Continental Divide

There was a time not so long ago when being a Canadian victim of U.S. domination was all the rage. In the glorious 1960s and the not-so–glorious early ’70s, Canada was young, hip and irreverent; Canadian nationalism was at its height; and American imperialism was at yet another post-war peak (nadir?). In these heady days, a generation of Canadians was taught that Canada was a colony or, at the very least, a dependency of the United States, and that Canadians should fight for their country.

Many heeded the call, and, in retrospect, Canadians became interested in themselves in a way that they have rarely been—nationalist policies were pushed, commissions created, Canadian studies programs launched, CanCon regulations imposed. It was actually popular to be a member of something called the Committee for an Independent Canada. (Full disclosure: born in 1970, I missed all this fun.) Much of the fury against American domination happened on university campuses, where young...