Virtual Sovereignty: Nationalism, Culture and the Canadian Question

by Robert A. Wright

In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, President George W. Bush declared that "every nation in every region now has a decision to either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." Until then, Canada had been contentedly fast-tracking down the post-NAFTA road towards continental integration. Bush's words resurrected an historic sovereignty debate, one that burst into full flame when Canadians, led by Prime Minster Jean Chretien, took the unprecedented decision not to fight alongside their Anglo-American allies in Iraq. Robert Wright argues that Canadians' understanding of notions such as art, culture, unity, identity and sovereignty have always been informed by conflicting forces, most of them beyond the control of ordinary citizens, many beyond the control of governments. He suggests that Canadians are not timid fence-sitters, or apathetic victims of situational forces. Rather, out of conditions of contradiction, paradox and irony, they have developed remarkably sophisticated cultural and political strategies for deriving pleasure, prosperity and peace of mind. Living with contradiction has always been a fact of Canadian life; ambivalence has been the critical framework that has made this living not only possible, but the envy of the world. In Virtual Sovereignty, Wright explores the relationship between modern Canadian nationalism, cultural policy, popular discourse and the lives of ordinary Canadians. One may agree or disagree with the claims of Canadian nationalists, Wright argues, but there can be no disputing their absolutely vital role in the maintenance of national conversation in which all Canadians have a stake.

300 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

About the author

Robert Wright, PhD, is professor of history at Trent University Durham in Oshawa, Ontario. He is the author of the national bestsellers Three Nights in Havana and The Night Canada Stood Still, both of which won the Canadian Authors Association’s Lela Common Award for Canadian History, and Our Man in Tehran, which was made into an award-winning documentary film. He lives in Toronto with his wife and children.