Many aspects of the Canadian temperament have been on display in the country’s official response to the international crisis we tragically find ourselves in — compassion, realism, calmness, and resolve, to name a few. It should not go unnoted, however, that this same temperament is under relentless attack at home and abroad. In light of the current crisis, Canadians should carefully consider the consequences of these attacks.

Recent events have unleashed geopolitical dynamics of enormous complexity, sensitivity, and magnitude, but at its centre lay a human tragedy of national impact. The downing of a Ukrainian airline, unintentionally, by an Iranian missile not only violently ended the lives of 57 Canadians, it extinguished their incredible promise — scholars researching how to cure disease, advocates with ambitious goals for bettering society, children who wanted to be leaders.

We all mourn this loss.

As a nation processing emotions of sadness, anger, and uncertainty, we draw on a collective temperament for comfort; relying on values with historical context to guide our actions.

These values define our political culture: an inclination to forge consensus rather than further division, a preference for dignity over bombast, a recognition that reason must come before passion, and a commitment to justice instead of vengeance.

In his public statements since the crisis began, Prime Minister Trudeau has adhered to this ethos. His comments have been thoughtful, measured, empathetic, and clear. In a week of fury and actual fire, this was no minor feat.

This approach is not universally shared, nor strategically welcomed by those with a private interest in conflict over peace, and despair over hope. In fact, to some pundits, Canada has not been “muscular.” Our Prime Minister has not been “angry” enough. Our blame not singular enough.

In other words, Canada has not emulated the Twitter account of Donald Trump.

This critique is not new. Far right websites, dark money funded institutes, and, as intelligence experts suggest, foreign interlopers, have aggressively sought to dismiss, undermine, or otherwise attack the Canadian consensus around its political culture, most notably in the last election, and in some cases, going back years.

Deploying a rhetoric of fear and misinformation, these voices aim to justify people’s anger and leverage their frustration with any number of issues for their own benefit.

In the current crisis, advocacy groups with patriotic sounding names like “proud,” and “true north,” to say nothing of “rebel,” have pursued an agenda explicitly at odds with the Canadian temperament.

Yet it is Canada’s pragmatism that helped elicit an admission of responsibility from the Iranian government, the Prime Minister’s candour that illuminated the foolishness of escalation in an unstable region while pointing a path to peace, and a public outpouring of solidarity with victims that demonstrated our shared humanity — not race, religion, or country of origin.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

All strong and timely affirmations of our national temperament.

After this crisis passes, we should remember the solace it brought us, and fight diligently to preserve it.

Christopher Holcroft is a Montreal-based writer and principal of Empower Consulting. is a Montreal-based writer and principal of Empower Consulting. christoperholcroft@hotmail.ca

Read more about: