In trying times, we can still celebrate Canada

Halfway through one of the toughest years in memory, some Canadians might wonder if it’s better to isolate than celebrate this July 1st.

Staggered by a lingering pandemic, communities from sea to sea have cancelled the parades, festivities and fireworks that traditionally made Canada Day Canada Day.

That’s let the air out of a lot of national-holiday balloons. Indeed, many Canadians may feel inclined to simply let the day pass and keep their Maple Leaf flags in the drawer for another year.

That would be a mistake. Yes, Canada is still in the early stages of emerging from the COVID-19 lockdown. The pandemic has exacted a brutal toll on the country. The nation’s economy is softer than a plate of butter left outside on a hot July afternoon, and the only certainty is we’ve plunged into deep recession.

But that’s not the full story. The magnificent way Canadians have responded to the world’s worst health crisis in a generation should offer not just consolation but inspiration. We’ve pulled together. We’ve sacrificed. We’ve shown resiliency. And we’re gradually winning the battle against a tiny but lethal virus.

Governments across the land have taken unprecedented measures to support the millions of people who have lost jobs or had their working hours cut during the pandemic. We’ve gained a new appreciation of who our essential workers truly are and lengthened the list to include grocery store employees, personal support workers, migrant farm labourers and public transit and truck drivers.

Homemade posters hung in front-room windows across the land proclaim: “We’ll get through this.” And in fact we will, even if we have to mask-up to go shopping.

Yet our current trials go beyond even a pandemic and recession. The first half of 2020 has also been a time when Canada has had to come face-to-face with the systemic racism that still infects too much of this country. And while that reality is nothing to be proud of, what is heartening is the way hundreds of thousands of Canadians from every background have publicly protested against it and demanded changes to ensure justice and equality for all.

There’s a tremendous desire to make this a better country for everyone and particularly, at this moment, for Indigenous and Black people who have suffered discrimination for far too long. With goodwill and faith in our democratic institutions we can rise to this challenge as we have to so many others in our past.

And so it’s completely appropriate that despite all the celebrations cancelled by COVID-19, creative Canadian minds have found new ways to mark this country’s 153rd birthday. Many events will be online or televised.

The Surrey City Orchestra, for instance, will stream a video of its 28 musicians performing “O Canada” from their homes in British Columbia. The federal government will host Canada’s first-ever crosscountry, virtual citizenship ceremony to welcome the country’s newest citizens.

But you don’t have to turn on a television or laptop to give this Canada Day its due. By almost any imaginable standard, Canada is one of the best countries in the world in which to live. It’s vast, diverse and blessed with natural and human resources beyond compare.

Canada Day gives us all 24 hours in which we can, at the very least, set aside a few minutes to pause and reflect on the incredible country we share. We should embrace that opportunity in this of all years. If we do, we might discover not only something to cheer but a place to love.