Most Canadians were baffled by Justin Trudeau’s comments in TheNew York Times Magazine, shortly after he became prime minister, about his vision of Canada becoming the first “post-national” state.
“There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada,” he said in 2015.
Most Canadians dismissed it as so much preening poppycock.
We’re proud of our history and our institutions. Like many countries, there have been times when we’ve failed to live up to our ideals. But we’ve striven to do better, moved on and become a country that’s a beacon of peace and stability in a war-torn world.
In the nine years since he took office, we’ve discovered what Trudeau meant. Instead of celebrating our history as a place of freedom and democracy, where refugees from around the globe have found a safe haven, his government told us to be ashamed of everything that makes us great. In 2021, Trudeau ordered the lowering of flags on all federal government buildings after the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at an Indigenous residential school in Kamloops.
Fair enough, it was a shocking discovery and acknowledging the grief was important. But the flags remained lowered for six months. Canada Day was forgotten and the flags were only raised before Nov. 11, so they could be lowered to commemorate Canada’s war dead.
In 2023, Trudeau’s government removed iconic images from our passports. Vimy, a military achievement that forged Canada as a nation, and Terry Fox were deleted. So were pictures of the Fathers of Confederation. They were replaced with cartoonish images. Fox will return on the new $5 bill, but it took an outcry to acknowledge that this country has done great things and has great heroes.
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Over the strenuous objections of historians, his government has allowed our first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, to be denigrated and his statues vandalized.
Now his government is indignant that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump is suggesting Canada could become America’s 51st state.
Well, as your parents warned: If you don’t respect yourself, others won’t respect you either. Trudeau’s turned us into a laughing stock. Trump’s just piling on. If you spend nine years saying Canada isn’t a real nation, don’t be surprised if your neighbour takes you at your word.