CANADA HAS MUCH TO CELEBRATE

There’s turmoil over the United Kingdom’s announcement that it wants a divorce from the European Union, although the family seems divided over the idea. Can’t they make this marriage work?

The United States is in uproar over abrasive Republican Donald Trump who wants to divorce everybody — women, Hispanics, Muslims — and who denounced one opponent for being born in Canada.

The Middle East continues in upheaval; Africa too. China wrestles with a toxic debt problem — $1 trillion in capital fled the country last year — while Beijing and 49 other cities continue to sink (literally not figuratively) and choke (on their own smog) at the same time.

Canada’s big problem seems to be that our prime minister is now a comic book character backed by a sasquatch and a shaman, which understandably gives our opposition conniptions.

Oh yes, and just to make sure we’re not overshadowed by the marital tiff between colonial mother countries, the U.K. and France, over who gets the dog and who gets the house (not to mention who’s in the doghouse), we’ve developed our own version, let’s call it Vexit. A faction on Vancouver Island wants a divorce from B.C. — with benefits, of course (this is B.C.). The Island “Leave” faction also wants to “Remain” as Canada’s 11th province, jumping the queue on the three territories already in line. Just wait until the prime minister’s superhero buddies from the North and the Mainland hear about that!

All this self-referential fun, perhaps, helps explain why so many Canadians — young and old, newcomers and, well, slightly less newcomers — like our country. On list after list, Canada scores near the top for livability, quality of life, social progressiveness, political stability, community engagement, public safety and cultural diversity. Let’s face it, this is just a great place to live. Whatever gripes we may have, they are inconsequential compared to the burdens elsewhere. Among the most telling measures is a finding by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that 94 per cent of Canadians believe they know someone on whom they can rely in time of need, well above the OECD average.

Great Britain, faced with transmogrifying into Little England with a Welsh rump, may be peering into the abyss of devaluing currency, stock market nosedives, eroding credit ratings, and shaken confidence in financial markets. The U.S. might be lighting its hair on fire over Trumpenomics. But the Conference Board of Canada’s economic index shows things looking up in the Great White North.

Maybe that’s why the world’s millennials, the folks who will soon be running the show, name Canada the best country in the world. Canada’s three biggest cities, led by Vancouver, rank ahead of all other cities in North America on the Mercer global quality of living index. When it comes to meeting social and environmental needs, Canada ranks second in the world.

Do we have problems? Sure, lots of them. Do we need to address them? You bet. But birthdays parties are for celebrating ourselves, not complaining. So get out there and enjoy Canada’s 149th birthday. Life doesn’t get much better than this, especially compared to the rest of the world.

Canada’s big problem seems to be that our prime minister is now a comic book character backed by a Sasquatch and a shaman, which understandably gives our opposition conniptions.