News and Nationality in Canada, 1890-1930

Abstract

Adopting the approach that nationality is primarily a cultural phenomenon, this essay analyzes patterns of national news coverage in Canadian newspapers between 1890 and 1930. Based on an examination of 6,800 articles that appeared in 17 newspapers, the essay concludes that national news presented an image of the nation that focussed heavily and consistently on federal politics and government in Ottawa—the “state” part of the nationstate—and on the province of Ontario. The proportion of coverage devoted to Quebec steadily declined after 1900, while the volume of news about Western Canada increased. Beyond this, newspapers in different areas of the country printed a varying mix of national news (as did French- and English-language newspapers in Quebec), so that the image of the nation differed depending on one’s vantage point. Coverage also varied along rural-urban lines, with smaller localities depicted mainly as places where crime and accidents took place. Over all, national news coverage affirmed both unity and equality (in that all citizens shared a focus on Ottawa and Ontario) and, at the same time, hierarchy and difference (in that other parts of Canada received less attention).