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ARE YOU A CANADIAN OR A NOVA SCOTIA?

I was in a lecture last night and it was on provincial political culture. In discussing ways of measuring participation among people my professor said that a way of measuring is to determine if people in Canada see themselves as Canadians first or as a citizen of the province, in my case Nova Scotia. He then went on to say that a healthy federation is one that has an equilibrium between the two. A federation for those of you wondering is a nation made up of two different, but equal, levels of government. In Canada, that is the federal government and the provincial governments and in the States the federal government and the state governments. So what do you see yourself as? Do you see yourself as a Canadian above all or as a citizen of your province?

We also talked about which provinces have the most people that see themselves as Canadians first and which provinces that see themselves as citizens of that province. Among those that see themselves as members of the province are obviously Quebec, Newfoundland, Alberta, and PEI. The provinces that see themselves as Canadians first is led by Ontario and British Columbia. The only part that I didn't agree with is the fact that a healthy federation is where the two views are in equilibrium. Personally, I see myself as a Canadian first and foremost. And that is by a lot. I have always felt that way and I probably always will. I do not consider myself a Nova Scotian at all even though I've lived here all my life. I don't think that's a bad thing though. I think that everyone should consider themselves as Canadians before anything else.

I think the big distinction that must be made here is whether we are referring to federal and provincial governments or Canada as a whole. I think I see myself as a Canadian above all because the whole federation thing is what Canada is. I'm not talking about the Canadian federal government but Canada as a nation. If Nova Scotia for whatever reason left Canada and became part of the US or Britain or formed its own country I would move to Canada.

I just want to know how everyone else feels.

- DCM

Comments

Anonymous said…
I think part of seeing yourself as a Nova Scotian, too, is in removing yourself from it. I didn't ever realize I considered myself to be a Nova Scotian until I moved to New Brunswick... and even more importantly, how often I slip in the word "Halifax". Firstly it's Canadian, but at this time last year, I would have said it was by a lot and a year later, it's only by a marginal bit.
Tue Feb 20, 08:17:00 pm
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