Multicultural Nationalism. Civilizing Difference, Constituting Community

Generations of intellectuals have debated Canada’s national question. Rather than join the debate, Multicultural Nationalism challenges its logic. The national question is self-defeating: attempts to constitute a Canadian political community generate polarizing and depoliticizing deliberations. Gerald Kernerman engages with leading political theorists and analyzes policy, constitutional, and media documents in order to examine proposals for minority rights, multicultural citizenship, asymmetrical federalism, multinationalism, and group-based representation. Even as other countries consider pursuing similar paths, Kernerman cautions against using Canada as a model since these proposals are themselves manifestations of nationalist contestation.

Gerald Kernerman is assistant professor of political science at York University.