What makes us Canadian?

"In 1939 my father visited Canada from England and several years later he and my mother immigrated.
 
"I feel very privileged to have been born in Toronto, Canada, and to have grown up in a land that was new and exciting.  I have so many fond memories.
 
"Although I now live in England I have returned to Canada many times and always miss the space, cleanliness, modernity, the laidback feeling, friendliness and pace of life of this marvelous country.  It is very important to my family that I never lose my Canadian accent because they are very proud I am Canadian."
– Sandra Newman, London, England

"I have always felt very patriotic toward Canada, but never more than now since  I currently live in Hong Kong teaching English. I never realized how important it is to feel that sense of belonging somewhere.  When we are at home back in Canada we take it for granted. When we are abroad I feel it's a different story. Being outside of Canada it's such a good feeling when we encounter other Canadians.  For example, Canada Day festivities were held yesterday (July 1) here in Hong Kong and a large number of Canadians were out in the expat drinking hole in Central.  It was really great to see!  Moreover, some of us even took to the street just outside a Canadian pub and at the stroke of midnight belted out 'O Canada.'  I was proud to be part of this.  Although I was not born in Canada, it is an honour for me to call Canada my home. I am where I am today because of Canada.  Thank you!"
– Ty Chieu, Abbotsford, B.C.

"I'm a VERY Proud Canadian. I'm a serving member of the Canadian Armed Forces and my husband and I have served in Afghanistan.

"We have three young wonderful daughters. We are proud to live in a great land where we can all walk tall and proud. We are true Canadians. God bless this great land."
– Rhonda Lynn Appel, Cpl, CFB Petawawa, Ontario

"I’m not a Canadian because I live in Canada, I’m a Canadian because I believe in the region where I live! I’m thankful to live in Canada because of the peace and the learning that the children develop every day in schools. I also feel safe and protected because we don’t have war going on where I live. I'm so happy that I live in Canada."
– Julia, Montreal

"I am proud of my country, my only country, Canada. I am proud of her from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Arctic in Nunavut, to the shores of Lake Erie in Ontario. I am proud of her French, and English, and of her many creeds and values. I am proud of her liberty, of her social consciousness, and of maintaining a separate existence from her friendly neighbour to the south these 140 years. I am proud of her history, good and bad, and of her continuing fealty to our Queen.

"As a Canadian I belong to all of Canada, not just the legislative division they call 'Alberta.'  When my father came to this land from Greece in the early 60s, he didn't know what it meant to be a Canadian, but he became one anyways. When he married my mother and brought her here in the mid-'60s, she told him she didn't marry him, she 'married Canada.' When I was born during the centennial year of Confederation, I was not born a 'Greek,' I was born a Canadian; a stone's throw from Queens Park, the second of two children. When my mother took her citizenship test, I was there too, all of eight years old. They had to go to a private room, however, to finish the test, because I am a Canadian ... and kept answering the questions for her.

"And when my grandmother (the greatest woman I have ever known) died, I fought back the tears, because she died in Canada, on Canada's day. When I visited her grave on Canada Day in 2007, in a cemetery in Calgary's Queens Park, I looked at the flag of MY country, Canada, and wept, just a little bit. I wept because I still miss her; Grandma, after all, was born Greek, but she died a Canadian, a Canadian like me."
– Steven Eleftheriadis, proudly Canadian, Canadian only

"I have always been proud of Canada and what we have done on the world stage to help people, but being Canadian never truly struck home until one year when I was in Japan on business. We had been using the subway system in Tokyo to get around to our different meetings, but one day we got turned around and lost. As we were looking at a subway map a Japanese gentleman approached us and asked if he could help. Once he knew what our problem was he simply said follow me and I will make sure you get to where you are going. After three subway changes I told him that he didn't have to take himself out of his way, but he said no, it was his pleasure. He stated that he saw the Canadian flag on my backpack and had lived in Toronto for five years and that his neighbours were so kind to him and his family during their stay. As such he felt that by helping us to get to our destination that in some small way he was able to pay Canadians back for our kindness and friendship to him and his family."
– Peter Rigby, Ingersoll, Ontario

"I work at a school which is all prekindergarten, kindergarten and Grade 1.  There is nothing like the exuberance of the children singing 'O Canada' each morning in the classrooms and at our weekly assemblies. It is also a school with a fairly large number of different nationalities and immigrants and it is very poignant feeling by the end of the school year to hear all of the children singing together the one song which makes this such a great country to live in."
– Joy Christman, Brooks, Alberta

"Canadians are respected and loved around the world for being a tolerant, open, friendly and accepting society. We are in many respects the whole world, pertaining to our vast diversity of cultures, living upon one continent. Therefore, we are an example of how people of different nationalities can live together in a harmonious fashion and work together to maintain a country that is a model for global peace. Also, as a gay man, I appreciate this country's ability to tolerate and understand those who deviate from the majority and allow them a peaceful country in which they can live harmoniously with those around them. Canada is beautiful simply because it has a diverse love and acceptance of the world and represents a unified front against prejudice and hate."
– Nick L., Montreal

What do you think makes us Canadian? Send your ideas to feedback@canadianliving.com.