| Abstract: | As a nation linguistically and regionally fragmented, Canada faces unique problems of national unity and identity. The truth of Northrop Frye's observation that ‘Canada has passed from a pre-national to a post-national phase without ever having become a nation’ is illustrated by the trauma of partially sloughing the trappings of colonial status in 1982, 115 years after attaining de facto independence in 1867. National identity in Canada rests precariously on the shoulders of its peoples, for the fabric of national consciousness spun from myths and images is still being woven by its literati, bureaucrats, and politicians. Not only does Canada have a small population and, as Mackenzie King put it, ‘too much geography,’ but the country is bordered by a culturally aggressive and dynamic English-speaking nation outnumbering it by more than ten to one. If English Canadians are to formulate a distinctive cultural identity, to create their own images and myths of place, to come imaginatively into contact with the country, and to answer the fundamental question of ‘Where is Here?,’ they must do so on their own terms, not in a cultural vacuum but in a milieu protected in some measure from the onrush of values, attitudes, and beliefs emanating from beyond the borders of Canada. |
