Canadian Identity Today

Presented by the Hart House Debates Committee and the Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Democracy

Resolution: Be it resolved that Canada should sever its ties to the English Monarchy.

Details: Join us for an evening of student debate followed by a talk with John Fraser, Master of Massey College of the University of Toronto and former chief editor of Saturday Night and national editor of The Globe and Mail.

The student debaters will be Sam Greene and Jake Brockman.

When: Thurs. Mar. 1 from 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Where: Great Hall, Hart House
Cost: Free

Student debate: 7:00 - 7:45 pm
Talk by John Fraser: 7:45 - 8:30 pm

Speaker:
John Anderson Fraser, a prominent Canadian reporter and scholar, is currently the Master of Massey College of the University of Toronto. Educated at Upper Canada College and Memorial University amongst many others, he has led a successful career in journalism for over half a century. Having been published in leading national newspapers from The Globe and Mail in Canada to The New York Times and The Washington Post in America to The Guardian and The Telegraph in England, he has won multiple Canadian National Newspaper and Magazine Awards. Eventually joining The Globe and Mail as a reporter, he rose to national editor, before becoming chief editor of Saturday Night. Having retired from active reporting, he now teaches the history of reporting at the university.

About the Resolution:
A colony of French, then English descent, Canada has had imperial connections for centuries. Unraveling with the general decline of European empires at the turn of the 20th century, Canada has changed markedly ever since. Following World War 1 and a series of international agreements with England, Canada slowly began to gain its independence, moving from colony to nation. With the fall of the English Empire, Canada - under a series of Liberal governments - began to re-identify under a new form of nationalism with a distinct flag, anthem, military and Canadian representative of the head of state. Almost all images of the English Monarchy and Empire were stripped and replaced with icons such as the Canadian Maple Leaf. Most symbolically, this included the dropping of the "Dominion" from Canada's official name. Under the last Liberal government, the Governors General even became so audacious as to describe themselves as the head of state; a move that largely went unnoticed by Canadians.

With the turn of the 3rd millennium, talk of republicanism began to become prominent in Canada, even though Australia, a similar former English colony, narrowly lost a referendum in 1999. The then official opposition, Alliance/Reform, even spoke of abolishing the country's ties to England. With the creation of the Conservatives, following the acquisition of PCs by the Alliance, the current prime minister has backtracked and softened his stance, and once again began to promote a role for the English Monarchy. Most recently this has included the revival of the old names of the military, the promotion of the Queen, and the demotion of the flashy Governor General to its former role of diminutive representative of the head of state.

The current Conservative government has quietly sought to reinvigorate Canada's connection to England, even organizing many tours by the English Royalty. Where does this leave Canada's on-and-off close ties with America? What questions does this raise for a country whose modern birth comes from the brutal theft of land from North American Aboriginals whose society did not envision the concept of private property? Where does this leave the French Canadiens whose separation was staved off by a hair and the air of unfair play? And most importantly, for a country where a fifth of the population immigrated to live a new life, how is Canada going to embrace them?