The 49th Parallel or the 51st State?

How to do Maple Leaf nationalism right

With newly minted Prime Minister Mark Carney in Washington, D.C., Canada will look to find its place in the era of a muscular America and a fading global order. Canadian politics tends to belatedly mimic and then exaggerate Americana from both the left and right. The Liberal victory in the April 28 election provides a unique opportunity to break with the mold and sharply offer a bolder vision: a new form of Maple Leaf nationalism.

Canada has long been integrated into the American orbit, but even more so in recent times. Justin Trudeau’s father, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, was fiercely independent as Prime Minister. His task was to affirmatively establish what it meant to be Canada in the 1970s as the country sought true autonomy from Great Britain and in the face of rising separatism in Quebec. In many ways, he was a Canadian nationalist—and unapologetically Canada First, albeit at the expense of provincial rights.

After the end of the Cold War, the development of a Canadian nationalist ethos fell by the wayside. NAFTA eroded independent Canadian industry. The country’s identity slid towards the superficial, centering on hockey and beer. Most of all, being Canadian became reflexively about not being American. This meant pride in socialized services and milquetoast multiculturalism while ignoring the reality that these constructs were indulged via a free ride of (80-90 percent) integration with the world’s economic superpower.

The election of Barack Obama was a further disaster for Canadian politics. He was the image of America-lite that emotionally resonated with Canadians. His policies and movement could be aspirationally Canadian. Increased immigration. Multiculturalism. Socialized programs. The era led to a comingling of politics and the elite, including the policy apparatus across both sides of the aisle.

The notion of an independent Canada that could forge a proud nationalist identity left the station. With the rise of Trump in the mid-to-late 2010s, the elite coalesced on both sides of the border to sing the songs of opposition. Slogans became one and the same across the political spectrum. Black Lives Matter. Believe all women. Somehow, the case of Harvey Weinstein and the death of George Floyd were also Canadian issues of national import.

The unmooring of Canadian cultural independence dovetailed with inescapable economic dependency. When Biden returned the Democrats to power amidst the COVID pandemic, it further decimated Canadiana. The addiction to fiscal irresponsibility was put into hyperdrive north of the border just as it was in Washington, eschewing the budgetary balance championed by the previous incarnation of Mark Carney as a central banker (which had enabled Canada to sustain itself with strength during the global financial crisis).

As happened with the American left, the sloganeering of attacking the country’s foundations became mainstream. Even the foundational notions of an origin story laid down in the prominent Heritage Minutesseries to try to put forward a shared history and identity became taboo. The peer-pressured silencing of any dissent relegated Canada’s politics to an alphabetized soap opera of acronyms.

The harsh reality is that America is still the global power and monetary driver, while Canada is not. The United States can print its own money with abandon and still have a stronger currency than most of the world. It could question its core because, whatever it was showing culturally, its global power would always be its foundational frame, Democratic or Republican.

By the beginning of 2024, the problems in Canada were out in the open. This even caused then-Prime Minister Trudeau to reverse the government’s pro-immigration stance. Yet, what is affirmatively Canadian is still defined as not being American: multiculturalism and socialized services. This is why every political platform descends to a combination of new spending and rallies with diaspora communities. Canada is its parts, and there is no sum.

Canada First

Enter 2025, and Canada's very existence was put on the table. If Canadian power does not derive from the U.S., where does it come from? What does it mean to be Canadian? What is Canada? Politicians have no choice but to awaken from their slumber in such an environment. But their instincts are stuck in a deepening frame of underestimating American power and echoing the politics of discontent.

Nationalism and national identity, however, require an appeal to intrinsic national power and even chauvinism, not intangible global values or an apparitional rules-based order. After a decade of chipping away at the depth of Canadian identity, the political establishment still showcases “I am Canadian” by holding a beer and playing hockey.

Yet this is not Maple Leaf nationalism, but rather the artificial syrup of a hollow identity. To truly move forward, there needs to be a national reckoning of what it means to say, “I am Canadian.” An authentic, not performative, coherence must be built from this. The result should acknowledge shortcomings as a nation—yes—but also pride in Canada's greatness, including how it got there, in its history, in its heroes, and all its hues—brown, black, and white.

In a complex world where every country is flawed, racist, and has done evil, original sins are everywhere. They must be acknowledged, addressed, and redressed. But they cannot be wielded to disintegrate national identity.

Surviving in an America First World

Ultimately, identity can only take a nation so far. A country needs the tools of power, namely military and monetary might, especially for one as large as Canada. The last 80 years are not instructive, as they were defined by an American monetary and military umbrella. Achieving true sovereignty will require asking real questions and arriving at solutions.

What is needed for Canada to defend its Arctic border without America? How can Canada build high-speed rail at the rate of China? When can Canada have its own car companies emerge? What is the strong economic and cultural frame that can sustainably support multiculturalism and socialized services?

The truth is that Canada and Canadians have not had to be masters of their destiny, perhaps ever. That time has arrived. And the conversation is just beginning.

Is Prime Minister Mark Carney up to the task to lead the way?