The Canadianist Network

What began as a question from my friend Gary Charles about King Charles III and Canadian currency turned into a much larger discussion about Canadian identity, history and who we choose to honour.In this episode of The Canadianist, I explore why our money continues to feature so many figures from Canada's distant past, and whether it's time to recognize more of the Canadians who have shaped the country in recent generations.There's also a personal connection. My friend Steven Rosati, a fellow Pierrefonds native, is the artist who designed the King's portrait for Canadian coins.But the conversation goes well beyond the portraits themselves. The Crown represents different things to Canadians depending on their history, from the United Empire Loyalists and French Canadians to Indigenous peoples and those whose families came from former British colonies.I also revisit the reaction to my original editorial, including ethnic stereotyping, assumptions about Canadian identity and accusations about proposals I'd never made. It's an example of how quickly a reasonable public discussion can become something else entirely.Changing whose portrait appears on our money doesn't require abandoning our history or our constitutional monarchy. It simply raises a question about how much of Canada's story we're choosing to tell.The Canadianist | Read. Listen. Discuss.

Anyone else smell the fireplaces outside tonight? Felt like a good night to sit down, turn on the camera and just talk for a bit. No script. No agenda. Just a conversation from home.

Conservative MP Dean Allison shared a Toronto Sun editorial declaring that Pierre Poilievre was “right about everything.”Fine. Let’s assume he was.Then why isn’t he Prime Minister?Being right isn’t the same as persuading people you’re right, and that’s where Canadian politics keeps falling short. Conservatives speak to Conservatives. Liberals announce policies and numbers without explaining what they mean to the people actually living with the consequences. Both sides seem increasingly comfortable talking to their own base while talking past everyone else.From Poilievre’s election loss to the Liberals announcing 380,000 permanent residents without first explaining where the doctors, nurses and skilled tradespeople are coming from, this episode looks at a basic failure of political communication and leadership.Elections are won beyond the base. Leadership means listening to people who disagree with you, explaining what you’re trying to do and persuading them to come with you.Canada needs more voices in Parliament because Canadians deserve more than an A-or-B choice between political tribes that increasingly seem unable to hear them.We’re not customers. We’re shareholders.

The other day I received a comment on one of my posts that made me stop and think. I may have been wrong about Canadianism.I spent some time with the argument. And the further I followed it, the more I realized the conversation hadn’t undermined Canadianism at all.It may have made the case for it stronger.

Something has shifted in Canada. You can feel it in the conversations we’re having, the pressures we’re carrying and the lives we’re trying to build.The middle is sick of being quiet.Meet the Radical Centre.Join us and be heard.#SomethingShifted #RadicalCentre #Canadianism #UCCParty #cdnpoli