ADAMS: Daniel Tyrie The Heritage Huckster
Canadian politics has never lacked for pretenders. Every few years, someone steps forward claiming to speak for our history, our traditions, or our national soul. They posture as prophets, draping themselves in flags and slogans, while offering little more than hollow rhetoric. Daniel Tyrie is the latest in this familiar parade of opportunists.
Behind his Dominion Society's talk of “heritage” and “identity” lies a project that is hypocritical, self-contradictory, and laughably unserious. Scratch the surface of this group, and what emerges is not a defence of Canadian history, but a warmed-over white nationalist fantasy.
Tyrie's Society calls for repealing the Multiculturalism Act, with their main goal being to re-entrench exclusionary categories of who “counts” as Canadian, and even building a social order closer to caste than to equality.
The first problem is that Tyrie himself is remarkably selective about the history they celebrate. They praise long-dead men who maintained hierarchies but denounce figures who actually modernized and improved Canada. Tyrie's supposed defence of heritage excludes leaders who built a more just, sustainable, and globally respected Canada.
Take his stance on Brian Mulroney.
Whatever one thinks of Mulroney's economic program, his legacy is undeniable: among the strongest environmental records of any prime minister, meaningful steps toward closing residential schools, and courageous international leadership against South African apartheid. These are achievements Canadians can genuinely be proud of. Yet Tyrie feels Conservatives should “disown” Mulroney's legacy.
Why? Because those legacies challenge his vision.
You cannot claim to be a steward of Canadian history while disowning a prime minister who helped dismantle apartheid and strengthen environmental protections. Unless, of course, your “heritage” is about something else entirely.
