and One Easy Way to Do It
Given the past few months in both Canadian politics and culture, one can be forgiven for thinking the wheels have started coming completely off the proverbial cart. Almost daily we turn on the six o’clock news to hear lurid stories about the Prime Minister wearing blackface, leading politicians ranting and raving about the illegitimacy of gay marriage, Canadian cultural icons scolding immigrant-Canadians on national television, or pitched battles in the streets of our major cities between feminists and trans-activists, ANTIFA and the far-right, Yellow Vests and environmentalists, or any other such movements which seem to have gained a foothold in our national discourse over the past several years. Further, if you live in either, the Toronto or Vancouver metropolitan areas, you are also treated with a steady dose of record-high levels of violent – often gang related – crime. Not to mention the now constant drumbeat of nationalist and separatist sentiment in both, Quebec and the Prairies – egged on and instigated by the respective Premiers’ of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Quebec.
The tension in the air is palpable, and the feeling of anger and frustration in much of the populace is both tangible and unprecedented. Indigenous Canadians are as frustrated as ever with the seemingly glacial-pace of the reconciliation effort and the apparent abandonment of their causes by a Prime Minister who championed for them only four years ago. French Canadians feel under siege by a nation which largely does not speak their language, and, they feel, does not understand their values and culture. Anglo Canadians – or “old-stock Canadians” as former Prime Minister Stephen Harper would infamously call them – largely feel the country changing at a speed which they are not entirely comfortable with; whether it be due to changing demographics, an economy undergoing a great transition, or quickly-shifting cultural and societal norms. Canadians-of-colour continue to feel the sting of a largely unacknowledged racial tinge to popular Canadian discourse, as well as decades of racist slights, and at times outright aggression, from their neighbours and countrymen. Finally, Canadians in the Prairies feel ignored and disrespected by both the so-called “Laurentian elite” in Ottawa, as well as their cousins to their West in British Columbia, for stalling and blocking major oil and gas project and as they see it, undermining and subverting the economic wealth of their region.
It is high-time that we finally address what ails our great-nation and identify what are the appropriate solutions. Our political leaders seem content to keep fanning the flames of division ever-more, and the mainstream Canadian media appears to be completely and totally addicted to sensationalism and controversy, rather than responsible journalism and encouraging respectful public discourse. So, it seems it is up to us everyday Canadians to right the ship. Thus, I propose the following manifesto to Make Canada Love Again:
I, Corey Robert LeBlanc, declare on this nineteenth day of November of the year two-thousand-and-nineteen that we shall endeavour to Make Canada Love Again, as the current state of discourse in this country is an international embarrassment, and a stain on the great history of our proud and free nation. We shall achieve our goal to Make Canada Love Again by following one easy principle: Unity.
Unity:
We as Canadians shall endeavour to be united in addressing our challenges, rather than divided along regional, cultural, ethnic and racial lines.
We shall be united with the Indigenous Peoples’ of Canada to ensure they are respected, they feel at home within our Canadian family, and they have the resources necessary for safe and successful lives in their communities, and in our nation at-large. We shall treat Indigenous issues as our own.
We shall be united with French-Canadians and the Quebecois to ensure that they feel that the rest of the country understands their feelings of alienation, and that we stand behind them with our love and support. We shall treat French-Canadian and Quebecois issues as our own.
We shall be united with Anglo-Canadians who feel the nation is changing at a rapid pace without their input, and we shall endeavour to understand their perspectives without twisting their words, or tarring them with hurtful labels. We shall treat Anglo-Canadian issues as our own.
We shall be united with Canadians-of-colour and we shall educate ourselves on the historic and continuing racism many face in our great nation. We shall acknowledge that despite our national popular-myth of being a tolerant, open, and diverse nation, we are a nation that was at least 90% Caucasian only fifty years ago – and we shall acknowledge the many who did not fit the mold of a “typical Canadian” were often excluded, neglected, and put-down by mainstream Canadian society. We shall also acknowledge that these feelings of exclusion and neglect continue today. We shall treat the issues Canadians’-of-colour face as our own.
We shall be united with the Prairie provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and their people. We shall seek to be more understanding of the deep economic anxiety that Canadians in the Prairies feel, and we shall acknowledge that in addressing the global challenge of climate change, it is inevitable that there will be significant upheaval and disruption to traditional economic sectors which employ large numbers of Canadians – especially those in the Prairies. We shall treat the issues of the Prairie provinces as our own.
We shall be united with all other Canadians facing hardships and challenges, from female-Canadians demanding and fighting for equality in our society, to LGBT Canadians doing the same. We shall be united with Canadians struggling with mental health issues, or addiction, or other such challenges. We shall be united with our Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces, and we shall respect and honour their service to our country. Lastly, we shall be united with those seeking to become Canadian, and understand that with the exception of Indigenous Canadians, all of us are lucky to be members of this great national community, and we should not cast aspersions on those seeking to do the same.
We shall be united on these issues because we have no choice. We shall treat them as our own, because they are. Regardless of which hyphenated Canadian you are, we are all, ultimately, Canadian. We are far stronger united together, than we are divided and fighting amongst one another. The immense challenges of our time require a united- front – not a divided people fighting over the details. With unity, comes understanding, and with understanding, comes love.
My name is Corey LeBlanc, and that’s just my opinion.