What is Canada’s new nation-building story?

Americans have spoken. The midterm elections were a decisive repudiation of President Donald Trump’s agenda. The polls and pundits attributed the “Blue Tsunami” to the impacts on grocery bills and gas prices, broken commitments on foreign wars, egregious cronyism, and perhaps even a demand for greater decency in the fractured politics of our closest neighbour.

For Canadians watching from across the border, the general sense is probably a mix of relief that Americans are pushing back on an agenda that targets Canada, and schadenfreude at the expense of a president who sought to humiliate and exploit his northern friends.

Yet, if new polling is correct, we do not think this will turn back the clock. An Abacus Data survey conducted for The Logic before the midterms found that nearly two-thirds of Canadians believe we should build our economy on the assumption that our relationship with the United States will never return to what it was. This sentiment crosses regional and political lines.

It’s a striking shift. And it raises an important question. If Canadians are finally prepared to move on from a collective national identity of simply “not being American,” what is the new collective story for Canada’s next phase?

Trump’s threats to Canadian sovereignty have generated a surge of “elbows up” Canadian patriotism and put wind in the sails of the Carney government’s nation-building agenda. But waving the flag is not the same as building a country in which everyone feels they belong.

From regional cleavages and separatist sentiment in Alberta and Quebec, to political polarization and disenchantment among younger Canadians, and debates over Indigenous reconciliation and sovereignty, there are many stories we tell about ourselves that push against a unified national narrative.

Is there such a thing as a Canadian identity? And does a strong democracy require us to agree on who we are, or simply on how we move forward together?

Canada is a complex, multicultural and federated country. It has never been defined by a single language, culture, history or shared experience.

The debate over Alberta’s future within Confederation illustrates the challenge. Whatever one’s position on separatism, underlying questions of regional representation, economic opportunity and political trust deserve serious attention. Dismissing these concerns risks deepening the divisions we need to bridge.

And any talk about Canadian identity must acknowledge Indigenous nations whose histories, identities and rights predate Confederation.

Winnipeg offers a particularly meaningful place to explore these questions. Home to Canada’s largest urban Indigenous population, including its largest urban Métis population, the city reflects both the complexity of Canadian identity and the importance of whose stories are included in our national narrative.

Shared identity can also be built upon strong democracy. After all, democracy is not about the absence of disagreement, but our ability to disagree, listen, negotiate and find ways to move forward together.

But democracy cannot be taken for granted. Like any skill, it requires practice. It depends on opportunities for people to participate meaningfully in decisions affecting their lives, encounter different perspectives and see that their voices matter.

This is the thinking behind Democracy Live, taking place all day Monday at the Winnipeg Art Gallery/Quamajuq. Presented by The Walrus and DXC+ by DemocracyXChange (thewalrus.ca/democracy-live), the gathering will bring together diverse voices to explore the stories shaping Canada, the meaning of Canadian identity and how we can strengthen our collective capacity for democratic action.

Our shared future is not something we inherit, or something determined south of the border. It’s something we build together, shaped by the stories that connect us.

Ana Serrano is president and vice-chancellor of OCAD University and co-founder of the Open Democracy Project. André Côté is the interim executive director of the Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University, a public policy and leadership think tank focused on technology, education and democracy.