Frenette, Yves
‘Conscripting Canada’s past: the Harper Government and the politics of memory’, Canadian Journal of History, 49, Spring-Summer, 2014, pp. 49-65
The author argues that the conservative Canadian government is reconstructing Canada’s past to serve a broader project of reconstructing the nation.
Moreover, he presents the various strategies they have deployed to remake Canada’s history in their own image: the increased emphasis on military history and on the ties that bind Canadians to the monarchy; the endeavour to cast the War of 1812 and the First World War as foundational events in the making of modern Canada; the creation of the Canadian Museum of History. The author also discusses the dismantling of Library and Archives Canada, the main repository of the nation’s memory. (abstract)
The article is of particular interest, given Australian prime minister Abbott’s emphasis on ties with Canada during his visit of June 2014 and the agreement between the Australian War Memorial and the Canadian War Museum for co-operative commemorative work. The Toronto Sun commented on Frenette’s article. Frenette talks about the article.
