by Jac Alyn

Created on: February 01, 2010   Last Updated: July 02, 2010

As Canadians, we generally feel that we are lucky.  We feel that our country is arguably the greatest in the world.  We have everything anyone could possibly want.  We have freedom of speech, democracy and religion.  We have equality, stability and opportunity.  We have food, water and riches.  We have farms, deserts and forests.  We have mountains, tundra and the Northern Lights.  We have rivers, oceans and lakes.  We have fishing, hunting and camping.  We feel it is our right to travel, to express ourselves, to celebrate.  Our country is big and beautiful with an abundance of natural resources that we have come to rely on not only for progress in the eyes of the world but also for satisfying our basic needs and sense of adventure. We are fiercely proud and loyal to our flag and respect our responsibility to the monarchy.  We are undeniably laid back and recognize in ourselves our underlying sense of complacency, sometimes to our peril.  We are overly friendly, extremely polite and will go out of our way to help and get involved.

It is hard to pinpoint the exact flavour of our true culture.  Canada is often labeled a multi-cultural country.  Instead of one single culture, we have all adapted to each other to create a unique blend that is distinctly ours.  We rely heavily on immigration not only to keep our population up but also because we are willing to share our land with those who are less fortunate.  We know that our country is a haven to so many seeking escape and we are more than willing to let them in, to try to make a life for themselves and their families.  Due to this fact our culture is made up of tiny pieces of European, Asian, Islamic and American traditions that have been brought over from so many homes across the world. 

Canada was created from ambition, excitement and an undeniable sense of adventure that has been ingrained in our blood since Louis and Clark ventured to this country with unbridled love of the unknown.  They were the first to explore our lands and founded our country with those same values that drove them overseas from Britain in the first place.  Our pioneers showed dedication and courage to stay through long, cold winters to carve out a piece of the world for themselves.  This is what our foundation is made of.  This is our heritage, our history.

Each province has a unique perspective and provides a very different taste to our Canadian blend.  This further reflects our individual uniqueness we all share and emphasizes our distinctive identity within the world.  We can all appreciate our differences while living under the understanding that Canada as a whole is our home, and we are all part of that family.  Every family disagrees at times, but the loyalty that binds us is woven together with love, patriotism, peace and freedom.  These are the values that we strive to bring to the world.   

Sometimes we get the feeling that we are alone out here in our vast north when really we need to recognize that we have the whole world knocking at our door.  We need only to let them in to discover what a rich tapestry we have been blessed with in our true north strong and free.  From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for the essence of what we stand for.  Peace, equality, freedom, love, passion and adventure.  That is the identity of Canada. 

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