A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. And you devalue the citizenship of every Canadian in this place and in this country when you break down and make it conditional for anyone.
- Justin Trudeau, Canada's 23rd Prime Minister
Our Prime Minister sees nationalism as something that is binary in this non-binary, post-nationalist country of Canada many of us call home-and this makes me slightly offended. Nationalism or the idea of being of a particular nation is not simply a yes or no question in today's Canada, it's much more complicated than that. A Canadian, is not necessarily a Canadian is not necessarily a Canadian; it goes against the law of physics for two Canadians to occupy the exact same identity (or safe space) at the same time.
Binary Nationalism
A Binary Nationalist believes that a citizen is either of a nation or not. There are no in-betweens, differences in citizenship or exceptions to the rule. It is preposterous for a Binary Nationalist to consider any other state to the point where they will repeat their position three times in a row instead of accepting anything to the contrary. Binary theorists may believe you can be closer to being a citizen of a nation than others outside that nation but once you are the citizen of said nation, you are the same citizen as every citizen of that nation. Binarists think it is impossible to uphold the value of citizenship if you view the idea of being a citizen as anything else other than a yes or no question.
A Post Modern Theory of Citizenship
Citizenship is not as simplistic as yes or no. It can be yes, no, both yes and no, and neither yes nor no. We have already covered the first two cases, yes you are a citizen and no you are not a citizen, these are straight forward conditions. So what are the other types of citizenship?
Both Yes and No
This type of citizenship describes someone of dual nationality. You can be both Canadian and not Canadian at the same time or at different times. You are a hyphenated Canadian. Yes, you are a Canadian, but you are not just a Canadian, you can assume the identity of both being a Canadian and not a Canadian; it is up to you to choose your nationality, no one can force it upon you and that's your constitutional right as a Yes and No Canadian. You can denounce your Canadian citizenship if you have an additional nationality according to global citizenship law which grants an individual of a Yes and No Nationality the right to change their state of nationality, a privilege which in conflict which the traditional theory of Binary Nationalism.
Neither Yes, Nor No
A Neither Yes, nor No Canadian is someone from a nation within Canada that doesn't identify as being Canadian but cannot, not be a Canadian. A good example is a member of a First Nations or someone who identifies as being Quebecois and lives in Quebec. A Neither Yes, Nor No Canadian is a subset of Canadian (all Quebecois are Canadian but not all Canadians are Quebecois) but not the same Canadian as other Canadians-they have their own taxes system and are subject to different laws than other Canadians, they have a "special status," such is the reality in a modern federation.
Quantum Nationalism
Is the theory that there are members of a nation, people who are not of that nation, people who are of that nation and another nation (or one or the other), and people who are neither of a nation or not of a nation. Yes, it is complicated but arguing that someone who is of a nation, is the same as a person of that nation, is the same as a person of that nation is an even more confusing position in this federalist post-national world we live in.