Most people today, will not know of Hugh Maclennan. In his day, he was a well-known Canadian author. One of his best-selling novels, published in 1945, was Two Solitudes which dealt with the perceived lack of communication between English and French-speaking Canadians.
I was reminded of Maclennan and that book, which I studied in school, on Friday as I watched Canada Day activities in Ottawa, but for quite another reason than the differences between French-speaking and English- speaking Canadians.
The atmosphere in Ottawa this long weekend was festive but subdued. It was also significantly different than any other national Canada Day celebration that I can remember.
The good news is that the level of disruption and violence was not nearly as high as anticipated. This was due in part to much better preparedness by Ottawa police and Capital officials and also by a change in strategy by the so-called Freedom marchers.
On Thursday evening James Topp, a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces who was fired for refusing to obey COVID-19 vaccination mandates, completed his cross-country march to the National War Memorial in Ottawa to protest those mandates.
At his side, as they marched toward the War Memorial, cheered on by hundreds of people, was Pierre Poilievre, the self-proclaimed leader of the ‘Freedom Movement’ and a front-running candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. As they surrounded the War Memorial, with ‘freedom’ and convoy memorabilia plentifully in evidence, it almost seemed to me like a victory march and an occupying force.
The next day in Ottawa, Canada Day, actually saw two major events marking that day—each competing with the other. The official Canada Day Celebration, traditionally held on Parliament Hill, was moved, primarily for security reasons, to a park several blocks away. A park that is little known outside of Ottawa.
Meanwhile, the so-called ‘Freedom Movement’ held their own celebration at the National War Memorial, a stone’s throw from Parliament Hill, with James Topp leading it off with our National Anthem.
The symbolism here, at least to me, is striking, if not chilling; a National Government’s recognition of Canada Day, moved away from Parliament Hill and those who oppose the government, some on record to over-throw it, celebrating on the edge of the seat of Parliament.
Although overall attendance in Ottawa on Canada Day was significantly down, it was also disturbing to see, judging by the naked eye, that attendance at these two events that ran simultaneously was pretty well equal.
I am sure that to most Canadians the biggest takeaway from celebrations in Ottawa this weekend was that there was minimal violence and disruption. To me, however, a closer look at what really took place there shines a new and somewhat frightening light on the relevance of “Two Solitudes,” in relation to Canadian culture.
We have a tug of war going on here and frankly, I do not know who is winning.
The ‘Freedom Movement,’ in my view, is not about freedom, and yet it is clearly gaining traction in Canada. It is a movement that challenges the right of government to make decisions in the national interest. Its tactics include misinformation and fostering fear, and it embraces extremism and Trumpism.
And if they ever do gain power, this movement would also want that same right to make decisions. They would likely fire the head of the Bank of Canada and radically change our monetary system. They would undermine many of our traditional Institutions. They would challenge or ignore scientific recommendations related to public health, and they would rank individual rights well ahead of the common good.
Recently, James Moore, a former Conservative Cabinet Minister said, “Importing toxic American culture wars on abortion, guns or race, into Canada in order to instigate fights between Canadians for partisan gain is indefensibly dangerous politics. It is cheap, splits communities and should be confronted and rejected.”
I agree with that assessment, but would add to the list the deliberate misinformation related to COVID-19 vaccinations and other mandates as well as the increase in civil unrest and the unfortunate need for increased security.
It regularly amazes me to read or hear of so many people who willingly embrace disinformation. Just this morning I saw this on social media: “I would never get on a plane with a pilot who has been vaccinated. People who have been vaccinated suddenly die with no warning at an alarming rate. It is only a matter of time that this will turn deadly. Shame on government for allowing this. This isn’t safe.”
Really? Do people believe this stuff? Are we that vulnerable to people who feed us this crap for their own political gain? I wonder. And I worry.
I am a proud Canadian. I continue to believe we are living in the best country in the world. I reject extremism and I fear we are heading in that direction on both the left and the right of the political spectrum. We are becoming increasingly polarized, and we are creating two solitudes in Canada that could inevitably clash with devastating consequences.
In my view, we desperately need a political middle ground in Canada. The Liberals with their NDP counterparts are moving too far to the left, and the Conservatives are courting right-wing extremism.
The battle for the heart and soul of the Conservative Party will play out in September. If, as anticipated, it elects an extremist leader, then perhaps the time will have come to consider the great void in the middle, where in my view, most Canadians are. Could that be a new political party?
Stay tuned.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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The world operates best on compromise, which allows some room for personal differences, regional variability and traditions. Extremism allows for none of this. If it is based on science that actually works an extreme and simplistic approach will indeed get things done quickly but at what overall cost it is hard to say. If it is based on lies and falsehoods then it simply does not work and spells disaster for the long term. People get marginalized, good ideas never see the light of day and bad, divisive or unworkable ideas get pushed into action, only to fail shortly thereafter.
I think Hugh Holland says it all pretty well. We should not be trying to follow the USA on this one as we can clearly see that their approach is not working.
As for Trump, if you or any somewhat normal person did the crazy things Trump did in a normal life, let alone that of the President, it is highly likely that you’d be observing the world from behind bars. Yet despite this very close to half the USA politicians still seem to think he is their best hope. If he is there best hope, then there is pretty much no hope.
I am glad there was subdued atmosphere in Ottawa and commend the law enforcement planning and action. It had to be a different celebration this year, in my view (from the shadow of recently discovered unmarked graves and the chaos of the “free-dumb” movement). We have a lot to consider as Canadians.
No surprise here that I abhor “political populism” -one which inflames rather than tempers fear and anger -whether it is a political party or some media sites (in the business for ratings and attention). Lately, there are common positions without reliable information and lots of “nutsy disinformation” to the frightened.
As you mention “Two Solitudes”, what is Not New are the tensions in east-west Canada and those between English-speaking and French-speaking cultures and society. This has always presented challenges for our federal leaders to navigate.
Finally, it has been written that PP will bring the party “together” after his leadership win. I suggest that is delusional thinking and rhetoric. He may not bring the party down, but will delineate some clear lines in the sand for voters who are unable to embrace some of his views -some informed, some not.
Those like Pierre Poilievre who embrace the brand of “freedom” spilling into Canada across our southern border need to give their heads a good shake. A record one million Americans died of Covid 19 after the Trump-Republicans set the tone against science-based vaccination. That is more than 3 times the Covid death rate in Canada.
The Trump-packed SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the US) is now also hyper-partisan and has lost its legitimacy as an unbiased arbiter of the constitution and the law. SCOTUS upended a principle on women’s rights that has been settled in the civilized world for over 50 years. Yesterday on the 4th of July, just days after SCOTUS struck down a New York State Law prohibiting open carry of handguns, the US experienced its 308th mass shooting in half a year. That’s 2 mass shootings every single day. And last week, another SCOTUS ruling gutted the authority of the US Environmental Protection Agency to mitigate climate-changing coal-fired electricity generation. SCOTUS said congress needs to pass those laws, not the EPA. We all know that will never happen unless Republicans lose both the senate and the house.
The world needs the leadership of a strong and principled America. But due to self-serving hyper-partisanship in all three branches of government; congress, the senate, and now the Supreme Court, America has become a slow-moving train wreck. Beware of Poilievre and his ilk. When Conservatives and all Canadians go to the polls, we must consider what kind of country we want our children and grandchildren to live in. We must look more to Europe and look less to the USA.
Excellent commentary Hugh. And I haven’t thought about Two Solitudes in a long while – time for a re-read.
Canada Day felt woefully blah to me too. We hung a new Canadian flag in honour of the day but as it unfurled I felt as much angst as I did pride. Then, upon reading that PP – likely the next leader of the Conservative Party – was marching with the occupiers further inflaming their misguided or malevolent views, we went for a walk in nature to try to regain some sense of joy in the day.
I’m beginning to think that the ‘orange menace’ that previously occupied the White House had some good ideas about a wall- except this one would be between Canada and the U.S. Something non-porous that could even keep out the mind virus that seems to be infecting us too.
Canada actually has a “middle of the road” party. A party that could be called a party of Common Sense.
Unfortunately, that party is largely ignored by both, the left and the right-leaning populations, because its policies deal with inconvenient truths.
Its concerns are things that actually matter for LIFE, such as a healthy environment and a balanced climate. The party I am talking about is concerned with the quality of future lives, lives of our generation’s grandchildren and their children.
But these concerns are not palatable enough for the majority of the population because the majority is concerned only with their own selfish ego-driven myopic desires for immediate “well-being” – aka excessive consumerism. The majority of the population does not sufficiently care about the quality of life of their own descendants.
The party I am talking about is the Green Party.
Hugh, it truly was sad watching the going ons in Ottawa, this Canada Day weekend. I understand that there were over 300 vehicles towed on Canada Day without the government having to pass the “Emergencies Act” again. The Prime Minister still ignored the other half of those visiting the Capital, cowering instead, with his people,( Canadians in his opinion, who matter), those who capitulate to whatever the Prime Minister and his hand picked handful of bobble head minions prescribe. Canada can not be considered a free country when so many of it’s citizens are completely ignored by those in power. Ignoring differing opinions is not the answer to Unity, it is the recipe to rage and violence. Building big walls and adding platoons of armed guards around the tent won’t solve any problems this country has. If we want Harmony in Canada we must pull back the flap to the tent and invite everyone inside to have a seat around the fire. We tried to suppress Indigenous Peoples and look where that got us. Have we learned nothing?
Excellent editorial, Hugh. My thoughts and concerns exactly. This was the most joyless Canada Day in my very long memory. The protesters and their political allies have appropriated our flag and our national celebration. In the U.S., the enemy has breached the gate and here in Canada we are seeing the same ominous signs of democracy under very real threat. Pity.