The Dominion Series collects those Loyalist Papers most directly concerned with Canada and its ongoing constitutional journey. From the country’s institutions to the Charter to the evolving relationship between diverse peoples and the Crown, these essays explore the ways in which Canadian identity and constitutional practice continue to develop in the shadow of American influence and the legacy of Empire.
Series read time: 1 hour, 5 minutes.
Image: Queen Elizabeth II signs the Proclamation of the Constitution Act alongside Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Ottawa, April 17, 1982. Photo by Ron Poling, Canadian Press. Public domain.
Loyalist № 19. Hamilton warned that formulas for fairness would only breed jealousy. Canada built Confederation on equalization, promising equity among Provinces through fiscal federalism. Our Dominion, however, will only endure not by quotas and ledgers but by remembering Our shared allegiance to the Crown.
Loyalist № 18. Might the Empire have prevented the American Revolution by expanding Westminster into an Imperial Parliament? One of many proposals that were put forward by American and British Statesmen alike, demographics would have doomed it to failure. Canada's Confederation offered a new way forward in loyalty to the Crown.
Loyalist № 16. Democracy needs more than elections. Madison defended an appointed Senate not as a barrier to the popular will, but as its ballast. Our first Canadian Prime Minister agreed: some institutions must stand apart from partisan winds. In Canada, as in the early republic, not all wisdom comes by vote.
Loyalist № 8. The Electoral College was meant to shield the presidency from partisanship and populism – but quickly became their tool. Federalist No. 68 offers a window into the original design and its failure, raising deeper questions: What can Westminster democracy teach us about balancing local and national interests? And have Canadians unknowingly created an Electoral College of Our own?
Loyalist № 4. Amid global instability and American unpredictability, Canada must move beyond its dependence on the United States. Just as John Jay saw shared values as the Union’s foundation, Canada should strengthen ties with Australia, New Zealand, and the UK through CANZUK – uniting Loyalist nations under the Crown to safeguard Our economies and political independence.
Loyalist № 2. Elijah Harper's 1990 stand against the Meech Lake Accord highlighted not only Québec's alienation but also the ongoing denial of Indigenous Peoples' autonomy and inherent rights under the Constitution. Harper said, "We were to recognize Québec as a distinct society, whereas we as Aboriginal people were completely left out." Can the fractures in Our federation be fixed?
Loyalist № 1. Much chatter has been made about the President-elect’s musings that Canada should join the Union as the 51st state. It was initially dismissed south of the border as “a joke” and then rapidly escalated to unveiled conversations about outright annexation. The idea had always received a more sober reception here, and for good reason.