Canada and the British World Culture, Migration, and Identity

In the aftermath of the Second World War, Canadian national identity underwent a transformation. Whereas Canadians once viewed themselves as British citizens, a new, independent sense of self emerged after the war. Assured of their unique place in the world, Canadians began to reflect on the legacies and lessons of their British colonial past. Canada and the British World surveys Canada's national history through a British lens. In a series of essays focusing on discrete aspects of Canadian identity over more than a century, the complex and evolving relationship between Canada and the larger British world is revealed. From the 19th century's staunch belief in Canadians as Britons to the realities of modern multicultural Canada, this book eschews nostalgia in its endeavor to understand the dynamic and complicated society in which Canadians did and do live. Candid and ambitious, Canada and the British World is recommended reading for historians and scholars of colonialism and nationalism, as well as anyone interested in what it really means to be Canadian.