With Glowing Hearts We See Thee Rise

By Councillor Carol Anne Meehan, Ward 22

O Canada! Happy Canada Day!!! ’Eh!

At 155 you don’t look a day over 1867! Whether Conservative, Liberal, and maybe one day NDP, you always stand on guard for thee.

Things have changed, you are more modern. John A. Macdonald might eat at McDonald’s. George-Étienne Cartier might drive on his parkway. They would likely eat together while texting away – to each other, of course. A Beaver Tail for desert – trust me, you’ll like it. A Loonie, a Toonie, what is this funny money? Don’t bother, just tap it.

Some entertainment. Shania Twain Stompin’ on Tom Connors at the Arcade on Fire, listening to a kd Lang – Céline Dion – Drake mix while having fun at a Blue Rodeo after listening to some – Nickelback. Come on, we’ve all done it. They sold millions of records… Don’t want to admit it; here’s your Nickelback! Or would you prefer to go to Timmies for some Bieber balls.

Feeling sporty, how about some hockey. Newsflash: the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1867. Oops! Sorry. I meant 1967. Too soon… The Senators are back, the Canadians are still around, and the Québec Nordiques – well, let’s not go there. Ok, let’s just say they got caught in an Avalanche. Don’t despair. Let’s all hum the Hockey Night in Canada theme song – you know, the one the CBC couldn’t keep. No worries, because The Great One, is still, the great one.

Of course, there’s more to life than hockey. Ok, there isn’t, but we’re suppose to say that. Actually – ask Penny Oleksiak. She has seven swimming medals from two Olympics. Yes, she kicked American posteriors!!! (We should say… But, as Canadians, we are always polite. Even when kicking American posteriors!!! I’m just saying: 1812, 1812, 1812…!) We may tease our gun-toting American cousins, but so long as they stay on their side of the border and leave our igloos alone, we love them.

There is more to Canada than teasing our cousins. Here are some fun facts from NARCITY Toronto. Did you know there’s a crater on Mars named after the town of Gander, Newfoundland? Come From Away, ’Eh! Yes, ’eh is an actual word – according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary. Superman and Wolverine are Canadian. The North Pole is in Canada – just write Santa; but don’t forget the postal code: H0H 0H0. Apparently, the townspeople of Nanaimo, B.C. race their bathtubs; in water… It’s a B.C. thing, I guess. Our national sport is lacrosse. Just kidding, it’s hockey… It is lacrosse. Whoever made that decision must have been smoking something that’s now legal.

O Canada. We make fun of you. And it took us almost a hundred years to create your flag. But it’s red, white, and beautiful; and we love you!

Have a great weekend with family and friends! And Happy Birthday Canada!!!

Carol Anne Meehan
Councillor Gloucester South-Nepean Canada has come a long way since Sir John A. Macdonald was the country’s first prime