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  • Introduction
  • Jatinder Mann

To mark the historic 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, the British Association for Canadian Studies (BACS) held its 42nd annual conference at Canada House in London on 20–22 April 2017. A beautifully restored heritage building on Trafalgar Square, Canada House exhibits an impressive collection of Canadian art and design, and functions as the Canadian High Commission in the United Kingdom (UK). The conference was a tremendous success, showcasing the excellent research on Canadian Studies in the UK and internationally.

The conference consisted of six keynote addresses by eminent scholars or government ministers, and 120 papers (including six special panels). There were over 150 conference participants in total. A highlight of the conference was the pre-recorded interview with Margaret Atwood in conversation with Coral Ann Howells. The conference also featured a keynote by then Minister for Canadian Relations and Francophonie in the Government of Québec, the Hon. Jean-Marc Fournier: 'Québécois, our way of being Canadian'. Other keynotes were delivered by Colin Coates, Will Kymlicka, Guy Laforest, and Jocelyn Letourneau, all leading scholars in their fields. In addition, special panels examined 'The North', 'Citizenship, Diversity, Identity, Indigeneity, and Migration', 'The Current State of Canadian Studies in the UK', 'Canada–UK Relations', 'Canadian Cultural Exports', and 'Issues in Canada–UK–EU Higher Education'. Overall, 'Canada 150' was both broad-ranging and topical in the subjects addressed.

BACS annual conferences are by nature interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary, and 'Canada 150' was no exception, with papers on Indigenous studies, history, politics, law, sociology, geography, literature, linguistics, film, art, memory, and heritage studies. As an event marking a significant anniversary, the conference attracted presenters from 15 countries, including as far away as Australia. But it would be misleading to characterise the conference as a 'celebration' of the sesquicentennial. While some papers reflected the positive achievements of Canada over the past 150 years, others took a much more critical view of the nation's history, particularly in relation to Indigenous peoples. It was especially good to see a diplomatic mission of the Canadian federal government willing to host a conference that took a balanced view of the nation's history, rather than simply glorifying it. [End Page 129]

The articles included in this special issue reflect the high standard of papers delivered at the conference and represent several disciplines: Indigenous studies, anthropology, history, politics, literature, heritage studies, and memory studies. The authors reflect the full spectrum of academic scholars, including MA and PhD students, early career researchers, and tenured academics, based on three different continents.

Christina Keppie's contribution reflects upon the frequent absence of cultural minorities from national commemorative events. Yet minority commemorative events can also help to maintain ideologies imposed on the minority's general population by their cultural elite. Providing a synthesis of ideological evidence based in Acadian commemorative events, this project asserts the importance of ethnographic work in the study of small 'nations'. Drawing upon a collection known as the 2004 ArtcaDIT corpus, collected by Le Musée acadien du Québec, Keppie's article outlines the results of a short content analysis of transcribed oral testimonies by New Brunswick Acadians who reflect on the impact and purpose of the 2004 Acadian Quadricentennial Celebration. The pattern of responses suggests that views among New Brunswick Acadians do in fact corroborate the Acadian national ideology imposed by the Acadian elite, who have sought cultural minority protection of l'Acadie moderne through linguistic rights and duality. A number of testimonies also suggest a lingering adherence to traditional Acadian views that emphasise the importance of history and genealogy. Keppie invites further study of ideologies in other Acadian regions.

Mathias Rodorff's article examines the role played by the desire to maintain the connection to the 'mother country' in the movements for and against Confederation in Nova Scotia in the 1860s. In an age pre-dating opinion polls, newspapers provided a crucial medium for expressing views. Contemporary editorials offer important insights into the opinions of Nova Scotians towards Confederation during the critical debates about remaining in or leaving the Dominion of Canada. They also illuminate fears of breaking the affiliation with the UK to achieve the repeal of their admission...

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