As we move towards July 1 celebrations and people dig out their red and while paraphernalia, readying for the one big day when we allow ourselves to put aside our humility and celebrate the brilliance of this country, conversations will emerge about what it is to be Canadian.
On the lighter side, the usual suspects will be cited, such as our love of hockey, how we are hard-working people who unwind with good beer, love our maple syrup, poutine and the great outdoors, which explains why we also love our toques.
Of course, we say eh a lot.
Geographically, Canada speaks for itself, as it is a beautiful country. It has so much to offer in the way of sights and experiences that it is often promoted around the world as a top tourist destination and was named such in 2017 by the American Travel and Leisure magazine.
My bucket list certainly includes driving across our country to see destinations, such as the Alberta Badlands, the wheat fields of Saskatchewan — I was born there, so I want to see the old farm — Churchill, Manitoba to see the largest population of polar bears in the world, Niagara Falls, the French culture of Quebec, the lighthouses of New Brunswick, the Cabot Trail and lobster dining in Nova Scotia, PEI, home of Anne of Green Gables, ice bergs and whale watching off of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northern Lights in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, and ,last but not least, Nunavut, where the ruggedness of Canada comes through in its full glory.
For 151 years, immigrants have settled in Canada and woven their culture into its fabric, leaving us with a nation that finds its strength through its diversity.
Acceptance of so many cultures has created a progressive value system framed in acceptance and tolerance that has made Canada an envied country throughout the world, which we remain steadfastly humble about.
Except, that is, on Canada Day, when we feel compelled to show our pride by busting out our red and white T-shirts and paper Canadian flags. Something we will probably apologize for later, because apologizing is also truly Canadian.
However, if you read Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland’s speech that she gave when she was awarded Diplomat of the Year earlier this month at the Foreign Policy forum, you will see she offers up no apology for being Canadian and reading it may make you feel proud to be one.
Minister Freeland, as an elected official, in my view, is one of the most qualified people to enter Canadian politics in recent history. Born in Alberta, she earned an undergraduate degree at Harvard and went on to study at Oxford, leading to a career as an esteemed journalist and author of two books, with a focus on finance and social equity.
She spent a number of years in Russia, prior to its collapse, as well as throughout Europe, all of which set her on a perfect path for the role she holds within the federal government as Foreign Affairs Minister, which is further supported by the fact she speaks five languages: English, French, Ukrainian, Russian and Italian.
On top of all of this, she is a wife and mother of three children, so suffice to say, at the age of 49, she can be held in high regard for her accomplishments to date.
Within Minister Freeland’s speech, she outlined the challenges liberal democracies face with the internal and external attacks on our democratic structures and that the retention of them are not absolutes.
There is no doubt that throughout her speech she is speaking about the concerning behaviour displayed by President Donald Trump as he breaks trade rules based on false accusations of threats to his nation’s sovereignty and misrepresents the protections that exist within other countries’ trade positions, all the while ignoring his own country’s subsidies and protections.
However, Minister Freeland is getting diplomat of the year for a reason and maintains the same poise she has shown throughout the troubling NAFTA discussions and stealthily and intellectually makes her points that are meant to encourage civil conversations on the realities of the world, as opposed to wasting time within the realm of an ‘alternative’ set of facts that Mr. Trump and authoritarian governments throughout the world are using to distract their citizens.
In reading Minister Freeland’s speech, I found myself consistently agreeing with her, not because of a shared political view, as I have not supported federal Liberals for a while, but because she was defending democracy and, through her examples, reflecting what I have grown up to embrace as a Canadian, which is our value and belief system.
Minister Freeland was honest enough to state the following in her speech: “Why are our liberal democracies vulnerable at home? Here’s why. Angry populism thrives where the middle class is hollowed out. Where people are losing ground and losing hope — even as those at the very top are doing better than ever.”
She went on to own the fact that we need to get our own domestic policies in order, so that working families are gaining ground, as opposed to losing it. She also stated democracies are not without their flaws and acknowledged the tragedy of our own history with our Indigenous peoples.
Without bringing up hockey, toques or beer, Minister Freeland reflected who we are as Canadians and what we stand for and she did it by offering honest dialogue about the challenges placed on the middle class and the imperfections of democracy.
And she ended with the following statement to the U.S.: “Our friends among the world’s democracies — in Europe, in Asia, in Africa and her in the Americas — are shoulder-to-shoulder with us. We all know we will be strongest with America in our ranks — and indeed in the lead. But whatever this great country’s choice will turn out to be, let me be clear that Canada knows where it stands and we will rise to the challenge.”
I would encourage everyone to read her speech and proudly wear your red and white on Canada Day with no apologies, as our country is truly forging a democracy that is worth celebrating.
However, I have to apologize, as I will be out of town and will miss the local celebrations. Sorry, eh.
Cheryl Ashlie is a former Maple Ridge school trustee, city councillor, constituency assistant and former
citizen of the year.