Lived Fictions: Unity and Exclusion in Canadian Politics by John Grant (review)

This book proposes a critical theory of unity and the political imaginaries that perpetuate Canadian society. Grant writes that the desire to achieve unity–the idea that people can 'become one'–is central to political theory. He argues that the examination of belonging and unity 'uncovers the unavoidable reality of exclusion within political units' (p. 4, original emphasis). Grant dissects constitutionalism, reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, the welfare state, and multiculturalism to demonstrate what he refers to as Canada's 'lived fictions'. His analysis brilliantly redefines the boundaries of scholarly interrogation on questions of belonging and inequality.

Grant roots his conception of lived fictions in the imaginaries–the notion that we as people are actively imagining the structure of our lives, how we belong, and how we do not belong in the world around us. Political imaginaries, according to Grant, are concerned with our understanding of political belonging, legitimacy of the state, and the expectations between state and citizens. Thus 'lived fictions', he writes, are 'socially effective illusions' (p. 6). The illusion does not necessarily disqualify meaning. Grant observes that what is lived is often invented, and that what is invented is often lived, therefore it simply exists. In his examination of multiculturalism, Grant dissects the illusion between Lester Pearson's contention that 'diverse cultures … create[d] the Canada that is ours today' and the troubling legislative policy record of the past (p. 183). He argues that the Chinese Head Tax, the Act to Amend the Immigration Act (1919), the internment of Japanese Canadians, and the residential school system are 'examples of how diversity was managed, excluded, and extinguished' (p. 184). Thus, by praising Canada for its primordial diversity, Grant argues that 'the state has to explain its failure to do so consistently–or to do so at all during certain periods in the country's history' (p. 184).

Grant's analysis cautions Canadians to think critically about what Canada is. He suggests that the current Liberal government's policy record on refugees, electoral reform, and a nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous peoples demonstrates 'a reverence for and devotion to ideals but neglect of their practice' (p. 242). Grant warns that the ways these policies were portrayed and have been received 'pose a danger by strengthening the conditions of lived fictions' (p. 242). In essence, Grant's critical conclusions about the Trudeau government are a testament to how Canada has covered up the 'antagonisms and exclusions that were central to constructing' its 'political terrain' (p. 242).

John Grant's analysis in Lived Fictions makes an important contribution to the literature on multiculturalism, belonging, immigration, citizenship, and identity in Canada. In particular his assessment of lived fictions will encourage further critical inquiry and invite avenues of analysis that continue to challenge the liberal-order framework through a political lens.