The Essence of Canada

Nations come together to make the Great Peace of Montreal, 1701. This painting imagines the reknowned Huron-Wendat leader Kondiaronk making the final appeal for peace to the nations assembled from across the continent

The wave of patriotism that has swept Canada since the Trump tariffs has been inspiring. We Canadians know, deep in our bones, that we share something special with one another. It is much more than the unity that comes from not being the U.S. Nor is it the nationalism that divides a country between the “real people” and everybody else.

This form of patriotism feels inclusive. We see it both in the cities and in our rural areas. We feel it whether we are left-wing, right-wing, or something in between. We hear it from Quebecers at hockey games in Montreal. Some prominent First Nations thought leaders like Rose Lemay even venture to share their hope that it includes them and the history that encompasses all nations in this land.

It seems obvious that it would. After all, it is from the centuries before Confederation that we learned the ways of living together - hundreds of First Nations and Inuit, eventually joined by European nations and Métis peoples, negotiating with one another through trade, tales and treaties. Maybe it is that instinct for accommodating one another that made us Canadian even before Canada unified in a single country.

Each nation present in our country today sees that instinct for accommodation as something they excel at. The Haudenosaunee shared their Great Law of Peace with the rest of us so that we might learn how to live together. Quebecers have built one of the most compassionate societies in North America. English Canadians boast of bilingualism and multiculturalism. The list goes on.

Let us continue to compete at who can be the most inclusive. We have had our setbacks, but we continue to refine the art of living together. That is what sets us apart as a country - a country big enough and caring enough for all of our nations to live together.