Why I Love Canada

I cannot cherish my birth country without also paying tribute to the country where I was raised. My father considered many countries when he looked at immigration and of course finally settled on Canada as the safest country to live in. Beyond that he didn’t know very much about Canada as any of our relatives who immigrated had gone to the USA (his side) or Australia (Mom’s side) and even then not much was known about their experiences, at least for Dad.

Dad told his mother when she was on her visit here in 1962 that “Canada is a hard land, but a good one”. While we had financial struggles from the beginning Dad also saw opportunities in many areas and with his usual enthusiasm he embraced many things (but no debts) quite quickly. They got a television and a car within the first year which was something they could hardly dream of acquiring in Denmark at that time. They also owned their first house within 2 years of arriving in Canada, simply impossible in post-war Denmark at this time.

From the time we had our first home we lived in Suburbia and this provided a truly sheltering environment for a young family. Not for us the hard knocks of downtown Toronto; rather we lived in an almost Utopian world where children ran free and wild in the neighbourhood without fear of getting hit by a car. Suburbia was still raw enough to also offer nature which we enjoyed to the max. The opportunities of the in-school library was heaven to me and I took full advantage of it. Dad was insistent that two things were essential in a child’s life, a bicycle and skates which we got at the “appropriate time”.

As an adult I see Canada through many lenses and while Canada has a long way to go in its socio-political evolution it is still a country with strong, high values and principles. I am not Justin Trudeau’s biggest fan but I support his vision of Canada as being a Peacekeeping Nation rather than a warrior one. I may not totally embrace his reconciliation process with Aboriginals but I understand them. Canada is still a very young country and is still trying to figure out its true identity of multi-culturalism, peace and security but given the times we are in and the neighbour we are suffering through at this time, I think Canada is on its way to being a quietly great nation. And that is who we are – polite to a fault (vis a vis “a quietly great country”).

The bottom line for being happy in Canada is that it is a land of opportunity and it is the safest country in the world.