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I have yet to read Brian Lee Crowley’s The Canadian Century: Moving Out of America’s Shadow but so far everything I have heard makes it the most important book for anyone who cares about Canada’s future. In it Mr. Crowley et al. describe the vision of Canada that Wilfrid Laurier set out more than a century ago. They then describe how this vision can be applied to Canada today and how this vision would lead us to new heights.
Neil Reynolds describes the basic tenants of Sir Laurier’s vision:
1) British Liberty
As someone who likes to read Laurier speeches in his free time I can tell you that Wilfrid Laurier had a very clear idea of what it means to be free. For Laurier and his Liberal contemporaries, liberty meant limited government interference and personal responsibility. People should be able to make their own choices and the role of government is limited to the protection of those rights.
2) A fiscally restrained state
This meant low taxation, at least lower than that of the United States. It meant paying down debt and it meant avoiding deficits. It is important to note here that Canada did very well on this front for most of our history. Mr. Reynolds marks the return to these principles in the 1990s, but the departure was only in the 1960s. It is only with the Pearson and Trudeau governments did Canada abandon the good fiscal sense of Wilfrid Laurier. The 30 years of irresponsibility is a mere hick up in our history, though a very damaging hick up.
3) Self confidence
Sir Laurier believed in Canada and though he respected both the United States and the United Kingdom he felt that Canada should strive to be their equals in world affairs. It is hard to measure what exactly self confidence would look like or how we can achieve it. But we as a nation have to stop our insecure sneering at the Americans.
4) Free trade
A version of free trade was achieved in the 1980s and 1990s. It isn’t completely free trade; NAFTA is an agreement on how to regulate trade not an agreement to end all trade restrictions. Still Canada has moved forward with a free trade agenda. It should be the goal of Canada to be the greatest open port for the markets of the world.
Wilfrid Laurier is undoubtedly (in my mind) the greatest Prime Minister in Canada’s history. His ideas should inspire leaders of all political parties.
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I haven't read the book either but either Crowley's summary of Laurier's vision or Reynolds summary of Crowley's work omits a few fundamental aspects of Laurier's vision for Canada that are equally relevant today.
- He was a firm believer in the rights of provinces. In fact, he was a counterweight to Sir John A on this who believed in a strong central government bordering on a unitarian state with the provinces like beefed up municipalities. Laurier, even as a federal leader, was steadfast in his support for the strength of provincial jurisdictions.
- He was a passionate advocate for multi-culturalism and Quebec's and Catholic central place within Canada. Part of this was a strong belief in the separation of church and state and his ongoing battles against the vicious attacks from the Quebec Catholic church to the point where he had to go to Rome at least twice to get the Pope to get Quebec bishops to stay out of politics and even appoint envoys to station themselves in Canada to police the bishops.
- He was a passionate advocate for an independent Canada and advanced Canada as a nation within the Commonwealth and not just a colony more than ever before. Under Laurier we gained our own say in our own foreign and trade policies away from Britain.
- He believed in compromise and forged balance and compromise - rather than ideals or ideology or extremes - as an inextricable value and character of Canada and Canadians.
- His lifelong passion - a fundamental part of "Canada's Century" - was the importance he put on national unity and all of the above mentioned visions and priorities made this possible and successful, compromise, importance of provinces, independence over colony, separation of church/state, etc.
None of those are separable from his economic policies and all of them are very much a part of his vision of "Canada's Century". All of those things he was most passionate above - the non-economic vision - are what was imprinted most on our national character and what has lead the world as a social and political example of how a modern nation can exist.
So there was a big part of Laurier's vision that did make the 20th Century "Canada's Century". Now we are moving on to the other elements of his vision.
Want to hear something funny, well, kind of sad actually?
Dalton McGuinty considers himself to be a "Laurier Liberal". I'm beginning to think he would look pretty good in a straight-jacket.
When are we going to have proclaimed a Macdonald-Laurier holiday in February?
Potato, do you know if he was quoted anywhere saying that?
Hugh: http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=3011080&p=2
"It seems as if the shifting economic landscape has encouraged Mr. McGuinty to new levels of activism. "For some perverse reason, I'm enjoying it more than ever," he said. "I'm a Laurier Liberal and he said: 'In all human things, there are always abuses to be reformed, new forces to be developed and new horizons to be opened up'."
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