The Great Myths of Canada

The problem with Canadian history, according to historian Daniel Francis, is that it has no defining images. There are no founding fathers, no Declaration of Independence, no battlefields, no Fourth of July, not even an iconic figure like Uncle Sam. Being Canadian is much more a state of mind anchored less to a traumatic history and more to the land.

A couple of centuries ago, two roads diverged in a wood and North American split gently in two. America chose to fight for its independence. Canada chose to earn its freedom slowly, starting with a partial independence in 1967, and did not fully claim the right to amend its own constitution until recently. Along the way, to make sense of the split, we told our stories and they told theirs.

The odd thing about national myths, Daniel Francis notes in his study, is that they can become self-fulfilling prophecies. A nation birthed in righteous violence may see itself in a different light from a nation slowly weaned on adherence to parental law. Mother England’s two North American children, legend implies, are wholly different kids at heart.