The sound of my grandchildren’s laughter drifts across the calm waters, a balm to my soul. They have come with their mother, my eldest daughter, for a visit to our island home. My heart is full. Seated on a red bench, strategically placed on the mossy slope, I gaze at the vast ocean, stretching to the mainland – my Canada, my home and native land.
As a teenager living on a Canadian Armed Forces base in Germany, every day I passed a mirror at the base gate that held a cryptic message: “The person you see in this mirror is a reflection of Canada. Act accordingly.” Having spent my formative years abroad, I wrestled with this concept of Canadian identity. Neither of my parents were born Canadian. Having arrived after the Second World War, they were a blend of Irish, Indian, French, and Portuguese blood. Their origins offered a multicultural reality akin to the ‘mosaic’ of Canada’s peoples that felt far removed from the mirror’s directive. In my parents’ home, a crucifix stood on the fireplace mantel beside a statue of Shiva. Christmas Eve celebrations included Tortiere and spicy curry and Popadum. And always, the air was scented with Sandalwood incense mingling with the aroma of my father’s Gauloise.
My return to Canada in my twenties was a cultural shock. I longed for the vibrant markets, the Sunday Volksmarches, strolls along the Rhine River, Christkindl markets and the warmth of European camaraderie. I yearned for a Canada I barely knew, a land I called ‘home’ but felt foreign in.
Fifty years later, the question lingers: what does it mean to “act accordingly” as a Canadian? Through the noise of news and social media, I’ve discovered it’s not about rigid definitions. It’s about the fluidity of belonging, anchored in Canada’s multicultural mosaic, accepting of all, no matter what pew you kneel at or language you speak. It’s grounded in universal values: community, compassion, and collaboration. Values that recognize and honour our shared humanity, regardless of our diverse origins.
Being Canadian is about open acceptance, treating everyone with dignity and respect, and above all, practicing kindness. When I walk through my day, striving to tread lightly on the land and softly on the hearts around me, I believe I am finally understanding what that mirror meant. There is no one way to be Canadian. Every way is appreciated and celebrated. It’s the Canadian way.
Sitting on a bench overlooking the ocean, hearing my grandchildren play along the shore, and feeling the moist air caress my face, I feel my roots settling into this land that has always been my home, no matter how far I roamed. Beneath the vastness of dusk settling upon the distant horizon to the east, I settle deeply into the knowing that ‘I am Canadian’ is not a battle cry. It is a commitment to being the mirror of my home and native land in everything I do and say in ways that reflect the truth, I am Canadian and proud of it.
Dare Boldly 
You have such a way with words,Louise! I too am proud to be Canadian ❤️🇨🇦🇨🇦
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What a powerful response Mark! So true. And yes, we are scrappy and we don’t fuckin’ quit.
I’m with you!
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Beautiful reflection Louise, I wish I was Canadian, I don’t like the US these days.
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In your heart Tiffany, you exemplify the qualities we hold dear.
I am sorry for all that is happening in the US these days. It is rather daunting and tragic in so many ways — and still the people are, in most cases, kind, caring and beautiful!
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P.S. … your piece today, Louise, belongs on op-ed pages in every major city in Canada – send it to them all!
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Thank You Mark!
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Well, you’ve got my vote. Oh, whoops, you aren’t running …
The country is in a state of like-mindedness right now, but we aren’t talking with each other. We are talking about what the noisy people are talking about and we aren’t talking to everyone, or anyone in particular – we are ranting against the stupidity of our neighbour’s bully-boss and about which of our Canadian parties and party leaders we dislike the most. Sadly, that counter-productive behaviour is also, being Canadian. Love-hate relationships between regions, promises, and political and philosophical soap-boxes is as Canadian about us as are curling rinks, canoes, screech, toque’s, inukshuks, poutine, hockey, lacrosse and saying please and thank you. We are the polite unarmed ones at the top of North America, north and free, and true to ourselves.
No leader scolded us to be patriotic, send a message or have a massive town hall meeting. And, silently for the most part, we voted with our feet – we focused on buying Canadian and reducing/eliminating American made products without being asked before premiers yanked yankee booze from shelves.
We aren’t like-minded in much, but we are together on this stuff like few things in our history – and at moments like this I long for the debates of Pearson and Dieffenbaker, the time of the auto-pact, the cooperative days of fighting acid rain and making the St. Lawrence seaway what it is, and remembering our flag debates and Expo ’67. I loved watching Gretzky and his Oiler magicians work magic and grow up before our eyes. I treasure every time I’ve been anywhere new in Canada. I treasure OUR National Art Gallery and OUR Centennial train that took being Canadian to every railway siding, town and city in the country.
I also remember many trips to the US – to New York (yes, including Trump Tower when it was a new thing), California, Arizona, Hawaii and Montana. Texas. Idaho (my Hemingway pilgrimage) and to North Dakota as a kid from Estevan going ‘shopping across the line’ with my family. I’ve not seen enough of Canada yet. But I’ve seen enough of Canadians to know that we’ll win this battle, this attack, we’ll outlive and outlast Trump-ness, we’ll remember 9/11 and the magic of our Newfie hospitality. Our borders have been open for a long time, and our ‘peace bridges’ have been built on the sacrifices of many kinds, limbs, lives, and bloodshed. We hate war, we love peace, and we’ve earned a great reputation as peace makers and peace keepers (Pearson won a Nobel for Peace because of that) … and now we suffer these attacks by a bully we easily label because of his thin skin, stubborn ignorance. He is real. He is a puppet. He is a sign of our times. While we are embroiled in the whir of a tariff-based election rather than one of leadership, while it’s all about fightin’ words and selling our goods, we need to see this as a national wake-up call too.
We have been awakened to our shortcomings marketing our goods and services to the world – a failing of both Trudeaus, and every PM between them: this is an all-party failing.
We have enjoyed the peace of the largest undefended border between two countries. We need to examine that; whether or not the government of the day, of today, is a threat we need to define, describe and defend out territory and be vigilant that any time some bully will try to take it away from us. No more. We must fix that too.
Because, this is not a war of attrition – if there wasn’t a Trump there would be someone else, as loudmouth-du-juor, and puppet of views, forces and governments who do not hesitate to try to influence in any way they can. The U.S. have been doing it to other countries for decades. We rely on MPs and CSIS to do their jobs. It’s not nearly enough effort to make Canada strong, to keep us free, to keep us worthy of being on the same team. Team Canada.
I’ve seen some folks criticizing this ‘elbows up’ thinking – because that’s a 2-minute penalty in hockey. But, if our politics is to be carried out in hockey-speak, then game on: it’s our game, we know how to defend our net, we know how to forecheck and backcheck, we understand stops and starts and we know how to go digging in the corners – we are scrappy and we don’t fuckin’ quit.
We’re in overtime now … don’t leave early, the game is far from over.
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…We have been awakened to our shortcomings marketing our goods and services to the world – a failing of both Trudeaus, and every PM between them: this is an all-party failing…why oh why can’t the rest of the country realize this. It’s not just one party that put us here. After almost a decade of Stephen Harper (with little baby PP on his coat tails) the country needed a change. Now the same thing after this Trudeau. But we need our politicans to do better and be better and we need to keep reminding them that this country is worth fighting for. In the corners and on the center line and at every flipping face off for however many periods this insanity is going to last. Viva La Canada as Jean Chretien said. Bernie
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