definitely is something about being forced to deal with reality by a harsh environment that helps one keep one's feet on the ground.
As an American, I’ll push back on the idea we are “proposition nation” idealists… we’re actually much more conservative about our ethnic identities, to the extent that liberal Europeans routinely make fun of us for keeping track of them.
It’s similar to how we tend to be more religious than Europeans. In matters of both religion and ethnic identity, on paper we’re liberal, “America is an idea, anyone can become an American”, but de facto are much more guarded about them individually. Catholics in the US, for example, are much more likely to actually believe traditional Catholic tenets than those in Europe or Latin America, especially if they’re GOP voters.
It may in fact prove to be the ultimate undoing of the liberal roots of the republic, as the liberal propositions are only taken seriously nowadays by woke Democrat whites and establishment Republicans of the “National Review” type who are increasingly rejected by the GOP’s voting base. Within the country, the Southern identity is by far the strongest, possibly because the people holding to it are the most right-wing.
You were right to point out that the Revolutionary War was an English Civil War, just like the War for Texas Independence was a Mexican Civil War. There were Americans involved. However, they were Mexican Citizens because the government required land owners to be Mexican Citizens and Catholic to boot.
While Anglo-Americans are cool, I'd prefer European-Americanism to prevail. My family is a mixture of German, Dutch, English, and Irish. I'd prefer European-Americanism because most Europeans speak English, are hard workers, create communities, and look out for each other.
Thanks for this. the differences, the leftist idea that the state is god and the lack of rights as in the American bill of rights are still a mystery, given the similarities, excepting the Tory and French influence. Maybe that is the reason.
Your essay gives me hope that Canada may be the tip of the spear when it comes to reviving whites' respect for our identities. With distinct ethnic pride maintained in Canada, it is not so far gone as to be lost.
Distinct identities are already long gone in the US, the only hope is that we will reembrace our European heritage and values in a pan-European type of way.
It would have awesome if Canada Anglo culture had two dual folkways. Say one Anglo culture that was linked to the Antipodes another on the American mainland.
I’m beginning to realize that this could have happened if a different elite were in charge or the elites made different decisions
I learn so much about Canadian history every time I read one of your posts. It's great - I'm finally putting together what I grew up in and understanding how things have changed (or should I say degenerated?) over my lifetime.
I was so surprised to read about how advanced Canada was from 1946-1963. I'm GenX, so I grew up in the tail-wind of that period - Canada was already going into decline by my 1970s childhood.
And yet it took a while for things to completely unravel. My husband was an apprentice mechanic in Australia in the mid-80s, and he remembers working with car parts that were stamped, "Made in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada." He thought he was immigrating to a great country when he first came here as a young man.
Things have changed a lot in a very short period of time. It's good to be reminded of what we were - for hundreds of years - before it all started to go south.
Question is, are our roots deeper than the rot?
Superb. Well done. It is a testament to Trudeau's charlatanism that he's been in power as long as he has. His post-nationalist schtick is wholly anti-Canadian bullshit, but so much of the country bought it hook, line and sinker.
I can understand the need to move away from Harper's conservatism, but it was abundantly clear within Trudeau's first mandate that he and his people were bound and determined to destroy the country, yet we voted for him twice more.
The only lesson I take from the disaster that has been the last nine years is that traditional Canadian conservative principles matter and that leaders and parties who eschew these principles in favor of the mush political middle will fail.
Scheer and O'Toole were basically Liberals, who were compromise choices, and both predictably failed when they should have won. I'm skeptical of how Pierre will govern, but you can't fault the man for most of the policy positions he's taken and his rhetoric.
When he's elected, if he hews closely to the traditional Canadian principles you highlight in your piece, he'll easily win a second majority. Canadians - those of us who were born here or who've been here for thirty years crave Peace, Order and Good Governance - not the bromides and tripe Trudeau, Freeland and Dom Leblanc spout on the daily. They're 21st-century snake oil salesmen of the very worst kind, and they can't be shown the door quickly enough.
Out of curiosity, do you think the climate of Canada with it's harsh winters, also contributes to a more reactionary mindset?
I think our harsh winters have definitely shaped us - but possibly less so these days with all our mod cons.
What do you mean by "reactionary mindset"?
I meant a less liberal way of viewing the world.
LOL. Hard to think of Canadians as "less liberal" these days, but your question makes sense in the context of "historical" Canadians as described by Fortissax.
I do think our geography and climate have shaped us to a certain degree - but I tend to think our genetics might count for more. Hard to say, really.
But there definitely is something about being forced to deal with reality by a harsh environment that helps one keep one's feet on the ground.
As an American, I’ll push back on the idea we are “proposition nation” idealists… we’re actually much more conservative about our ethnic identities, to the extent that liberal Europeans routinely make fun of us for keeping track of them.
It’s similar to how we tend to be more religious than Europeans. In matters of both religion and ethnic identity, on paper we’re liberal, “America is an idea, anyone can become an American”, but de facto are much more guarded about them individually. Catholics in the US, for example, are much more likely to actually believe traditional Catholic tenets than those in Europe or Latin America, especially if they’re GOP voters.
It may in fact prove to be the ultimate undoing of the liberal roots of the republic, as the liberal propositions are only taken seriously nowadays by woke Democrat whites and establishment Republicans of the “National Review” type who are increasingly rejected by the GOP’s voting base. Within the country, the Southern identity is by far the strongest, possibly because the people holding to it are the most right-wing.
You were right to point out that the Revolutionary War was an English Civil War, just like the War for Texas Independence was a Mexican Civil War. There were Americans involved. However, they were Mexican Citizens because the government required land owners to be Mexican Citizens and Catholic to boot.
While Anglo-Americans are cool, I'd prefer European-Americanism to prevail. My family is a mixture of German, Dutch, English, and Irish. I'd prefer European-Americanism because most Europeans speak English, are hard workers, create communities, and look out for each other.
Thanks for this. the differences, the leftist idea that the state is god and the lack of rights as in the American bill of rights are still a mystery, given the similarities, excepting the Tory and French influence. Maybe that is the reason.
Your essay gives me hope that Canada may be the tip of the spear when it comes to reviving whites' respect for our identities. With distinct ethnic pride maintained in Canada, it is not so far gone as to be lost.
Distinct identities are already long gone in the US, the only hope is that we will reembrace our European heritage and values in a pan-European type of way.
So Canadians are "reactionary" in the sense of being happy to do as they're told.
It would have awesome if Canada Anglo culture had two dual folkways. Say one Anglo culture that was linked to the Antipodes another on the American mainland.
I’m beginning to realize that this could have happened if a different elite were in charge or the elites made different decisions