A Troublesome Anniversary

How to celebrate the anniversary of a war waged against your most important ally? This is Stephen Harper’s problem when in comes to the War of 1812.

Two hundred years ago, Canada was a British colony. The United States declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812. A former president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, assured that “The acquisition of Canada this year, as far as the neighborhood of Quebec, will be a mere matter of marching” the American army. However, the British reinforced their forces around Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and took Detroit, rendering the first American assault on Canada a failure. In 1813, the Americans gained the upper hand, but not for long. In 1814, the U.S. retreated from Canada, and an agreement upholding the status quo was signed on Dec. 24 that year. For Canada, this was a key moment in their history.

“This was a war between the British and the Americans. Yes, the Canadians took part, but most of the soldiers were guests from Britain. English Canadians thought of themselves as British, and the majority supported London, much to the disappointment of the Americans,” said Professor Nelson Wiseman, who teaches at the University of Toronto. According to Wiseman, the government is trying to stoke nationalistic sentiment by celebrating that conflict.

“The problem is that Harper’s conservative government is on one hand proud of the Canadian military, and they want to honor the heroism and sacrifice of the Canadians who fought. On the other hand, it was a war with the United States, in which British marines, fighting side by side with Canadians, made the White House go up in smoke,” said Prof. Jan Grabowski of the University of Ottawa. The key is to inspire Canadians without angering Americans. Both sides think that they won the war.

Celebrating the anniversary was one of the campaign issues for Harper and his party. It is important however, to avoid anti-American sentiment. The celebrations are, according to Heritage Minister James Moore “meant to remind Canadians of the importance of the War of 1812 in the development of Canada.” Millions have been spent on renovations of places associated with the war.

“I think this is going to turn into an anti-American festival, no matter what the government does,” said Jack Granatsetin, as quoted by the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. According to Granatsetin, Americans will continue to assert that they won the war, while Canadians will spin stories of how the Canadians “expelled the evil Americans.” Prof. Grabowski is of a different opinion. “No one in Canada treats the war as a war of ambition. It’s as if the Swedes and Poles had an argument over the meaning of the Polish – Swedish Wars,” he said.

Anyway, the Canadian government is also trying to underline that out of that war blossomed “two centuries of peaceful coexistence with the United States.”