" The events of 1848 and 1849 are interpreted and measured through the lens of the European option of the monolithic nation-state, which is curious since the essence of the Canadian reform movement that came to power in 1848 was the idea of a bilingual state, built on immigration, multiple religions and regional differences. In other words, a non-monolithic, non-European model. "

― John Ralston Saul , Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin