Defining Cultural Sovereignty
In Canada, the words “cultural” and “sovereignty” have never been uttered together more often, spurred by threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. So what does the term mean?
Key players in our cultural industries are writing passionate editorials about it. Politicians are demanding no effort be spared in defending it. “It” being that thing makes Canadian culture unique. Whatever that might be.
In the leadup to the recent federal election, discussions of “cultural sovereignty” were everywhere.
For some Canadians, the term means our nation’s right to define, protect and promote its own values, traditions, languages and forms of artistic expression — free from outside interference.
For others, it involves a clear commitment to the arts and culture, enabling us to tell our own story or, more accurately, stories, by empowering our local cultures to authentically reflect their own narratives.
Cultural sovereignty also means not allowing foreign cultural enterprises to monopolize the film, music and performing arts sectors on our own territory.
Whatever the exact definition, an overwhelming majority of Canadians are concerned about our cultural sovereignty. A poll just released by the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) shows that 91 percent of all Canadians want to protect their country’s culture and national identity from U.S. influence.
What’s more, 83 percent want to see additional investment in Canadian television, movies and digital media. Nine out of 10 respondents believe such content ought to be owned and controlled by Canadian companies, not U.S. studios, and 86 percent want CBC/Radio-Canada, our public broadcaster, to produce content that reflects our history and values.
Nonetheless, we have yet to define what we really mean by Canadian identity and culture.
It’s time for a national discussion
In a March 17 opinion piece published in The Hill Times and titled “Urgent: Let’s Be Bold About our National Identity,” Canadian Senator Andrew Cardozo suggested, “We need a national discussion on our Canadian identity — how to maintain it and how to grow it.”
Professor François Colbert of the Department of Marketing at HEC Montréal shares this view. English Canada, he believes, must start thinking seriously about what defines it culturally, “over and above just saying we aren’t Americans.”
“In Quebec, we talk about this all the time. I think English Canada is finally waking up,” says Colbert, who also holds the Carmelle and Rémi-Marcoux Chair in Arts Management at the bilingual business school. “Of course, the problem for English Canada is its shared language with the U.S. On the other hand, Australia, New Zealand, England and Scotland also share a common language yet manage to have their own sense of cultural pride.”
Colbert thinks our narrative should be built around both Canadian history and what we’re accomplishing now, particularly with regard to Canada’s First Nations. “We care about our First Nations, we care about rebuilding meaningful connections, which is something the U.S. does not do,” he says.
Cultural sovereignty was also the topic of a debate in Montreal on April 14. One of the participants, Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux, opened with a quip about how interesting it is that federalists are now talking about sovereignty, too.
Champoux pointed out that the issue of francophone and Québécois culture has always been his party’s priority.
New Democrat Marwan El-Attar argued that what defines a society is its culture. “We have poetry, theatre, music. That’s what defines a civilization. Not pipelines,” he said, taking a shot at Canada’s Liberal and Conservative parties, who both expressed support for building gas pipelines across the country during the election.
Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault reminded the audience that Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed him as Minister of Canadian Culture and Identity, as well as Minister of Parks, because identity is one of the most important issues raised by the American threat. “That includes arts and culture and our two official languages, as well as Indigenous languages and cultures. Appreciation of our green spaces and our land is also an element that defines us in terms of identity and point of view,” he said.
Safeguarding cultural institutions
How do we protect this cultural sovereignty? According to Cardozo, it begins with Canadian institutions. “We need to talk about the institutions we have, evaluate how effective they are, and how they can be reformed for the new world, with all the challenges we face. We need more of these institutions, not fewer,” he wrote in that essay in The Hill Times.
As examples, Cardozo cites the Canada Council for the Arts, the outstanding museums in Ottawa, Halifax and Winnipeg, as well as art galleries, national parks and waterways across the country.
According to Guilbeault, funding for those cultural institutions is available. He points out that federal budgets for culture have increased by 50 percent in the past 10 years — though cultural needs have also increased, with growing concern for minority groups, including those from diverse backgrounds, and Indigenous peoples.
Though not in a position to offer guarantees, Guilbeault pledged to do “everything we can” to meet the demand for additional assistance under the various programs of the Canadian Heritage Department and the Canada Council.
He added that if there is significant negative impact from U.S. tariffs his party will assist the cultural community as it did during the pandemic.
Confronting the American machine
Competition from the digital giants like Amazon, Alphabet and Meta is also a core issue. “In Donald Trump’s first term he didn’t have all the digital giants on side as friends, urging him to tear down the barriers that prevent them from operating without restrictions here. That’s now a major concern,” Champoux said.
To defend the Canadian film industry against the American machine, Colbert suggests we need more input from film producers and cinema chains. “We’re supporting the films but not their distribution,” he says. The marketing professor suggests one way around the problem could be to have dedicated movie theatres showcasing Canadian cinema with government support.
We already have National Canadian Film Day, which broke records on April 16 with close to 2,000 screenings of Canadian films — proof that we care about and want local stories, and also a reaction against U.S. influence.
Current events “are forcing Canadians to think, which is not a bad thing,” Colbert says. “In any case, 90 percent of Canadians don’t want to be Americans. We’ve been given a push, and now we need to push back by building up some true Canadian pride.”
