John Ibbitson's supercilious and wrong-headed view of Canada

Mr Ibbitson of the Globe expresses yet again his contempt for the Canada he grew up in (Gravenhurst, Ontario) and his disdain for a significant majority of Canadians--no Timmy's man he (full text not online).

...Everywhere in Canada, an urban, diverse, cosmopolitan society confronts a rural, European, and relatively impoverished hinterland...

...The [Conservative] party traditionally represents the old Canada: white, rural, aging, a Canada too much steeped in resentments to be a voice for the Canada that is becoming...

Mr Ibbitson seems to be insinuating that the "old Canada" is now somehow less Canadian, indeed less worthy of respect and consideration, than his cosmopolitan paradise in the making. How insulting and how misguided.

I would point out to Mr Ibbitson that besides the multicultural centres of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver--the places that clearly constitute his Canada (2001 foreign-born percentage of the population 43.7, 18.4 and 37.5 respectively)--the next three largest urban areas, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton, have the following foreign-born populations: 17.7, 20.9, and 17.8. The percentage for Canada as a whole is 18.4: almost the same.

The Conservative Party is already well represented in these latter places and will be even more so after this election.

Mr Ibbitson seems to be equating two cities, Toronto and Vancouver, that are exceptional in terms of foreign-born population with the future of the country as a whole and its politics.

The problem is indeed that two (actually three as Quebec is sui generis) Canadas are emerging with very different characteristics and views: the cosmopolitan metropolises of Toronto and Vancouver and the rest of the country.

And that rest of the country is by no means rural, or white, or aging. Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton are hardly impoverished. In fact this Canada includes the remaining large cities.

The reality is that, given that some three-quarters of immigrants settle in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and that there are no signs that this reality will change, Canada outside Quebec will increasingly be divided between Toronto and Vancouver and the rest. The two metropolises will be increasingly atypical of the country as a whole (and will only be a significant minority of its population). The rest is, contrary to Mr Ibbitson, not rural etc. etc. etc. See how south-western Ontario votes in this election.

It is this fracture that is the real threat to the cohesion of Canada outside Quebec. It escapes Mr Ibbitson and many other pundits who cannot see Canada for Toronto (or Vancouver).

Posted by markc at January 23, 2006 12:00 PM | TrackBack