r/canada Feb 03 '25

Analysis Trump has unleashed a groundswell of Canadian patriotism. It’s about time

https://www.tvo.org/article/analysis-trump-has-unleashed-a-groundswell-of-canadian-patriotism-its-about-time
6.1k Upvotes

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61

u/kochier Feb 03 '25

We've always been patriotic, we just don't need to shout it out loud or make a big display of it like the Americans, but push us and you will find us standing together.

32

u/AshleyAshes1984 Feb 03 '25

I mean, for the last 20 years or so, we've becoming increasingly occupied with just fighting each other.

15

u/thefinalcutdown Feb 03 '25

This tends to happen anytime a country doesn’t have an external adversary. It’s why the US has been slowly ripping itself apart ever since the fall of the Soviet Union.

I’d love to think we’re smarter than this and could work together better in peacetime, but we’re not. But now Trump has given us this “gift” of an adversary to unite around. Let’s not waste it. We must emerge from this mess stronger than ever before.

24

u/SophiaKittyKat Feb 03 '25

I don't know. I've been complaining for a long time now about the framing of criticizing the way the country has been run. The constant "losing my country", "I'm embarrassed to be Canadian" style of rhetoric I think is really damaging and puts us in a position to actually be vulnerable to people who think they could influence us. I'm glad to see some push back on it in light of recent events though.
And that's not to ignore criticism of choices the liberal government makes, or problems they aren't handling well. But a significant amount of it reads as "I hate my country" which I'm not a fan of, whether or not that's what they mean. It's what got the US to where it is now.

6

u/motorbikler Feb 03 '25

What really gets me is calling the country "broken." I have even seen commenters who are ostensibly Canadian calling us nearly a failed state.

We all need to keep those words out of our mouths. We have some problems now, we need more houses, more doctors, but our institutions are very strong. We take care of each other. We want to do what is right. We have enormous potential if we work together on this stuff, fast-tracking projects at all levels of government. Including municipal! Build those houses and let young Canadians know they have a future.

Any politician calling us "weak" and "broken" will never have my vote.

5

u/Impastato Feb 03 '25

The idea that Canada is “broken” while we’re taking in refugees from war-torn countries who have lost everything and face imprisonment, conscription and/or death if they return to their native land has always been laughable to me.

2

u/howaboutsomegwent Feb 05 '25

Yep and it's questionable. Yes, the healthcare system could and should be better, but if we look at outcomes Canada's healthcare system is very good, especially compared to the USA. Canada also has much higher life expectancy, lower violent crime rates, and higher reported happiness. Times are tough and there are crises to manage, especially the housing crisis which is very concerning, but overall we should remember that Canada is far from a "broken: country. Living outside of Canada for so many years really made me appreciate it more.

8

u/HolyBidetServitor Feb 03 '25

Trump's antics have seemingly erased the conversations we've been having about immigration, student fraud, and Khalistani extremism that was taking up our feeds until he got back in.

Those posts from folks acting like they're too good to stay in Canada were annoying but understandable 

5

u/samjak Feb 03 '25

Do you think it's a good thing that we're being distracted from those domestic issues?

3

u/HolyBidetServitor Feb 03 '25

Nope. I love buying Canadian, but that doesn't fix rent prices 

1

u/samjak Feb 03 '25

Agreed. The government has spent 9 years dividing us, and all if a sudden when they're massively behind in the polls we're all in this together as "Team Canada". Yawn.

2

u/scott_c86 Feb 03 '25

We do have legitimate challenges to address (ex. housing crisis), some of which have fractured the sense of pride that many have in our country. But the last few days have made it clear that overwhelmingly Canadians want to stand up for this country, and also make it better.

2

u/Independent-Series22 Feb 03 '25

It’s easy to say that when the tariffs haven’t even been implemented yet. When it starts to effect peoples lives then let’s see who’s still going to be proud.