Mark Steyn wrote:
Even if one takes the somewhat reductive position that Canada as a sovereign entity dates only from the 1867 British North America Act or the 1931 Statute of Westminster, that would still make us one of the oldest nations in the world.
I agree with the premise that Liberals manipulate history.
But the basic premise that Canada is a young country is correct.
I counted 44 countries whose date of independence is earlier than Canada's:
1. England
2. France
3. Italy
4. Spain
5. Portugal
6. Denmark
7. Sweden
8. Switzerland
9. United States
10. Argentina
11. Venezuela
12. Chile
13. Bolivia
14. Brazil
15. Columbia
16. Costa Rica
17. Ecuador
18. El Salvador
19. Guatemala
20. Haiti
21. Mexico
22. Nicaragua
23. Honduras
24. Paraguay
25. Afghanistan
26. China
27. Japan
28. Iran
29. Korea
30. Thailand
31. Andorra
32. Austria
33. Belgium
34. Bulgaria
35. Greece
36. Hungary
37. Iceland
38. Liechtenstein
39. Monaco
40. Netherlands
41. Poland
42. San Marino
43. Russia
44. Ethiopia
I didn't count countries that are formerly part of larger entities, but whose nationhood extends way before their most recent liberation: Slovenia, Croatia, Ukraine, Egypt, Mongolia, India, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, etc.
When you throw those countries in the mix, Canada is indeed on the youngish side. Canada is older than many of the countries created through de-colonization, many of which are very artificial constructs. But it's not one of the older countries. Sorry Mark Steyn.
I think when Liberals say how young we are, they're stating a fact. But I think that Liberals denigrate the past from the belief in progressivism. Old is bad, new is good. History is a means of celebrating when heroes made "progress", and threw off the fetters of oppression and ignorance.
By extension, tradition, and thus the past, tends to be denigrated.
