The Collapse of Canada? (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 169 The Collapse of Canada? Edited by R. Kent Weaver, with contributions by Keith G. Banting, Stéphane Dion, and Andrew Stark. Washington, D.C: The Brookings Institution, 1992. 186 pp. $11.95/Paperback, $28.95/Hardcover. Christopher Sands, M.A. Candidate, SAIS. Canada is again undergoing a unity crisis. Many Americans will remember past crises of the 1980s, and wonder if Canadians are not just conducting business as usual in their own quaint, if hysterical, way. The Collapse of Canada?, written with American readers in mind, is a thoughtful exploration ofthe sea change in Canadian thinking about their country. It is not, in fact, about the collapse of Canada, but about the question mark with which the authors have punctuated the title. For Americans and other outsiders, this book goes a long way in answering why Canada is in crisis again and why this crisis is different from those in the past. In separate chapters, each of the four authors grapples with a piece of the puzzle. R. Kent Weaver considers the role of Canadian political institutions. Stéphane Dion offers his perspective on Quebec nationalism. Andrew Stark explores the trends in English Canadian nationalism. And Keith G. Banting sketches possible resolutions ofthe current round ofconstitutional talks between the federal government in Ottawa and Canada's provinces. Weaver buries his best ideas underneath several pages of textbook political science and laborious history. Readers should not give up too soon on this essay, however. Weaver competently analyses the role that political institutions have played in the constitutional crises that have plagued Canada since its confederation and places appropriate emphasis on the events ofthe past 20 years. Weaver argues that the legitimate role of institutions such as the Canadian Senate, the federal Parliament and the federal Cabinet in the resolution of linguistic and cultural and regional divisions within the country has slowly ebbed. This, he argues, has transformed these rifts among Canadians into chasms, and precipitated the need for institutional reform today, lest Canada itself collapse. Dion and Stark focus on the realm of ideas. Each explores aspects of nationalist thinking in their respective parts of Canada. For the American reader, these two are likely to be the most valuable chapters, since they offer serious and thoughtful answers to the question so often asked on this side ofthe border: why are Canadians even considering tearing their country apart? Dion looks at Quebec nationalism and its roots in the psychology of French Canadians, who, he argues, are drawn to nationalism by three feelings: fear of assimilation, confidence that Quebeckers can prosper on their own, and rejection by the rest of Canada. He contends that these are part of the thinking of most Quebeckers, and when events conspire to awaken all three of these sentiments, Quebec nationalism becomes a force to be reckoned with in Canadian politics. This analysis, which owes much to the work of Dion's father, the distinguished Quebec political scientist Léon Dion, will probably not pass the test of nationalist orthodoxy in Quebec; it suggests that except in extraordinary circumstances, most Quebeckers would be satisfied living under the Canadian federal umbrella. But the younger Dion offers a respectably balanced overview of the issues and 170 SAISREVIEW arguments which have driven Quebec nationalism. American readers will likely benefit from Mr. Dion's insight, though they may wish to continue their reading on the subject before drawing any conclusions. Stark, in one of the most original and valuable pieces in the book, considers the emerging strains of Canadian nationalism, primarily as it has emerged in English Canada. He identifies four principal types of Canadian nationalism: Trudeau nationalism; the progressive/socialist Canadian nationalism of the left; Reform nationalism, espoused by the Western-based Reform Party; and Charter of Rights nationalism, built around the ideals of this 1982 addition to the Canadian Constitution. These forms of Canadian nationalism can trace their roots through history and have largely taken shape in the crucible ofrecent constitutional crises. Stark sometimes seems to forget his audience though, making reference to people and events unlikely to be familiar to most Americans. He nonetheless offers an excellent analysis of the current trends, and places them in...