The National Question in Canadian Development: Permeable Nationalism and the Ideological Basis for Incorporation Into Empire

Abstract

The contradictory character of Canadian nationalism distinguishes it from the nationalisms of other advanced capitalist countries in both content and form. Nationalism in Canada has been constructed in a more associative than dissociative manner in relation to the British and American Empires.1 As in other advanced capitalist countries, the national question in Canada is intertwined with the accumulation strategy pursued by the ruling bloc. The Canadian ruling bloc has had a long history of co-existing, facilitating, and profiting from foreign investments. How has it been able to manage and prevent a popular response to high levels of foreign ownership and continental integration? In this paper, I argue that in the historical formation and articulation of permeable nationalism2 has been an important ideological tool used to support and stabilize the deep integration agenda. Viewed from our perch in 2010, it becomes clear that the popular-nationalist interlude from 1967 to 1984 stands out as an exceptional period of Canadian history.