Celebrating Canada on the campaign trail
We should celebrate Canada without hesitation or apology.
I had a fantastic Canada Day weekend. I hope you did, as well.
Part of why my weekend was so good is that I was out in my local community celebrating Canada with neighbours and friends.
I focused on the positives, and avoided the negativity trap that often awaits people who love Canada. Certain politicians and activists would like for us to waste our time feeling defensive. They want us to hesitate to love Canada. They want us to use our precious free time to argue over Canada Day fireworks being cancelled or if we should change words in our national anthem.
But this hesitation to love Canada is a largely social media-driven, liberal elite phenomenon. In real life, people of all cultural backgrounds seem to celebrate Canada quite easily - with big smiles on their faces.
On Friday, I joined a panel discussion hosted by True North (which you can watch here) on this very topic. The discussion focused on a book edited by writer Mark Milke, The 1867 Project, which features a number of authors arguing that Canada is a country that should be cherished, not cancelled.
As part of this panel discussion, one of the contributors, Matthew Lau of the Financial Post, made a crystal clear argument about why we shouldn’t have to apologize when saying good things about Canada: In 2023, Canada is a country where people from all over the world can come and find success. Canadians who speak every language under the sun are able to be part of Canada and earn a better life for themselves and their families (read more on this argument here).
In my Canada Day travels, I saw this positive reality first-hand.
On Saturday, I was invited to a wonderful Malayali community celebration in Oshawa. Dozens of families came together to enjoy South Indian food, sing, dance and rejoice.
The Malayali embody the Canadian spirit, as they are a community that respects one another’s differences, but also build on their shared traditions and cultural practices. The Malayali are a diverse community of Christians, Muslims and Hindus bound together with a common language, Malayalam, which is spoken by 40 million people worldwide.
Earlier Saturday afternoon, I visited the Columbus Community Centre, where families gathered together for hot dogs, hamburgers, music and raffle prizes. At the park, a local artist from Courtice, Ontario created an architectural painting of the Columbus Community United Church.
The following Sunday morning, I attended VIVA Church in Oshawa, where I was asked to pray for Canada. VIVA is one of the most culturally diverse churches I’ve been lucky to attend. Pastor Frank Seixas is originally from Brazil, and his congregation includes Canadians and recent immigrants from Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.
My prayer for Canada recognized that we have much to be grateful for in this country, but also some challenges we must overcome. Specifically, I mentioned that we need to make sure Canada has a health care system where every sick person can see a doctor in a timely manner, an economy where every young man an woman who wants to start a family can afford a home to live in, and the freedoms for moms and dads to raise their children without heavy-handed bureaucracies attacking parental rights.
None of Canada’s imperfections make it a country less deserving of reverence. In fact, we’re fortunate to be in a country where people are free to challenge the status quo and have the confidence that things can be better.
Would you like to support my campaign to become the Conservative Party’s candidate for MP in Durham? We would love your support! You can sign up to volunteer or make a donation.
Beautiful! This can apply to your southern neighbor, USA, as well.