Commentary
For many people, it seems to be a chore trying to feel pride in our country as our national holiday approaches. A survey in 2024 found that only 34 percent of Canadians were “very proud” to be Canadian, down from 52 percent in 2016 and 78 percent in 1985. The share who were either “proud” or “very proud” fell from 79 percent in 2016 to 58 percent in 2024, indicating a substantial erosion of intense attachment.
And who could blame them? For the past few years, federal politicians have used Canada Day to generate not gratitude and delight for the privilege of living in one of the most congenial nations in human history, but as the moment for all of us to engage in reflection and contrition for imagined sins and past oppressions. Recently, indigenous groups and leftist activists have rallied under the banner “Cancel Canada Day,” a temptation that the British Columbia government and dozens of municipalities actually yielded to five years ago….