Beneath the Red & White: A Long Weekend Unfurled
Dear Faithful Companion,
The long weekend draws near, and with it, the quiet stirring of something deeply rooted in the Canadian soul. While many will mark the Canada Day holiday in shorts and sandals, spatula in one hand and beverage in the other, this weekend is far more than the prelude to July—it is a moment of national pause, celebration, and subtle pride. Across backyards, alongside the scent of grilling maple-glazed ribs and the crack of cold beers, echoes the sound of The Tragically Hip—that iconic Canadian band whose lyrics seem stitched into our very identity. Their music, like the land itself, resonates with the quiet strength and poetic complexity that defines us.
Canada Day, observed each year on the 1st of July, commemorates the formation of our nation in 1867 when the British North America Act united Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia into a single Dominion. Unlike revolutions and declarations seen elsewhere, ours was a birth marked by quiet negotiation and thoughtful resolve—a typically Canadian trait. It reminds us that nation-building can be a matter of endurance and diplomacy, rather than upheaval and fire.
Across the country, this weekend unfolds in familiar rituals. Streets bloom with red and white, porches wave the Maple Leaf with quiet honour, and public parks thrum with music, laughter, and the sizzle of backyard grills. In the far north and coastal outposts, in bustling cities and small prairie towns, a shared rhythm of celebration carries through. Everything seems to become a bit more patriotic—flags fly higher, neighbours smile a little easier, and pride in our shared identity rises like the scent of smoke from a firepit. We will feel it ourselves: welcoming friends to our home for a barbecue, stepping aboard a friend’s sailboat with the wind at our backs, and standing under the starlit sky at Chinguacousy Park, heads tilted skyward as fireworks bloom like northern lights reborn.
Yet beyond the flags and festivity, for those of us who wear this nation’s uniform, Canada Day carries a meaning deeper than celebration—it is, in truth, an oath renewed. The Canadian Armed Forces stand as both guardians and symbols of the freedoms we commemorate. Whether marching in a parade, raising a flag, educating tomorrow’s leaders, or spending the day in quiet duty, members of the military reflect the values that make this country not only free but worth defending: inclusion, perseverance, service before self. And while many of us will partake in community events or join the crowds in celebration, we will also take our own quiet moment to reflect—to commemorate our feelings about this nation and to reaffirm the commitment we have made to protect it, without fanfare, but with steadfast resolve.
It brings to mind the words of the late Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who once declared:
“A country, after all, is not something you build as the pharaohs built the pyramids.
A country is something that is built every day out of certain basic shared values.”
Trudeau’s words cut to the core of what it means to be Canadian—not defined by grand monuments or a singular moment of origin, but by the quiet, continuous effort of a people who choose decency, dialogue, and diversity as their foundation. In today’s Canada—where voices are varied, identities are layered, and unity must be chosen daily—his reflection is more relevant than ever. Our country is not the product of marble and decree, but of neighbourly compromise, of inclusive policy, of hard-fought progress toward justice. This long weekend, even as we gather around grills or gaze at fireworks, we participate—intentionally or not—in that ongoing construction of Canada. We affirm it through civility, camaraderie, and the conscious choice to keep building a nation that not only tolerates difference but is made stronger by it.
So let this weekend be both celebration and reflection. Let us cherish the leisure, the laughter, and the land. But let us also remember: Canada was not built in a single moment—but is lived, loved, and fortified each day by the small and steadfast actions of its people.
Verbum Ultimum
As we enter this Canada Day weekend, I carry with me both the pride of a citizen and the solemn weight of a soldier. This land—vast, varied, and stitched together by hope and hard work—is more than a place on a map. It is a promise, renewed with each generation, guarded not by words alone but by those willing to stand watch.
May Canada remain a sanctuary of decency, dignity, and quiet strength—defended by honour, humility, and service. In our picnics and parades, in our friendships and freedoms, in the raising of flags and the quiet remembrance beneath them, we quietly declare the best of what it means to be Canadian.
From the True North, strong and free.
JCB
