Globalization and the Future of Canada’s Medicare Identity: A Longer View

Abstract

This article explores what globalization means for the relationship between Medicare and Canadian identity. Typical accounts of this relationship explain it as either the result of deep-seated Canadian values, or as the result of government action in the postwar era. Starting from where the second group leaves off, this article explores how the Medicare identity was the result of very specific capitalist property relations that are now fading. The article begins with an analysis of the origins of modern national identities, linking them to the transformation of property relations that characterized the transition to capitalism. It then focuses on the rise of social rights and how these were used to craft social solidarity among disparate individuals and groups in Canada. The next section focuses on globalization and the shift to neoliberalism. The article concludes with a reflection on what the demise of Medicare might mean for Canadian identity.