The Future and the Legacy: Globalization and the Canadian Settler-State

Abstract

This article examines the impact of globalization as a discourse and as a process affecting the politics of the twenty-first century in light of Canada's foundation as a "white settler-colony." By the end of the twentieth century, identity politics — the collective demands for inclusion and equity by minotitized groups, including women, ethnic minorities, Aboriginal peoples, the Québécois and other French-Canadians—sat uneasily with Ottawa's neo-liberal reading of globalization that tends to give value to the individual as a tax-payer. Canada's yet-to-be publicly acknowledged historical legacy of colonialism and ethnic and racial inequality ensures that Canadian national symbols and institutions continue to be key targets of minoritized groups demanding fairness and inclusion. Given this, the starting point for institutional change is the recognition and redressing of the inequities of past state practices, and the creation of a nèw dialogue amongst equals.