Globe editorial: Canada is an idea worth celebrating - The Globe and Mail

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Canada is an unfinished project. Our history is far from perfect. Political fractures are widening, as is a sense for many that the promise of a better life is fading away. And as our problems grow, it sometimes seems that our willingness to deal with them is shrinking.

Forests ablaze that send palls of smoke around the globe. A housing affordability crisis. The growing prospect that the next generation could be worse off than their parents. A health care system cracking and crumbling. Those problems, which this space scrutinizes on most days of the year, might make it seem like there is more cause for worry rather than for celebration on this Canada Day.

But Canada, as an idea to which we can aspire, is well worth celebrating. And what is that idea?

It starts with this country’s unofficial slogan of peace, order and good government, part of the British North America Act in 1867, and still part of Canada’s modern Constitution. More than that, it captures the essence of Canada: a conscious break with the radicalism of the American Revolution, and the bloodiness of that country’s civil war. Instead, we created a country where the common good would be prized above unconstrained individualism.

Peace, order and good government is more than just a constitutional clause. It is also a promise.

The promise of peace has been kept. Remarkably, war has barely touched Canada in the 156 years since Confederation, even as our armed forces fought overseas. That unbroken stretch of peace may seem preordained, but we should see it for what it is: a privilege in an increasingly dangerous world.

Order, or a resolution to eschew violence in political contest, is central to the Canadian idea. That resolution has been tested, of course. The spasm of terrorism by the Front de libération du Québec in the 1960s and early 1970s, and the resulting October Crisis, looked at first to be part of that era’s embrace of violent political action and counter-reaction.

But the violence of the FLQ gave way to a much different kind of Quebec separatism. The Parti Québécois wished to leave Canada, but it pursued that goal in a quintessentially Canadian way. Quebec held a peaceful referendum (and a sequel), while the rest of the country waited to hear how it would all turn out. There was no revolution.

Which brings us to good government. For decades, Canada has been lucky enough to have national parties that, despite heated election campaigns, agree more than they differ. There is no existential fight over immigration. Both major parties (now) endorse free trade as a key part of Canada’s prosperity, are in favour of NATO, support redistributive social programs and defend publicly funded health care.

Centrism and consensus are often words of scorn these days, but the broad and enduring consistency as governments come and go have given Canada an enviable stability.

Peace, order and good government is less rousing, perhaps, than “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Our national ethos is not quite as stirring as “liberté, égalité, fraternité.” But it works. For more than 150 years, Canadians have built one of the most prosperous and freest countries in the world. Millions of people have flocked to this country, believing it held the key to a better life, including a record-setting 431,645 new permanent residents in 2022.

That is the promise of Canada: not where we are, but our destination. There is no contradiction in being proud of what this country has accomplished, and in pointing out where it falls short.

The need for a full and lasting reconciliation with Indigenous peoples is the most obvious gap between promise and reality. First Nations are owed more than sympathy. They deserve a greater share of this country’s prosperity, redress for historical injustices, and a full-fledged effort to allow their cultures to flourish within Canada.

Canada’s economy is in many ways coasting on past success. That is a huge challenge, and one that no political party has fully come to terms with.

The promise of Canada is also falling short for many who see an uncertain future of painfully high housing costs, precarious employment, strained social services and a warming climate. For those Canadians, the idea that Canada is broken is not a slogan, but their deepest fear.

There is much work to do. But today, Canadians should be proud of what this country has become, a haven of calm and prosperity. Call it a good start.

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"Idea" - Google News
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Globe editorial: Canada is an idea worth celebrating - The Globe and Mail
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