A comment I recently heard about Canada caught me off-guard.
The source of the comment, someone I know who is vocal with their patriotic loyalty, described Canada as a joke.
It felt jarring to hear this comment shortly before Canada Day, a joyful time to celebrate the best in this country.
The comment I heard wasn’t the first time this person has voiced disappointment with Canada, and it’s probably not the last time I will hear such a comment, whether it is from this source or others.
A year ago, an Ipsos poll showed a decline in national pride among Canadians, with around 70 per cent agreeing with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s comments that Canada is broken.
However, by April of this year, the tone had shifted. A Nanos Research poll conducted that year showed 51 per cent believe Canada is good but needs improvement and 33 per cent who believe Canada is a great country.
In this survey, only 16 per cent of those who responded believed Canada is broken.
The saying is, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. That doesn't mean don't make improvements.
Still, 16 per cent — roughly one in six people — have a more pessimistic view of Canada. It’s a number high enough to take seriously.
The “Canada is broken” sentiment does not make much sense.
Neither does a recent comment from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who said Canada has “the lowest living standards in the world.”
International studies consistently give Canada high marks in categories including freedoms, peacefulness, the strength of democracy, purchasing power per person and more. The Human Development Index, a United Nations study on health, education and income, shows Canada in a positive light. The same holds true of the World Happiness Report, which examines conditions around the world.
And we have a high standard of living too, certainly above troubled nations like Sudan or Haiti.
Numerous studies do not back up the claims that Canada is a troubled or broken country.
People from around the world have come to Canada as immigrants and refugees, in search of a better life. Their stories alone should help reinforce that Canada, while by no means perfect, is not a dismal and bleak place.
Still, the negative comments persist, as I witnessed recently. The statement I heard left me frustrated and disappointed.
People are free to have their own opinions, including low opinions of this country and its leadership.
However, if a negative message is repeated frequently enough, it eventually gains traction towards a push for unnecessary change, or even towards the idea of having one province or one region leave the rest of Canada.
A present separatism movement from within Alberta can be seen as a frustration with Canada from within that province.
And in the past, there have been calls from people in other parts of Canada, most notably Quebec, to secede from Canada. Quebec held referendums on separatism in 1980 and 1995. While the 1980 referendum was rejected by 60 per cent of Quebec’s electorate, the 1995 referendum had the support of 49.4 per cent of those who cast ballots. It lost by just 53,498 votes.
Canada — every province, every territory and every region — is strongest when we work together.
We may not be perfect, but there is still a lot to celebrate about this country. Canada is a special place.
And it’s not broken.
John Arendt is the editor of the Summerland Review.
