Feb 26, 2009 by macleans.ca
The claim that history is written by the winners doesn’t apply to Canada. Our history is written by the whiners. This week’s cancellation of the re-enactment of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham at Quebec City is another lamentable moment in the troubling politicization of Canadian history.
Quebec separatist groups, some making vague threats of violence, expressed outrage over plans for the 250th anniversary of the most famous battle ever fought on Canadian soil. Any recognition of the fact the English won the Battle of Quebec, effectively ending French rule in Canada, is seen as a “humiliation” by hard-core separatists and evidence of “federalist propaganda.” The National Battlefield Commission, which administers the park, dutifully cancelled the re-enactment to avoid offending anyone.
The claim that history is written by the winners doesn’t apply to Canada. Our history is written by the whiners. This week’s cancellation of the re-enactment of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham at Quebec City is another lamentable moment in the troubling politicization of Canadian history.
Quebec separatist groups, some making vague threats of violence, expressed outrage over plans for the 250th anniversary of the most famous battle ever fought on Canadian soil. Any recognition of the fact the English won the Battle of Quebec, effectively ending French rule in Canada, is seen as a “humiliation” by hard-core separatists and evidence of “federalist propaganda.” The National Battlefield Commission, which administers the park, dutifully cancelled the re-enactment to avoid offending anyone.
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