Michel Ducharme

This thesis analyses the Committee for an Independent Canada and its role in promoting Canadian independence during the 1970s. Following the Second World War, a concern arose about the independence of Canada from the growing economic and cultural Americanization of Canada. This led to a number of criticisms from several politicians, intellectuals, and outside groups from the late 1950s. However, these objections tended to be largely partisan and there was an absence of a unified and comprehensive approach to tackle the issues of Americanisation and the impact it had on Canadian sovereignty at both the federal and provincial levels. The formation of the CIC in 1970 would change that.This thesis argues that the Committee actively engaged in the discourse surrounding independence by engaging with a wide spectrum of actors and organizations at both the federal and provincial levels. It had both a national executive and local chapters throughout the nation, which helped the CIC in promoting independence. Nationally, it formulated policies for economic and cultural independence, engaged with federal politicians, and participated in the Royal Commission on the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline. Locally, the CIC formulated alliances, engaged with provincial governments, and launched campaigns for independence. The Committee’s efforts aimed to establish a pan-Canadian coalition, garnering greatest support from Ontario and Western Canada.

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This thesis examines the transatlantic life and journey of Father Alexander Macdonell within the context of his role as a broker in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. While serving as a leader for the Glengarry Highlanders throughout the British Isles and Upper Canada, Macdonell acted as a middleman, often brokering negotiations between his fellow Highlanders and the British and Upper Canadian governments. This relationship saw Macdonell and the Glengarry Highlanders travel to Glasgow, Guernsey, and Ireland, working as both manufacturers and soldiers before they eventually settled in Glengarry County, Upper Canada. Once established in Upper Canada, Macdonell continued to act as a broker, which notably led to the participation of the Glengarry Highlanders in the colony’s defence during the War of 1812. Over time, Macdonell’s role as a broker aided him to progressively grow in reputation. Furthermore, it helped him rise through the religious and political ranks of the Roman Catholic Church and Upper Canada politics, ultimately resulting in his appointment as the Bishop of Regiopolis and a member of the colony’s Legislative Council. From his new positions, Macdonell attempted to implement his vision of a Highland future for Upper Canada, rooted in Roman Catholicism, loyalism, and Scottish tradition.

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This paper examines how the temperance movement within Canada during the years 1872-1898 sought to justify its political program of prohibition using the concept of freedom. By examining the rhetoric employed by the temperance movement and the popular concepts to which it appealed, I hope to convey the importance of freedom within nineteenth century Canadian political culture, and to better understand how such a principle was employed in political debates. This paper engages with Ian McKay's Liberal Order Framework by contesting his conception of the primacy of the individual in the implementation of liberal values, as well as exploring the role of Christianity within the creation of a liberal order. To do so, this paper draws upon the writings of prominent English-speaking Central Canadian temperance advocates and organizations.

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