What is Canada? Who are Canadians? Are we Canadians first? Are we proud to live in Canada? If so, then why should we be proud to live here as opposed to somewhere else?
In the following, I will attempt to answer some of these questions. If these queries are not discussed to the readers’ satisfaction, surely you will find some things to ponder on, or about.
Are we Canadians first? Absolutely, I would submit we are not ‘hyphenated’ Canadians regardless of our ethnic origins i.e. Scottish Canadians or Polish Canadians, or of any other nationality. Likewise, we are not Muslim Canadians or Roman Catholic Canadians, but may be Canadians who follow the Islam faith or Roman Catholicism, or any other religious faith. The above two points should always be remembered. Are we proud to be Canadians? By all means yes and we must be honoured to salute our flag and proud to display it all over the world. In essence, Canada is an exciting land, rich in beauty and natural resources.
The Bible tells us when tragedy occurs or strikes us that, “weeping may endure for a night but joy commeth in the morning.”
From time to time tragedy has struck Canada but we are a resilient people and have always endured and recovered. Unlike many other countries, our fore fathers attempted to prepare and put in place guidelines so the following generations may govern themselves in an intelligent and egalitarian manner. Unlike many other countries which have been governed by socialist or fascist governments headed by dictators, we have been blessed with stable representative governments and, since the 1930s, the best banking system in the world, both of which have helped Canadians weather many a storm.
Our faith in God, however he is perceived, is such and our belief in Canada as a nation and as people is all men and women are created equally. Therefore, one law governs all. We are a people comprised of all races and religions.
We, the people of Canada, are a diplomatic race and are known as such throughout the world. We can take pride in the fact following Confederation, we have never warred amongst ourselves, as unfortunately, many other countries have done throughout their respective existence. Although in the past we have neglected and, at times, even derided our institutions of our national security, we may take solace in knowing that these organizations are ever vigilant in their attempts to ‘ferret out’ and bring to justice, those who would endanger or even destroy our country. There are those fanatics who have threatened our elected government leaders, but our police forces and the security intelligence community have maintained law and order and have prevented these attempts from succeeding. At all times have our armed forces defended our borders and we have never lost an oncoming attack to conquer our country. In fact, our armed forces have been outstanding in the first and second world wars, the Korean War, the Cold war, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Quoting author and journalist Paul Wells: “Canadian schools are the best in the world. No matter what background that you come from and no matter what social-economic level you come from, rich or poor, one has a better chance in Canada of succeeding in school than most countries”. That is a Canadian asset that we must never give up. I would venture the Alberta school system is equal to, if not superior to, any other school system in other parts of Canada and indeed the world. It is to be acknowledged there could be more colleges in Alberta to facilitate the growing student population.
We are a clever people and are not influenced by statements which are made by some politicians seeking to gain popularity. Although we, as citizens, do not create commotion about many issues, we tend to think more deeply about current affairs than many people in other countries. In simple terms, many of us are not easily impressed.
Ours is a relatively young country, in relation to many other nations especially in Europe and Asia. We have proved to the world, however, we are extremely well developed in all sectors. We are amongst the leaders in scientific research, agriculture, energy, medicine, law, commerce and development. We are extremely proud we have proved our place in all areas of progress throughout the entire world.
From our beginning as a country, Canadians developed a strong agricultural base which is crucial for a country to establish itself significantly as a viable strong global trading partner. It is an established fact Canada is now recognized as the top global country for investment.
Canadians belong to a beautiful, picturesque, healthy and glorious country regardless of where they may reside be in its great land. We have the freedom to roam from province to province at will and without encumbrance. We have the resources whereby our wealth is spread across the nation so people in the less economically robust regions may benefit from the abundance of the nations’ basket.
Canadians look forward to go forward. We believe in the country where we have the opportunity and freedom to move ahead. We are independent in as much as we may pursue our own incentives. We are competent in moving toward our own goals and we are confident in our own aspirations.
This is a country in which each and every Canadian should be most happy to live, and to appreciate the opportunity available to all of us.
In conclusion, one might say that Canadians are a strong, energetic, intelligent, hardy people. We are a kaleidoscope of those from all corners of t he earth. It is an honour to be Canadian. Quoting former Prime Minister Mckenzie King, “Canada is the land of opportunity”. In fact, Canada is the future.
