How the Decolonization Movement Came to Canada

Part 2 of a three-part series on decolonization
How the Decolonization Movement Came to Canada
Justice Thomas Berger (R) listens to testimony from Michael Goldie, counsel for Canadian Arctic Gas Pipelines Ltd. (L), as James Wah-Shee, president of the Dene Nation, looks on, during the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry in Ottawa on May 7, 1974. CP Picture Archive/Fred Chartrand
Brock Eldon
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Commentary

That the revolutionary Marxist concept of “decolonization” should apply to Canada, itself a former colony that gained independence with scarcely a drop of blood shed, had no legacy of slavery, and then developed as an independent nation without significant internal violence, might seem like quite a reach. But the idea gained a toehold here 50 years ago and, after remaining quiescent for decades, has metastasized into what we see today: a conviction that Canada’s political and social structures are inherently oppressive and racist and must be torn down.

Brock Eldon
Brock Eldon
Author
Brock Eldon teaches Foundations in Literature at RMIT University in Hanoi, Vietnam, where he lives with his wife and daughter. He earned his B.A. and M.A. in English Language and Literature at King’s University College at Western in London, Ontario, and Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. His debut non-fiction novella, “Ground Zero in the Culture War,” appeared in C2C Journal.