6.3.2 Challenges Affecting Canada's National Unity

Should individuals and groups in Canada embrace a national identity?

Big Idea:

  • The challenges of promoting Canadian unity.


Click on the tabs below to learn more about the challenges affecting Canadian unity.


Let’s face it – Canada is a massive geographic area!

As the second largest country in the world (second only to Russia!), keeping Canadians united when they are separated by vast physical spaces is definitely a challenge. The geography of Canadian regions differs greatly, contributing to differences in ways of life. Citizens of rural Newfoundland who rely on the ocean for their livelihood and culture are considerably different than citizens of farming communities in Saskatchewan. Citizens from different regions of Canada have very different needs. The challenges and opportunities that these differences present to Canadian unity are considerable.

© Thinkstock

Go to your textbook, Understanding Nationalism, and read page 337. If you need a reminder on how to take notes, click here.

Take notes using the 6.3.2 Notebook Organizer (Word, PDF, Google Doc) about the ways geography impacts Canada's national unity. When you are done, return here to continue.


Canada’s national unity has been challenged by feelings of alienation from residents of certain regions in the country. For example, some Canadians feel that not everyone benefits equally from federal government programs. Historically, many people in the Western and Atlantic provinces have felt the federal government is too focused on the interests of Central Canada, primarily because of its large population base that serves politicians well during elections.

In 1982, for example, the federal government and the province of Alberta argued over who should control oil development and revenues. The federal government introduced the National Energy Program (NEP), which forced Alberta to sell its oil to Canadians at below market prices. The NEP caused many Albertans to feel the federal government had too much control over provincial resources. Although the NEP was dismantled in 1984, some bitter memories remain. As a result, some western Canadians felt the western provinces should form their own independent country. Often, federal governments are anxious to avoid alienating regions of the country to ensure Canadian unity remains as strong as possible.


Downtown Toronto
© Thinkstock

Go to your textbook, Understanding Nationalism, and read pages 338 and 339. If you need a reminder on how to take notes, click here.

Take notes using the 6.3.2 Notebook Organizer about the ways that alienation impacts Canada's national unity. When you are done, return here to continue.



The Parliament building in Ottawa
© Thinkstock

Canadian federalism divides responsibilities between the two main levels of government, federal and provincial. The main challenge with this type of system is ensuring all citizens believe they are treated fairly and equally. If they do, they will be more likely to feel a sense of belonging to their country. Given that some provinces are wealthier than others, the federal government must ensure that all Canadians, no matter where they live, have equal access to public services. These services include things such as health care, electricity, and social services (such as Employment Insurance or Social Assistance). The challenge is in trying to distribute payments for these services to the provinces in a fair and equitable manner.

Other issues that impact Canadian federalism involve political representation and official multiculturalism. Because Canada’s population is spread unevenly across the country, it is a challenge to ensure that all Canadians feel their interests are represented fairly in Parliament. When people feel they are underrepresented, feelings of national unity are weakened. At the same time, Canada’s very composition is changing as immigrants come from many parts of the world. As a result, all governments in Canada (federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal or local) must find ways to balance Canada’s traditions and promote a vision of the future that all Canadians, regardless of background, can unite behind and promote.

Go to your textbook, Understanding Nationalism, and read pages 339 and 340. If you need a reminder on how to take notes, click here. 

Take notes using the  6.3.2 Notebook Organizer about the ways that federalism impacts Canada's national unity. When you are done, return here to continue.

Perspective


Without question, one of the biggest challenges to Canadian national unity has been the issue of Quebec nationalism. At the same time, one of the biggest challenges to Quebec nationalism has been the federal government’s ability to convince the Québécois that Canada is their country. Within the province, some Francophones have long desired greater self-determination over their own affairs. This was most evident in the 1960s during the Quiet Revolution. At this time, many in Quebec began to question whether their interests might not be better served as an independent, sovereign nation separate from Canada.

Quebec City, Chateau Frontenac
© Thinkstock

Although debates over affirming and promoting the French language and culture centre on Quebec, Francophones outside the province have felt they were ignored as well. Many provinces, including New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta, have large French-speaking communities (although these populations are small relative to Quebec’s overall population). Each of these provinces has passed laws against promoting the French language at some point in history. For example, in 1871, the New Brunswick government made it illegal to teach French in schools. In 1930, the government of Saskatchewan banned the teaching of French, even outside school hours. Even today, New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province.

Over the last forty years, the federal government and Francophone Canadians have attempted to address issues, resolve conflicts, and maintain national unity. More opportunities and rights have been afforded to Francophones across the country, including access to federal funds to encourage provincial governments to provide more French-language education. One of the first major policy initiatives of then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was to implement the Official Languages Act of 1969. This initiative made French and English the official languages of Canada and offered equal recognition of the French language in areas such as federal services and Parliament.

View the response to this initiative. How could the Official Languages Act both resolve and add to issues of national unity? 
.  
© Courtesy of Dan Tarte


Go to your textbook, Understanding Nationalism, and read pages 343 and 344. If you need a reminder on how to take notes, click here.
Take notes using the 6.3.2 Notebook Organizer about the ways Quebec sovereignty and Francophone perspective impacts Canada's national unity. When you are done, return here to continue.

Perspective

The Aboriginal and First Nations people have long held that self-determination (the power to control one’s own affairs) is an inherent right because they occupied the land and governed themselves long before Europeans arrived in North America. Over the years, self-determination has presented both challenges and opportunities in trying to balance the needs and wishes of First Nations and Aboriginal peoples with those of the rest of Canada. Although Canada’s 1982 Constitution recognized "Aboriginal rights," the specifics of what this meant were unclear. While the Canadian government previously did not recognize the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples , on May 10 2016, Canada became a full supporter of the declaration. The declaration specifically recognizes Indigenous Peoples' basic human rights, as well as their rights to self-determination, self-government, language, equality, land and "matters relating to their internal and local affairs."

As you view Senator Sinclair's (the former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission) comments and remarks regarding the need for Indigenous rights, consider how Canada might address national unity while implementing Indigenous rights. 


© Thinkstock

Nevertheless, some agreements have been negotiated between certain Aboriginal groups in Canada and the federal government, including the Inuit of Nunavut and Nunavik (which resulted in the creation of Nunavut in 1999). However, many other Aboriginal peoples feel their right to self-determination is long overdue. They point out their form of self-government must be based on the beliefs and practices of people in their communities. Wilton Littlechild, an Ermineskin Cree, a pioneer for the global Indigenous rights movement, and Alberta regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations says the recognition of status of Indigenous Peoples "is fundamental to the recognition of our right to self-determination in all its collective political, economic, social, cultural, and spiritual dimensions. To deny our right to define ourselves and to be recognized as Indigenous peoples is to deny a fundamental expression of our right to self-determination." (Littlechild, Commission on Human Rights, UN).

Aboriginal Canadians are hopeful that more deals will be made with the federal government in terms of self-government and specific land claims, and that old policies (such as the controversial 1876 Indian Act) will be addressed in the pursuit of self-determination. Although the issues of self-government and land claims do not always go hand-in-hand, both may affect non-Aboriginal Canadians’ attitudes toward national identity and national unity.

Go to your textbook, Understanding Nationalism, and read pages 346 to 349. If you need a reminder on how to take notes, click here.
Take notes using the 6.3.2 Notebook Organizer about the ways the Aboriginal perspective impacts Canada's national unity.When you are done, return here to continue.