Cramming as much Canada as possible into one day
Friends celebrate every True North tradition they can think of
On Friday, Brandie Bradshaw started her day with a rocking rendition of O Canada! while still lying in bed. Next, she grabbed a couple of friends and booted on down to Tim Hortons for Timmy’s coffee, Timbits and a maple-glazed. (That’s a doughnut, for anyone unfamiliar with the Canadian lexicon.)
“I really love being Canadian. I love being outside. I love everything about our multiculturalism. I love that we say ‘I’m sorry’ a million times a day. Rather than go to the community parade, I wanted to try and celebrate everything that is Canadian from across the country.”
That meant a Canada Day jampacked with activities that celebrated everything from skating rinks to beavers, woolly socks to Canadian Tire. Bradshaw, a youth worker, was joined by patriotic pals Lisa VanderZwaag and Karen Ens.
While there was some debate over what makes somebody Canadian, it’s hard to argue with Bradshaw’s Canuck pedigree.
“I have a picture of myself as a baby being held by Wayne Gretzky. I always say, ‘No matter what, I’ve been touched by a Great One.’”
Her father worked for the hockey equipment company Jofa and met No. 99 at a conference. Having a dad in the hockey business isn’t the only thing that adds to Bradshaw’s True North sensibilities: With an Anglo-English mother and a French-Canadian father, she has the genetic material of our two solitudes.
After hitting the Tim Horton’s drive-thru, the gang headed out to Cultus Lake, donned flannel shirts, and had a paddle in a canoe. When they discovered they had an hour left on their parking ticket, they circled around the parking lot until they found a couple to give their parking time to.
Next, they headed to an indoor skating rink in Chilliwack, donned toques, woolly socks and mittens and hit the ice, all the while saying “I’m sorry” as many times as they could muster.
Carpool karaoke followed, with the ladies singing (what else) Justin Bieber’s Sorry. Lunch at Brodeur’s Bistro in Abbotsford included poutine, smoked meat sandwiches and split pea soup.
Also on the agenda was a trip to Canadian Tire to buy Canada Dry with Canadian Tire money, and play some shinny in the aisle while wearing the flannel and toques.
Bradshaw posted everything on Instagram under the hashtag #themostcanadiandayever.
Dinner plans included moose-shaped pancakes, deer sausage and plenty of Canadian beer.
For the evening, the gang planned to spend it outdoors, wearing moccasins, wrapped in a Hudson’s Bay blanket, watching a couple of episodes of Red Green, and Anne of Green Gables, or the curling classic Men With Brooms, under the stars.
Doing the most Canadian things ever, said Bradshaw, “feels so right. I’ve had a permanent grin all day.”
But Bradshaw may have made one small mistake: she sang the old version of O Canada!, not the new gender-neutral version.
“I may sing the new version at the end of the day, just to cap it all off,” said Bradshaw. And if not, she’d be happy to say “I’m sorry.” Again.