By Emily Stonehouse

If you were to explain Canada Day to someone who had never heard of the holiday before, how would you start?

Would you lead with the fact that it’s the day we officially became a country?

But it was a country before colonizers settled on the land. Well before that.

Would you explain that it’s a day where we honour and celebrate our natural surroundings?

But our politicians are passing bills to destroy our climate. Every day.

Would you share that it’s a day we should be proud of our diversity, our inclusion, our empathy we put into the world?

But there’s still racism. Still homophobia. Still sexism. Still bigotry.

Canada had a recent shot of adrenalin in the form of the ‘Elbows Up’ campaign; when Trump made some off-side comments about capturing Canada as the 51st state, and we realized that in fact, we do have it pretty good.

But that movement brought some questions to the forefront: what is it that we should be proud of exactly?

We all bought the shirts and slathered on the temporary tattoos to say that we are not for sale, that we will Stand On Guard For Thee.

But why?

The most recent federal election showcased the worst of the worst on the forefront; scandals, defamation, bullying. It was exhausting.

And we still stand amongst a great divide; a future uncertain as political polarization continues to stretch and pull at our psyches.

With every spot for celebration on the radar, there is a flip side of fear.

What will our future look like in a world that’s being held in place by band-aids and Polysporin; constantly dabbing at the cuts and bruises of our past and present instead of curing the root causes.

Since Canada’s inception, we have taken second fiddle to the United States. And that’s okay. That’s how we like it. It’s in our nature to take a step out of the limelight, to give up our seats on the bus, to take the brunt of the burden.

But I think it’s time we came out ahead.

Not from a goods and services perspective, or as a producer of blockbuster films or breaking news.

But from a place of kindness. When Trump cut finding to the mental health lifelines across the United States, Canada stepped in and extended their suicide phone lines all across the continent. Mental health knows no boundaries, they said.

We can be better than the places burning around us. We can welcome those in need to cross our borders to safety (that’s how we all got here, don’t you remember?). We can offer a future for our kids by prioritizing the environment. We can celebrate art and music and culture and diversity from everyone who deserves to have their voices heard.

We can be better. We can do better.

So when someone asks what Canada Day is, we don’t have one or two arbitrary reasons to celebrate: we have a wealth of songs and stories and practices and promises.

We can be better. We can do better.