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Q: How so?

A: When it comes to foreign policy, they’re really articulating what they think are Canada’s national interests rather than having a conversation about Canada’s national values. In the last year, the War of 1812 commemorations showed how this government is hammering home Canadian history as something that is bedrock to Canadian identity. This year we also saw the renaming of [what are now once again the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Canadian Navy], which spoke to how this government views the Crown as a national symbol. This government is very consciously reacting against what was basically a generation of continuous Liberal government with a liberal understanding of foreign policy, a liberal understanding of history and a liberal understanding of national symbols. I think the Harper government is trying to reset the clock on a lot of that.

Q: So you think this part of a pretty concerted effort?

A: I’ve talked to different Cabinet ministers within the Harper government and they’re very conscious of this. Let’s face it, if you push against the door and it swings open, why wouldn’t you walk through it? I think that’s why this Prime Minister has taken certain steps, especially on the history and heritage file. We just renamed the Canadian Museum of Civilization the Canadian Museum of History, which would have been an anathema 10 or 15 years ago.

Q: Does all this surprise you?

A: What was noticeable to me, actually, is how the public has largely been silent on this. A lot of people among the foreign policy elites were very upset at what they felt was, for example, a unilateral stance on the issue of Israel and Palestinian statehood. Similarly, when it comes to this big push to acknowledge Canadian history, there are a lot of people who said, ‘Hey we’re being jingoistic and acting American in celebrating the War of 1812.’ But none of this really seemed to reverberate through the Canadian public. I wonder if the Harper government feels like they’re pushing against an open door here — a country that’s ready to embrace a big, new reworking of who we are as a country and what we’re all about.