Elbows up Canada! This is one of our rallying cries in reaction to our strange and unpleasant presidential southern neighbour. Along with Greenland, Trump wants to take over, as in, annex Canada.
Elbows Up is a hockey term, not to attack, but to defend!
The Silver lining to this presidential huff and puff is that we Canadians are flexing our national identity muscle and expressing our patriotism. This used to be (like in my youth) many years ago, a bit tricky, with echoes of chauvinism and jingoism—the dark side of the excessive nationalism of 1930s Europe. However, in Canada, we have lots of space and goodwill to let our patriotism grow and flourish.
In the early days, there was some angst over the question of who-what are we, beyond not being USAmericans? We seem beyond that now and collectively, it is all bubbling up in our choices over shopping Canadian, our travel plans – not to the States and displaying our symbols, and other creative ways people find to love Canada.
As an immigrant and naturalized Canadian, I can boastfully say that I have always sought to educate myself on the history and geography of Canada. I have visited most, but not all, regions. My work with CBC-Radio-Canada helped me greatly with this.
If I had a one-word challenge to describe Canada, I would say community. It just comes to us as first nature! When I arrived in Canada by boat in September 1967 (yes during Expo) and over the next few days I spent in Montréal I would meet people in the street from the boat. Never-hardly ever had that happened in London or the suburb where I lived. And in Canada, it just keeps happening and we find connections. In Edmonton I say, there are two degrees of separation. (And for the French speakers outside Québec, it is like one big family.)
Over our vast country, we are many and various: the First Nations, not one block of course but Inuit, Haida, Plains, Algonquin, Mikmak and so many other groups and the Métis. The Settlers, from all corners of Europe and Asia, Africa and all continents.
Last evening during the national music awards – The Junos –it was such fun and so beautiful to see performers from all the groups singing and dancing but all with great Canadian flavour.
And what am I doing? Of course, the shopping thing and feeling a bit smug about how during the last two years I have been on holiday in Nova Scotia – and listening to an audio version of Antonine Maillet’s book Pélagie la Charette – a mythical story of a group of deported Acadians making their way back from the American south to Nova Scotia (this book won the 1979 Prix Goncourt – France’s most prestigious book award) and as I listen I am knitting a pair of mittens from a Newfoundland pattern with wool yarn from Ontario! Yeah, Canada!
(oh yes, and we have an election campaign going on)