The Atlantic Challenge: How Political Science Understands Canada’s Smallest Region

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how Canadian political science portrays Atlantic Canada, along with some of the consequences of persistent misrepresentations. I first explore traditional portrayals of Atlantic Canada as well as arguments challenging those conceptions, demonstrating that it is no longer appropriate to treat Atlantic Canada as primarily defined by either economic processes or common political culture. I then survey the Canadian Journal of Political Science, Canadian Public Administration and Canadian Public Policy to determine the extent to which discussions of Atlantic Canada still, (a) emphasize economic phenomena, and (b) assume a common Atlantic political culture. I find that, while political scientists are now less likely to study the region in terms of economic phenomena, they still perpetuate outdated depictions of Atlantic political culture. This tendency results in a certain degree of methodological imprecision and reinforces problematic assumptions about Atlantic political life.     

Appropriation,Absence and the Canadian Studies Classroom

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on “appropriation of voice” or “cultural appropriation” in the Canadian Studies classroom. It is aimed at instructors who teach Canadian Literature outside Canada, in places where Canada is itself a strange, foreign or even exotic country. Keeping classroom practice in mind, I divide the article into three sections. The first provides a classroom-oriented overview of appropriation debates; the second looks at tokenism on reading lists; the third reflects on problems of absence or of dealing with canonical texts that skim over Canada’s Indigenous Peoples—specifically, by analyzing two brief examples from Stephen Leacock’s Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912) and one from Anne Michaels’s Fugitive Pieces (1996).     

Public Attitudes toward Official Bilingualism in Canada: Making Sense of Regional and Subregional Variation

ABSTRACT

Pierre Trudeau’s vision of Canada’s cultural policy was situated within a bilingual framework. Canada, so conceived, has “no official culture” and two official languages. Nearly 50 years later, debates regarding the effects and broader significance of this policy combination persist as illustrated by the recent debate about Supreme Court judges. Yet, Canadians’ attitudes about bilingualism have received relatively little scholarly attention. This paper probes the structure and recent evolution of public attitudes toward the general idea of official bilingualism using the Survey on Official Languages (2003) and the Canadian Election Studies (1997–2011). It goes on to investigate regional differences in public support for bilingual Supreme Court judges using a large-scale survey conducted by Vox Pop Labs in 2015 (n = 291, 577). The combination of these data sources offers new insights into the contextual and individual-level determinants of regional differences in public attitudes toward bilingualism policy in Canada.     

Correspondence: ‘TLS’ Reviewing

Colonial Leviathan: State Formation in Mid‐Nineteenth Century Canada edited by Allan Greer and Ian Radforth. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992. Pp. xii + 328. £36.00 (hardback); £14.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–8020–5931–7; 0–8020–6871–5.

True Government by Choice Men? Inspection, Education, and State Formation in Canada West by Bruce Curtis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992. Pp.ix + 250. £36.00 (hardback); £14.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–8020–5967–8; 0–8020–6894–4.

Britain and the Origins of Canadian Confederation, 1837–67 by Ged Martin. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan, 1995. Pp.xi + 388. £47.50 (hardback). ISBN 0–333–52288–5.

Ex Uno Plures: Federal‐Provincial Relations in Canada, 1867–1896 by Garth Stevenson. Montreal and Kingston: McGill‐Queen's University Press, 1994. Pp.xi + 401. £38.50 (hardback). ISBN 0–7735–0986–0.     

Féministes tant qu’il le faudra! The multiple possibilities of francophone feminist geographies au Québec/Canada

Abstract

This article offers a brief overview of the development of francophone feminist geography in Canada. We begin by situating the review geographically, in order to explain our focus on francophone feminist geography produced in Québec. We then discuss the origins of feminist francophone geography in the 1980s, highlighting the central role of the student reading group, the Collectif de lecture sur l’espace et les femmes, that was formed during that period at l’Université Laval. Tracing the research trajectories of feminist geographical research since then, we argue that feminist geography has become more diverse, but ironically less visible. We conclude by highlighting the central role that graduate and undergraduate students play in pushing forward a feminist geography agenda as they demonstrate the importance of feminist politics era through their research and activism.     

They say ‘kids with asthma don’t play sports’: geographies of asthma

ABSTRACT

Asthma is common among children worldwide. Although complex, physical activity participation is important in asthma management, to decrease chronic disease risk, and to facilitate healthy lifestyles for children. Team sport participation is a common way for children to engage in physical activity, but the spaces in which team sport is experienced can present social, physical and emotional challenges for children with asthma. This research aims to understand elements of the environment, broadly defined, that impact experiences of asthma in sport. In-depth interviews were conducted with youth team sport athletes (n?=?11) diagnosed with asthma, and youth team sport coaches (n?=?18) in Ontario, Canada. Results suggest that understanding the physical and social needs of child and youth athletes, and ensuring well-controlled asthma, are critical to maximizing performance and improving quality of life for asthmatic athletes.     

Loyalists and lairds: The politics and society of Upper Canada reconsidered

The Lion, the Eagle, and Upper Canada: A Developing Colonial Ideology by Jane Errington. Kingston and Montreal: McGill‐Queen's University Press, 1987. Pp.272. $30.00.

The Idea of Loyalty in Upper Canada, 1784–1850 by David Mills. Kingston and Montreal: McGill‐Queen's University Press, 1988. Pp.x + 238. $27.95.

Becoming Prominent: Regional Leadership in Upper Canada, 1791–1841 by J.K. Johnson. Kingston and Montreal: McGill‐Queen's University Press, 1989. Pp.ix + 277. $29.95.

Attitudes to Social Structure and Mobility in Upper Canada 1815–1840: ‘Here We Are Laird Ourselves’ by Peter A. Russell. Lewiston/ Queenston/Lampeter: Edwin Mellen Press, 1990. Pp.213. US$59.95.     

Selling Clothes: Textile and Clothing Advertisements in the Public Record Office

Abstract

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the shawls worn by certain women on the Great Plains of North America identified them as being Germans from Russia (GFR). Having settled in Russia for a century before relocating to the grassy plains of North and South America, attracted by the promise of land ownership and freedom from oppression, these Germans created a distinctive community. Their shawls served as shibboleth, a custom or usage that distinguishes one group of people from others. Over a century later, in the USA and Canada, these shawls are still found among GFR families who recall the customs and values of people of this ethnic community, and thus provide a medium through which to learn about the GFR.     

Canada-US Relations: No Longer Special or Privileged

ABSTRACT

Canada has benefited more than most countries from the advantage of its geography, but proximity to the United States has created a cocoon of complacency on trade and security that is no longer assured. This makes the key question about the future of Canada-US relations whether the erratic “America First” impulses of Donald Trump will persist after he leaves the White House. If nationalist populism takes root, self-interest will prevail and the special partnership for Canada with the United States will fade. This essay considers the notion of privilege that served Canada well for decades as one that can no longer be taken for granted. Canada must take realistic actions to defend and advance its own interests. This will reflect the confidence and maturity of a nation fully aware of its capabilities and the limitations of its global potential.     

Forks in the Road: Energy Policies in Canada and the US since the Shale Revolution

ABSTRACT

This article examines policy responses in Canada and the US to the shale revolution and changing North American oil and gas markets. We outline the effect of the shale revolution on North American oil and gas markets, and how the subsequent energy policy choices in each country changed the relationship between Canada and the US. In the US, increasing production, combined with the policy imperative of maintaining energy security, led to less support for Canadian supply and the subsequent on-off-on saga of the Keystone XL pipeline. In Canada, growing concern about the balance between the environment and the economy led to stalled pipeline development and reform of regulatory systems, problems exacerbated by the new policy direction in the US.     

‘They installed a speed bump’: children’s perceptions of traffic-calming measures around elementary schools

ABSTRACT

Growing scientific literature evaluates the impact of traffic-calming devices in terms of mobility behavior and safety, but little is known about their perceived impact from the point of view of children. Our study asks children about their perceptions of different traffic-calming measures around their schools. It draws on data gathered through eight focus groups, followed by walking tours with Grade 6 children (11–12 years old) (n?=?65, 27 boys, 38 girls) from elementary schools in different urban contexts in Quebec, Canada. Qualitative analysis of the discussions shows that (a) vehicle speed is the main perceived threat for participant children; (b) children are confident about the effectiveness of self-enforcing traffic-calming devices that reshape the street geometry; and (c) they are skeptical about the effectiveness of ‘informative’ measures such as signs and lines (marked pavement). Our findings inform public policy for a more effective promotion of walking and cycling among children.     

The Late Palaeozoic brachiopod genus Jakutoproductus Kashirtsev 1959 and the Jakutoproductus verchoyanicus Zone,northern Yukon Territory,Canada

Shi, Guang R., 1994:03:28. The Late Palaeozoic brachiopod genus Jakutoproductus Kashirtsev 1959 and the Jakutoproductus verchoyanicus Zone, northern Yukon Territory, Canada. Alcheringa 18, 103–120. ISBN 0311-5518.

The familial and subfamilial position, species composition, and geographic distribution of the Late Palaeozoic productid genus Jakutoproductus Kashirtsev 1959 are reviewed. Jakutoproductus is placed in the subfamily Plicatiferinae Muir-Wood & Cooper 1960 of the family Plicatiferidae. Eighteen described species from the Russian Arctic. Mongolia, northeast China, and northern Yukon Territory, Canada are assigned to Jakutoproductus. The Jakutoproductus verchoyanicus Zone of late Sakmarian to Artinskian age, most likely early Artinskian (Aktastinian), here established is based on material from the Jungle Creek Formation, northern Yukon Territory, Canada, and is correlated with the following horizons in Russia: the Osennin Horizon in the Verchoyan Mountains, the lower Munugudjak Horizon of the Kolyma-Omolon Massif, the Hipkhoshin Suite of east Zabaikal, the lower Bhang Horizon of Taimyr, and an unnamed sandstone-shale unit on the north island of Novaya Zemlya.     

Canada’s Supply Management System and the Dairy Industry in the Era of Trade Liberalization: A Cultural Commodity?

ABSTRACT

Canada’s dairy farmers have spent the last 40 years fighting to preserve their supply management system despite increases in the desire to liberalize trade through the expansion of regional free trade agreements and the targeting of agriculture in recent rounds of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). How has Canada’s supply management system resisted trade liberalization thus far? Moreover, what strategies have Canadian dairy farmers used to lobby the government to preserve this system? The answer to these questions lay within the intersection of culture and economics. Canadian dairy farmers have been successful in framing Canadian dairy as a distinctly Canadian cultural commodity, and therefore framing supply management as the economic tool needed to defend this cultural commodity. In exploring this topic, this article will touch on Canada’s history of preserving cultural institutions, as well as the historical importance of Canada’s supply management system.     

Toward an Understanding of Canada’s International Identity

ABSTRACT

This article examines the construction of Canada’s postwar international identity and how that identity continues to influence Canadian foreign policy, especially with the United States. Furthermore, the article illustrates how changes in Canadian policy necessitated by the Trump Administration may impact Canada’s international identity in the future. The article argues Canadian policy makers have consistently constructed an international identity in opposition to the United States and continue to use the US as a reflective tool in shaping their own policy. The first part of the article briefly examines the concept of state identity outlining both type and role variants and their relevance to foreign policy and this is followed in the second part by a discussion of Canada’s postwar international identity.     

Political Tourism: Elizabeth Simcoe’s Maps and Views of Canada (1791–1796)

Abstract

Elizabeth Simcoe (1762–1850) travelled from England to Canada in 1791 and returned to her home, Wolford Lodge, in Honiton, Devon, in 1796. She was accompanying her husband, John Graves Simcoe (1752–1806), who had just been appointed Lieutenant Governor of the newly formed province of Upper Canada. Throughout their travels, Elizabeth recorded her Canadian experiences in her diaries and sketchbooks. She drew, corrected and copied maps for her husband. Upon their return to England they offered to the king an album of 32 works and a map, all drawn on birch bark. The map and the album acted as a report to the king of her husband’s political achievements in Canada and her engagement as a cartographer.     

Canada’s cultural exemption

ABSTRACT

Certain countries stand out as having distinctive approaches to trade and culture. Canada occupies a key position in this pantheon of distinctive approaches. Since the 1980s, Canada has pursued a 'cultural exemption’ in its various trade agreements. The perception is that it has largely maintained this exemption, however I will show in this article that each iteration of the exemption differs from the others in subtle but noteworthy ways. These differences stem in large part from the nature of the particular trade agreement negotiations and the identity of the specific trading partner(s). Ultimately, the aim of this contribution is to show that Canada’s cultural exemption strategy has had to evolve alongside key trends in trade, notably the proliferation of free trade agreements.     

Advocacy and the struggle for a better science of anthropology

Spaulding, Philip, ed. Anthropology in Praxis. Calgary, Canada: Department of Anthropology, Occasional Papers in Anthropology and Primatology, 1986. iii + 253 pp. N. P.

Paine, Robert, ed. Advocacy and Anthropology, First Encounters. St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada: Institute of Social and Economic Research, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1985. xiii 4‐ 278 pp. including references. $15.00 paper.

Agar, Michael H. Independents Declared: The Dilemmas of Independent Trucking. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1986. 191 pp. including appendices, literature cited, and index. $24.95 cloth, $14.95 paper.     

The true cost of spatial data in Canada

The evolution of the Information Age, in Canada, has meant an unheralded parallel social evolution—the development of a class structure, if you will, that is tied to data accessibility. While other countries have made data freely available for use by industry, education and the public, Canada has opted to follow a restrictive data policy under which data are essentially available to a select few—those who can afford the prices. While anyone can purchase the data, not everyone can pay the price. The implications of this in our society are immense and are felt throughout our social structures. One obvious example of this is the lack of quality, high‐resolution Canadian data freely available for use in the Canadian education system, particularly in the university classes in which students today are usually introduced to GIS, visualization and data interpretation. Our students have data to work with, but often they are the freely available American data. They learn from examples derived in the mountains of Wyoming or the forests of Washington. How did this Canadian data restriction happen? In this paper, the evolution of GIS classicism is explored through examination of the evolution in Canada of GIS itself. The data situation elsewhere in the world is reviewed, the feasibility of ‘freeing’ data is discussed and a call for a radical change in the way data/information are handled in Canada is presented.     

Opération Amérique: Québec’s Soft Power Applied to French Language Teaching in the United States

ABSTRACT

Opération Amérique refers to the coordinated efforts of René Lévesque’s Parti Québécois government beginning late 1970s to promote Québec’s interests in the United States. The general goals and strategies of Opération Amérique suggest that it presents a case of soft power. However, the specific actions implemented as well as their effects have barely been explored. An analysis of original documents pertaining to Opération Amérique indicates that specific groups in the United States—namely, French professors—were targeted with the hope that they would improve perceptions of Québec in the United States. An examination of French textbooks used in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s shows an increase in Canada/Québec content, which may reflect the influence of Opération Amérique on French teaching practices.     

Book reviews

Aldeghi, I., et al., Vécu et devenir des chômeurs de longue durée (La Documentation Française, 1992), 123pp., 100F., ISBN 2 11 002644 8

Baker, K.M., Inventing the French Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 1990), 372pp., £32.50 hbk., £11.95 pbk., ISBN 0 521 34618 5 and 0 521 38578 4

Blancquart, M.‐C., and Cahne, P., Littérature française du XX^e (PUF, 1992), 564pp., ISBN 2 130 44810 0

Brunet, P., ed., France et Grande‐Bretagne rurales. Rural France and Great Britain (Centre de Recherches sur l'Evolution de la Vie Rurale, Université de Caen, 1991), 510pp., 180F., ISBN 2 905 46162 4

Caune, J., La Culture en action. De Vilar à Lang: le sens perdu (Presses Universitaires de Grenoble, 1992), 368pp., 130F.

Coleman, J., and Parker, G., French and the Enterprise Path (AFLS‐CILT, 1992), 200pp., £8.95

Collot, S., Les Lieux de désir: topologie amoureuse de Zola (Hachette Université, 1992), 192pp., 150F., ‘Recherches Littéraires’ Collection, ISBN 2 010 18816 0

Coutel, C., ed., La République et l'école; une anthologie (Presses‐Pocket, 1992), 288pp., ISBN 2 266 04474 5

Crosland, M., Science under control: the French Academy of Sciences, 1795–1914 (Cambridge University Press, 1992), 454pp., £60.00, ISBN 0 521 41373 7

David, M., Le Printemps de la Fraternité: genèse et vicissitudes, 1830–1851 (Aubier, 1992), 396pp., 180F., ISBN 2 700 72237 X

Debray, R., Vie et mort de l'image (Gallimard, 1992), 140F., 412pp., ISBN 2 070 72816 1

Drieu la Rochelle, P., Journal 1939–1945 (Gallimard, 1992), 521pp., 140F., ISBN 2 070 72307 0

Durand, J.‐D. et al., Cent ans de catholicisme social à Lyon et en Rhône‐Alpes. Actes du Colloque de Lyon, 18–19 janvier 1991 (Les Editions Ouvrières, 1992), 566pp., 170F., ISBN 2 708 22954 0

Estienne, P., Les régions françaises (Masson, 1991), 2 vols, 264pp., 272pp., 180F., 190F., ISBN 2 225 82509 2, 2 225 82590 4 respectively

Fougeyrollas, P., L'Attraction du futur: un essai sur la signification du présent (Méridiens Klincksieck), 274pp., 140F., ISBN 2 865 63299 7

Gaillac, H., Les Maisons de correction 1830–1945 (Editions Cujas, 1991), 464pp., 120F., ISBN 2 254 92404 X

Genet‐Delacroix, M.‐C., Art et Etat sous la III^e République. Le Système des Beaux‐Arts 1870 (Publications de la Sorbonne, 1992), lviii+433pp., 190F., ISBN 2 859 44219 7

Hagège, C., Le Souffle de la Langue (Odile Jacob, 1992), 286pp.+9pp. of maps, 130F., ISBN 2 738 10182 8

Hancock, M.D. et al., Politics in Western Europe (Macmillan, 1993), 526pp., £14.99, ISBN 0 000 00000 0

Hardman, J., Louis XVI (Yale University Press, 1993), 264pp., £25.00, ISBN 0 300 05719 9

Hargreaves, A.G., Voices from the North African immigrant community in France. Immigration and identity in Bear fiction (Berg, 1991), 175pp., £29.50, ISBN 0 854 96649 8

Harpaz, E., Benjamin Constant et Madame Récamier (lettres 1807–1830) (Honoré Champion, 1992), 362pp., 140F., ISBN 2 852 03706 8

Hudson, J., and Tosser, N., Business French (Made Simple, 1992), 426pp., £8.95, ISBN 0 730 60299 6

Jones, H.S., The French State in Question. Public Law and Political Argument in the Third Republic (CUP, 1993), 231pp., £30., ISBN 2 521 43149 2

Kolebka, G., Dépressions sur une partie de la France (Seghers, 1991), 164pp., 100F., ISBN 2 232 10341 2

Lagrée, M., and Roche, J., Tombes de mémoire: le dévotion populaire aux victimes de la Révolution dans l'Ouest (Rennes Apogée, 1993), 148pp., 125F., ISBN 2 909 27512 4

Lefebvre, D., Guy Mollet: Le mal aimé (Plon, 1992), 545pp., 149F., ISBN Z 259 02465 3

Lemalet, M., Lettres d'Algérie, 1954–1962: La guerre des appelés, la mémoire d'une génération (Jean‐Claude Lattès, 1992), 360pp., 139F., ISBN 2 709 61145 7

Lyotard, J.‐F., The inhuman (Polity Press, 1991), 216pp., £35, ISBN 0 745 69772 1

Michel, P., and Nivet, J.‐F., Octave Mirbeau; l'imprécateur au c?ur fidèle (Librarie Séguier, 1990), 1019pp., ISBN 2 877 36162 4

Ministère du Travail, de l'Emploi et de la Formation Professionnelle, Le Tourisme Social et Familial (La Documentation Française, 1992), 333pp., 180F., ISBN 9 782 11002757 3

Oriol, P., Les immigrés devant les urnes: le droit de vote des étrangers (CIEMI/L'Harmattan, 1992), 223pp., 120F., ISBN 2 738 41246 7

Remond, R., et al., Paul Touvier et l'Eglise. Rapport de la Commission historique instituée par le cardinal Decourtray (Fayard, 1992), 418pp., 130F., ISBN 2 213 02880 X

Richardot, J.‐P., Le peuple protestant français aujourd'hui (Laffont, 1992), 388pp., ISBN 2 221 07364 9

Sainteny, G., Les Verts (PUF, 1991), 127pp., ISBN 2 130 44491 1

Sainte‐Beuve, C.‐A., La Vie des lettres (Hermann, 1992), 4 vols. I: Moyen‐#afAge et Renaissance, 184pp., ISBN 2 705 66176 X; II: Le Siècle de Versailles, 240pp., ISBN 2 705 66177 8; III: Les Lumières et les salons, 192pp., ISBN 2 705 66178 6; IV: Le Siècle du progrès, 212pp., ISBN 2 705 66179 4, 60F. each.

Scientrier, P., Tester et enrichir ses connaissances en littérature (Marabout, 1992), 287pp., ISBN 2 501 01757 9

Scriven, M., and Wagstaff, P., eds., War and society in twentieth‐century France (Berg, 1991), xii+304pp., ISBN 0 854 96292 1

Servent, P., Le Mythe Pétain. Verdun ou les tranchées de la mémoire (Editions Payot, 1992), 283pp., 120F., ISBN 2 228 88500 2

Sowerwine, C., and Magnien, C., Madeleine Pelletier, une féministe dans l'arène politique (Editions Ouvrières, 1992), 250pp., 125F., ISBN 2 708 22960 5

Stanley, J.L., ed., From Georges Sorel, vol. 2: Hermeneutics and the Sciences, translated by John and Charlotte Stanley. (New Brunswick and London, Transaction Books, 1990), 219pp., ISBN 0 887 38304 1