An unloved compromise imposed by the Crown, even some of the capital’s defenders argue that its unimpressiveness is somehow reflective of Canada’s undistinguished history.
We effectively have two national anthems, sung in parallel with increasingly different lyrics; a national obsession among Canadian elites for the country’s entire history, is often only achieved through English and French Canada ignoring each other.
Unlike many countries’ elites, they are not readily identifiable on sight. They have long abandoned their differentiated mid-Atlantic drawl; their houses do not have moats.
Endless efforts at constitutional appeasement after the 1980 referendum saw the country come very close to breaking up in 1995.
The best way of removing the SNP from the realm of populism is to give the devolved parliaments full autonomy to raise taxes by as much as they wish.
Also: Lessons for unionists as Canada emerges from the shadow of separatism; and MoD accused of leaking against the Welsh government.
Remember that the split on the Canadian right guaranteed easy Liberal victories until 2003, when the Canadian Alliance (a rebranding of the Reform Party) and the remnants of the federal Progressive Conservatives finally decided to merge.