Nation Building

“Canada is a country we are always building.”

• The Rt. Hon. Jean Chretien (1990, following the failure of the Meech Lake Accord)

Since Confederation, Canadian leaders have engaged in a continuous and unfinished process of nation building, one that has always been linked to simultaneous province and territory building. Our prime ministers have included a range of vastly different people, facing different circumstances with different visions, policies and degrees of success, but all have contributed in ways momentous or small to building the Canadian nation.

Our progress towards a just and inclusive Canada has been rocky at times and remains a work in progress. Still, our leaders deserve recognition for working to the best of their judgment and abilities according to make Canada the prosperous and democratic country that it is.

Nation building comprises many elements that are interdependent

• The physical extension of Canada and its jurisdictions,  
• Building the physical infrastructure on which Canada’s economy and social linkages depend,
• The institutions and policy frameworks that guide and support these goals, and
• Promoting the values that make us a country.

In Part 1, we look at the prime ministers that are most closely associated with building Canada’s infrastructure, broadly defined.

In Part 2, we will take a look at the prime ministers who have dedicated themselves to shaping Canadian values, whether traditional or emerging.

In Part 3, we look at how Prime Minister Carney’s mandate establishes him as a nation-builder and what that might mean for contemporary Canada.

Stay tuned for future instalments of this series.