The triumph of religious liberty in British North America

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KEMPTVILLE, ON — On New Year’s Eve, when I wrote about how the Plains of Abraham (1759), the Quebec Act (1774) and George Washington’s military occupation of Montreal (1775) were all pivotal moments in determining that Nouvelle France/British North America would become Canada, and not part of the United States, I had no idea that 18th-century Canadian history would return to the front pages. Fresh from Davos last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney argued at the Citadel in Quebec City that the events of those years charted a distinctive Canadian path, marked by partnership rather than pure conquest.

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Predictable and performative election-year hyperventilating followed from Quebec separatists, to which a more than adequate answer was given by Stéphane Dion online in the Post Thursday. Knowing some actual history helps; Canada had a distinctive post-1759 development. It included a measure of religious liberty and cultural toleration which created an environment conducive to the survival and flourishing of French-Canadians. After his long years in politics, it is good to have professor Dion back.

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