LETTERS. TO THE EDITOR
The Canadian Dilemma' SiR,—In your issue of February 27th Mr. Desmond E...Henn writes on the " Canadian dilemma." It must have surprised your Canadian readers to learn that they were in a dilemma. We have the impres- sion that we have fewer serious problems than any other nation in the world. It is still more of a surprise to learn from the article that tides of anger• an/ ti resentment surge beneath the prosperity and happiness that. are apparent to any observer of the Canadian scene. We learn that we are reacting violently to the post-war shift in world power; we have " discovered, with feelings of surprise and dismay," that we are facing an " almost complete extinction " of our national identity. We view our American neighbours with hostility, envy and resentment, and are guilty of " ungracious sentiments " towards them. All this in the first two paragraphs ! The article is full of Canadian envy, resentment, discouragement, unspeakable chagrin, timid and half-hearted patriotism, &c., &c. One wonders how Mr. Henn was able to crowd into one article so much misinfor- mation regarding the basic character and outlook of one of the happiest peoples on the face of the earth.
He says that Canadians have not as yet received Marshall Aid. There was never any question of Marshall Aid for Canada. On the contrary we have given and loaned Great Britain and other European countries literally billions of dollars. Mr. Henn also shows a complete ignorance of the fundamental unity qf the Canadian people. In his paragraph on the population of Canada he misrepresents facts. He says that the Canadians of English descent (no doubt, he means British) compose forty-eight per cent, of the population, while the French clement is becoming more numerous yearly. The only com- parable figures, of course, are either absolute numbers or percentages. The percentage of the French Canadians in our population has remained constant since the Federation in 1867. In absolute figures the number of Canadians of British descent is increasing rapidly every year also.
Mr. Henn finds that in Canada there is " no national consciousness." This is so far from the truth 'that one wonders what he stands to gain by making such a statement. Canadians arc, on the contrary,
conscious of having built a nation out of many diverse elements, and against almost insurmountable difficulties. We know that our contribution to the war effort was one of the highest in proportion to our population and wealth, and yet we were one of the few nations to emerge from the war more prosperous and more populous than ever. We know that we are carrying a heavy tax burden; but we also know that we are paying• off our national debt, that we are balancing our budget every year, and that we are expanding our industry and trade more rapidly than any other major country in the world.
Most Englishmen find in Canada today " the true North, strong and free," and they find that Canadians are the most optimistic race on earth. We have no desire, it is true, for amalgamation with our friends in the United States, but we certainly have no resentment toward them. They are our best friends. We believe that there are many things distinctively Canadian in our national life which are worth keeping. We prefer our system of government at all levels; we prefer our law enforcement, our banking system and our associa- tion as a free nation in a commonwealth of British nations. Thera are many other features of our life which we value, and which characterise us as a nation. But anyone who has found in this country a "subconscious antagonism" to any other people must have brought that antagonism with him. Fortunately such antagonisms soon die out here.
This was altogether a puzzling article. If Mr. Henn was writing to show his Canadian readers that there was some attempt being made in the Old Country to understand Canada's present situation and development, then he has certainly not achieved his goal. All he has done is to set up some sort of a caricature of a few of the facts of our national life. On the other hand, if his article is supposed to interpret Canada to British readers, and readers in other countries, then again it fails most miserably. One is led to ask himself the question: Are other articles in the Spectator, which deal with "dilemmas" and situations in other parts of the world, as reliable as this one ? We would certainly hope that they would be far more accurate.—Yours
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