Canadians don’t know their history, and it’s holding us back as a nation
By Lethbridge Herald on February 7, 2025.
Bill Whitelaw – TROY MEDIA
To the south, “Manifest Destiny.” To the north, “Peace, Order, and Good Government.” These constitutional principles define starkly different national identities—one rooted in individualism, the other in collectivism.
Manifest destiny may sound like a relic of 19th-century history, but it remains deeply embedded in the American psyche. Until Donald Trump’s inauguration speech, many Canadians had likely never encountered the term. Yet it explains much about American ambition and unity—qualities often absent in Canada.
Trump’s speech revived the ethos of manifest destiny, framing it as a modern call to action: “The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation … We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars.” Stirring and unapologetically ambitious, it was bellicose populism at its finest—rallying the troops while feeding the voracious ego of a leader who thrives on division.
For Canadians, such rhetoric is foreign. Unity here often feels elusive, and our leaders rarely invoke it with the same fervour. The closest Canadian equivalent might be Sir John A. Macdonald’s National Policy, a 19th-century strategy designed to solidify the young country’s unity. Yet, ask 100 Canadians about it today, and half would respond, “Who is Macdonald anyway?” Let alone his policy.
This historical amnesia is troubling. Without a clear sense of our national identity, we face challenges ill-prepared. We squabble among ourselves, making plenty of noise about national unity but offering little substance or direction. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to expand its influence and ambitions, waving the four aces of manifest destiny in its poker hand almost daily.
Manifest destiny was the belief that the U.S. was divinely ordained to expand westward, a conviction that still inspires American ambition. Trump’s speech revived this ethos, rallying unity while excluding those outside its vision.
As Canadians, we must ask: what’s our version of manifest destiny? What vision unites us?
Canada’s National Policy offers a potential answer. Macdonald used it to foster unity by linking an established East with a growing West. It relied on tariffs to protect Canadian businesses from cheaper U.S. imports, encouraged immigration, and built infrastructure like the transcontinental railway. Above all, it aimed to keep American influence at bay.
Westward expansion highlights the contrast between Canada and the U.S. Both nations offered settlers 160 acres to entice westward settlement. In the U.S., there was little government intervention, and rapid, aggressive acquisition was encouraged. In Canada, the government maintained control, dictating who could settle and imposing stewardship requirements. Of course, both nations’ expansions came at the expense of Indigenous communities, a shameful legacy we must also acknowledge.
This difference—unchecked ambition versus collective management—reflects our national ethos: “Peace, Order, and Good Government.” Yet most Canadians today are unaware of how these principles shaped our history.
Canada faces internal divisions, regional disparities, and global pressures—challenges that demand unity but lack a shared purpose.
Americans, for better or worse, remain inspired by their national mythos. Trump’s rhetoric may have been divisive, but it was undeniably stirring. By contrast, Canadians haven’t heard such a unifying call in generations.
Revisiting the National Policy could help Canadians recover their sense of self. Its vision of linking a stable East with a growing West carried a unifying purpose rooted in pragmatism. Canadians today value “peace, order, and good government,” but many have lost sight of its origins and its potential to guide us forward.
It’s time to rediscover our history. Historians could help Canadians—and their leaders—reconnect with the principles that shaped our nation. Perhaps it’s time for a “National Policy 101,” where historians could reintroduce us to the ideas that once held the country together.
Regardless of your views on Trump, his words remind us of the power of a unifying vision. It’s time for Canadians to find their own. “Peace, Order, and Good Government” may lack the bravado of manifest destiny, but it is uniquely ours—and it’s worth rallying behind.
Bill Whitelaw is a director and advisor to many industry boards, including the Canadian Society for Evolving Energy, which he chairs. He speaks and comments frequently on the subjects of social licence, innovation and technology, and energy supply networks.The views, opinions and positions expressed by all Troy Media columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of Troy Media.
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To “rediscover our history”, as Mr. Whitelaw suggests, Canadians must be willing to acknowledge that that “the principles that shaped our nation” are rooted in settler colonialism. Any “National Policy” omitting the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report will only succeed in repeating the past.
https://www.queensu.ca/ctl/resources/decolonizing-and-indigenizing/what-decolonization-what-indigenization
indeed – while we did not trumpet “manifest destiny”, we were caught up in colonialist ignorance.
trump is pissing me off. and while he purportedly enjoys being pissed on, he seems to like pissing on everyone else.
so, we have a man rumoured to enjoy golden showers yapping about bringing the usa into its “golden age.” he will of course be doing as much quite forcibly – like the predator he has bragged about being…you know, having bragged about grabbing women because they like to be grabbed…. he uttered roughly as much; this is not made up – it was replayed numerous times on tape way back when he was making his first run on the white house.
of course, being an aggressive predator is quite different than having consensual adult interactions, regardless of what one’s tastes and limits may be. still, it seems trump tramples forward with a delusional belief in “manifest destiny”, equating that idiocy with his idea of what is a “golden age”. together, though, they may be the basis upon which he plays out his predilections: the combining of predation with golden showers. the usa has had some doozy presidents in terms of their sleaze and lies and utter wickedness, but the one now is likely to set that bar so low that not even a fruit fly could limbo under it.
if one wonders about what inspires a love of urine (mind you, relieving the bladder after a long hold sure does feel good), here is some insight. and, while pee has been used, among other things, to tan leather, it seems possible trumps uses it to tan himself.
“Donald Trump has decried it a ‘POLITICAL WITCH HUNT’, but sensational reports about his alleged ‘perverted sexual acts’ in a Moscow hotel have rocked his ascendancy to the White House.
Of the unsubstantiated claims, it’s perhaps those relating to the President-elect’s supposed penchants which have captured the public imagination.
‘Watersportgate’, ‘PEETUS’ and ‘Yes wee can’ are just some of the phrases and monikers which have emerged since the unverified dossier was, ahem, leaked.
Whatever the truth behind the documents, ‘urophilia’ (also known as undinism, golden shower and watersports) is under the spotlight.
Golden showers: Perverted conduct?Urophilia, when a person is sexually aroused with the sight or thought of urine, is a type of paraphilia which is – bear with us – an unusual sexual interest. Regardless of Trump’s alleged motivations behind his alleged decision to have prostitutes allegedly urinate over the joint, from a psychological stance, urophilia is not a “perversion”. ”
https://www.mirror.co.uk/science/reasons-people-enjoy-golden-showers-9603027