Borderlands: How We Talk About Canada

Lynne Perras teaches communication arts at the University of Calgary.

The three essays that make up Borderlands challenge traditional
conceptions of Canada and offer fresh new ways of envisioning our
country.

New begins by describing the borders or boundaries—physical,
cultural, and psychological—that underlie many of our assumptions
about Canada. For the author, the danger of these border metaphors lies
in their suggestions of separation, difference, marginalization,
hierarchy, and authority. New also discusses why our conception of
ourselves nearly always involves references to the United States; where
the differences between the two nations originated; and how the
overwhelming presence of America forces us into a position of
continually having to choose which attitude, idea, or philosophy to
adopt, alter, or reject. Ultimately, New urges Canadians to resist
“the institutional cliches of martyrdom and unconnected solitudes”
and to get past “the stereotypes of affordability and snowy
boredom.”

New uses numerous references from history, political science, and
literature to illustrate and support his arguments. (Readers familiar
with the works of Margaret Atwood, W.O. Mitchell, Hugh MacLennan, Mavis
Gallant, and Jack Hodgkins will particularly enjoy his literary
interpretations.) Though challenging, his book is smoothly written and
occasionally quite humorous. There are extensive footnotes, many of
which constitute mini-essays in themselves.

Borderlands contributes significantly to Canadian studies by inviting
us to transcend existing divisive and alienating paradigms, and to
consider more productive ways of defining and celebrating Canada.