Ted's thoughts: on being a proud Canadian

Well, it’s July 1, the time we celebrate Canada Day. So, here are some thoughts on why I love Canada and some concerns for where it might be heading.

In the U.S. they use the term “melting pot.” In Canada we use the term “mosaic” which I like a lot better. In the U.S., the idea of a melting pot suggests that you sort of meld your identity, your ethnicity and your heritage into this big mix to become a U.S. citizen first and your own culture second.

In Canada when we say you are part of a mosaic, that suggests that we value who you are as an individual and celebrate your history, your background, your gender, your sexuality, your ethnicity and your heritage.

The funny thing is when a person describes who they are in the U.S. they say that they are an African American, an Italian American or a Native American. In Canada we usually say that we are Canadian of Armenian heritage. See the difference? Canadians are proud to be Canadian, but also celebrate their heritage at the same time. People from the U.S. celebrate their heritage before their citizenship, because individuality is important to everyone.

Please let me be clear, I am not trying to put the U.S. down, I am simply making a comparison.

Having said that, I am concerned at the direction the world is going and I see issues Canadians are normally not interested in are now becoming mainstream. I believe COVID is part of the cause, but I also think the visceral clashes between elected officials, and the way social media feeds the conflict, also contribute to the dysfunction.

As Canadians we need to stand up to extremism on all sides. This is not a right or left issue. This is fundamentally who we are as Canadians. I have travelled the world and there is nothing that makes me more proud than when someone from another country notices I am Canadian, and they comment on how nice Canadians are. We are known world-wide as a good country with good people, and we cannot take that for granted.

History shows we generally follow what is happening in the U.S., and right now that divisiveness and the anti-government rhetoric is seeping across the border. We have come a long way with women’s rights, LGBT rights, ethnic rights, Indigenous rights, gender rights and individual rights, but we can’t sit back and believe it is done. There is always much more work to do, and in some of these areas we have still fallen short.

For a number of years I was chair of the Mayor’s Committee on Community and Race Relations in St. Catharines, and one of our mandates was to ensure that all Canadians felt included and celebrated as part of this wonderful mosaic that we call Canada. We developed a badge that we gave out on Canada Day. It was very simple — a white button with a red maple leaf on it. The words on the badge were simple as well, but powerful in that simplicity.

‘My Canada Includes YOU.’

Yes, my Canada includes you with no exceptions, no conditions and no ‘yeah, buts.’ It doesn’t matter where you come from, what your politics are, what your religion is, who you love, what colour skin you have, what gender you are or want to be, what age you are or what country you came from. As long as you want to obey Canadian laws and respect each and everyone’s right to exist, then you are a welcome part of this wonderful mosaic that we call Canada. The mosaic that includes you.

So, let’s stop the divisiveness, let’s stop the tribalism, let’s stop calling each other names and let’s get back to being all-inclusive, all-caring and all-Canadian.

Ted Mouradian is an author and professional speaker.  He is president of the 2% Factor Inc. and his videos can be seen on TikTok and Instagram. Ted can be reached at [email protected]