The editor of a new book examining Canadian history says he wants to challenge the notion that Canada is a “genocidal” nation-state that deserves to have its historical figures cancelled.
“You don’t have to deny the wrongs of the past. In fact, everyone should be aware of them. But a proper understanding of the past is what we’re trying to provide in the 1867 Project, as well as dive into some current controversies.”
The book, set to be released on July 1, contains writings from 20 authors that examine subjects like critical race theory and identity politics, as well as important figures of Canadian history, through an objective lens.
Some of the book’s authors include Queen’s University law professor Bruce Pardy, who examines critical race theory and Canada’s “compromised” institutions; media personality and Conservative candidate for Durham region Jamil Jivani, who talks about the error of Canadians’ “self-loathing”; and scholar Chris Champion, who writes about the reality of the British Empire and its impact on the world.
The name of the book, “The 1867 Project,” refers to the year Canada was founded, and appears to be a play on “The 1619 Project” developed by a New York Times journalist on the theme of slavery in the United States.
Founding Fathers
Milke, who is also president of the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy, a think tank that aims to renew a “common-sense approach to public discourse and public policy in Canada,” compared the country to a “massive oak tree that has sheltered a lot of people,” but that has a diseased limb.
He said the “chattering classes” think that the oak tree should be taken down, “as opposed to pruning off the limb.”“The proper thing to do when you see a limb that isn’t quite right is to prune it, and you make the tree stronger. But we have people today that literally want to cancel Canada. It’s a bit of a cliche by now—cancel culture—but it’s true and it happens too often,” he said, referring to the city of Calgary’s recent attempt to cancel Canada Day fireworks.
Milke said many people in Canada look back at the country’s historical figures and believe they should have been perfect, which he said shows “impatience and a moral arrogance.” He pointed out that Canada’s founding fathers were classical liberals that believed in the rights of individuals.
“Now, they didn’t do it perfectly. Indigenous folk were often ignored, and institutional racism was a real problem. But I think, looking back and expecting 1867 [and] the founders to be perfect is part of the problem,” Milke said. “Nobody today is perfect.”
“And it also misunderstands the point of understanding or grasping history, at least in a liberal democracy like Canada,” he added. “The ideas that came out of the 19th century provided the very base for us to extend the franchise to women [and] to indigenous peoples, to open up immigration to a much richer and deeper variety of people than ever before.”
Milke said the book is divided into three sections, with the first one examining some of the recent claims such as whether Canada is an institutionally racist country, the rise of identity politics, and the “cancelling” of some university professors and journalists.
The middle section of the book looks at some of the “misunderstandings” around many important figures in Canadian history, such as British Columbia’s first Chief Justice Matthew Begbie, and architect of Canada’s Residential School system Egerton Ryerson.
The final section of the book explores how to “renew Canada” with a new identity built on a more positive message.
“The last part of the book is, is there a potential for Canada to be free and [have a] flourishing future? The answer to that is yes, if we unite around ... laudable ideas that can be shared by all, instead of dividing people up,” Milke said.
