This article examines how the 2010-2011 Reference re s 293, which considered the constitutionality of the polygamy prohibition, contributed to nation building discourses in Canada. A critical discourse analysis demonstrates that traditional views of monogamous marriage remain an important tenet of nation building in Canada. Discourses in the reference portrayed monogamous marriage as a central national institution and as a means of safeguarding women’s equality rights. These discourses, in turn, had racialized consequences for defining Canadian national identity.