Our leaders have a moral imperative to champion Canada’s liberal-democratic values, the envy of the world

In the fall of 2015, rookie Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an astonishing comment in an interview with the New York Times. The prime minister told journalist Guy Lawson that “Canada would be the world’s first post-national state.” He added: “There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada.” The prime minister’s stunning comment from almost a decade ago foreshadowed the Canada we’re increasingly bearing witness to today: a country with no core identity, and no mainstream to borrow Trudeau’s strangely prophetic words. Growing up in London, Ont., in the 1990s, I knew instinctively from a young age what it meant to be Canadian. As the son of a Canadian-born mother of British descent and an immigrant father born in French Algeria to Spanish and Italian parents, my early exposure to disparate cultures impressed upon me the multicultural mosaic that our country has long been known for. In public school, I learned about Canada’s three founding peoples: English, French, and Indigenous. I learned about multiculturalism, an official government policy that meant everyone was welcome in Canada, and encouraged to retain and celebrate their cultural heritage. In high school, I learned about liberal democracy, fair and free elections, tolerance, diversity, hate speech and respect for authority. I also learned that peaceful, non-violent protest is a cornerstone of our liberal democracy protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. When I was in Grade 10, the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States shook the world to its core influencing public discourse immediately. In spite of this shocking event’s reverberations, what I witnessed among Canadian society was an underlying tolerance and empathy toward the Arab-Muslim community thrust under a glaring spotlight. Throughout my youth, it was impressed upon me that deference to democracy, respectful debate, and pluralism were the Canadian way. These were the values consistently imparted on me by our public education system, and promoted by our civic and political leaders. We were taught to be proud Canadians. We were told that patriotism was a virtue, not a vice. I vividly remember being taught that our Canadian identity was prefaced on common values, not the ethnic nationalism that defines many countries. When he was prime minister, Jean Chrétien was fond of describing Canada as the best country in the world. He concluded nearly every speech with “Vive le Canada!” to thunderous applause. But the patriotic sentiments that were commonplace in my youth are increasingly scarce today. Our leaders no longer wax poetic about Canada’s rich mythology and the liberal-democratic values that have historically underpinned our extremely diverse country. I increasingly don’t recognize the Canada I grew up in. Over the past five years, two seismic events and their ugly aftermath have conspired to divide our citizens: the COVID-19 pandemic and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. Both these black-swan events have tragically laid bare the perils of the post-national state that Trudeau described in 2015. Throughout the pandemic, many Canadians were deeply unsettled by the nature of the protests that engulfed several cities culminating in the Freedom Convoy’s occupation of Ottawa’s downtown core in 2022. I was personally shaken by the vicious personal attacks on Trudeau and our health-care leaders on display at these protests. The rejection of broader social responsibility for the threat that COVID-19 posed was disheartening. Since Oct. 7, protests over the Israel-Hamas War have dominated our cities. Many of these protests have crossed the line when it comes to what can be considered reasonably justified in a liberal-democratic society. In fact, much of the protesters’ behaviour has been decidedly illiberal. Support for the terrorist organization Hamas has been on full display with some brandishing swastikas and placards parroting antisemitic tropes. Many pro-Palestine protesters chant what’s become a familiar refrain: “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”—a controversial phrase perceived by many Jews as a call for Israel’s eradication. Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian encampments have dominated university campuses across Canada. Encampment organizers have attempted to hold university administrations hostage making unreasonable demands. The result has been Jewish students fearing for their physical and emotional safety. Most painful is that attacks on Jewish businesses, schools, and synagogues have become an almost weekly occurrence. These vile acts have led to widespread fear and intimidation amongst Canadian Jews. These acts perpetuate the notion that all Jews are responsible for Israel's actions. Canadians of all backgrounds must reject this thinking, just as we did more than two decades ago when we didn’t hold Arab-Muslims responsible for the actions of the Sept. 11 terrorists. As former prime minister Pierre Trudeau once remarked, liberal democracy can’t allow its liberalism to be turned against itself. That risk is more apparent today than at any other point in my lifetime. Like we saw with the anti-vax protests, angry citizens are propagating hateful rhetoric while occupying public places. But this time, they hail from the progressive left buoyed by the open support of prominent leaders. Our educational, civic, and political leaders all bear a responsibility to champion the pluralism that long defined Canada. To impress upon its citizens that peaceful and respectful protest are integral to the Canadian identity. That freedom of assembly can never be a veil for hate speech and incitement. Relatively young countries like Canada are living, dynamic organisms that must be pruned like a garden. This means embracing and promoting the liberal-democratic values our country was founded upon through our public education system, political discoursem and through national days of historical significance like Canada Day. A recent decision by city organizers to cancel Montreal’s Canada Day parade—citing “red tape and politics”—illustrates just how far down the rung patriotism has fallen as a virtue to be celebrated. The fact the Freedom Convoy protesters were able to appropriate the Canadian flag to advance their narrow cause personifies the risks to a country that no longer stresses patriotism and common values. Liberal democracies will always be home to an assortment of people with different beliefs. But we must be clear that some beliefs are non-negotiable and integral to the Canadian identity. Canada as a post-national state is a recipe for a fractured federation marked by division, lack of respect among citizens, and outright intimidation and hatred. Our leaders have a moral imperative to champion the liberal-democratic values that have made Canada the envy of the world. With the spectre of Quebec separatism creeping back into the spotlight in light of the Parti Québécois’ meteoric rise, how can we build a case for a united country without a belief in our national mission? Andrew Perez is the founding principal at Perez Strategies, a public affairs firm. He’s also a Toronto-based freelance writer, public affairs commentator and political activist. The Hill Times