Canadians standing together? Oh, yes we can.

Loreena McKennitt

Wise Communities Founder

This falls under the category of something we never thought we’d see in our lifetime.

On June 19, The Toronto Star reported that the leaders of the English-rights advocate group Talq in Quebec and the very nationalistic Mouvement national des Québécoises et Québécois (MNQ), who have been at odds with each other for decades, have now found common ground in understanding what the biggest threat to French in Quebec might be. And it’s not what you think.

“The English-speaking community of Quebec is not in itself an existential threat to Quebec,” says the MNQ, but rather “the powerful magnet of American culture” as expressed in film, music and social networks. “We must not make English-speaking Québécois the convenient scapegoat of this difficult problem,” they declared.

For many Canadians, this is a stunning and refreshing turn of events. Perhaps it’s even a call to arms for all Canadians to set aside our regional and cultural differences and look more deeply into their origin, but most importantly find ways to stand together, especially in this consequential time in our history.

There’s no question decades of consumption of American media has not only entertained us, it has shaped our thinking and our values. It may be time to move on.

Most recently, the untested social media products of unregulated tech companies, bad actors and unqualified influencers have been allowed to distort perspectives of ourselves and pit us against each other, all while reaping massive fortunes via the algorithms designed to artificially feed our discontent.  Unregulated AI, as it pursues our creative work, jobs and businesses is just the next chapter. Hopefully, this new government and the Ministry of AI will be able to establish the protections Canadians deserve.

But the path forward for Canadians must be paved with the will to set aside our biases. We must sincerely open our hearts and minds to the concerns of ‘the other’, to study them and truly listen. If the French and Anglos can do this in Quebec, so can the Westerners and Easterners, the fossil fuel companies and Indigenous peoples.

As world events create an ever-increasing state of insecurity, we as Canadians are blessed with a bounty of riches: a diverse population, our environment and natural resources, our technical and cultural prowess and a strong appreciation for our fragile democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

During this hinge moment, as our prime minister reminds us, we must come together. Yes we must move swiftly, but not so fast that we break the important things. We must take the time to identify what is of highest value and recognize those things we can do without – for the sake of the nation.

We know there’s finite money, time and natural resources. We know, as a species, we rely upon the well-being of the planet and that how land is used and how the environment is protected needs to be a high priority.

We can be resourceful in our solutions and yet we must be prepared to compromise in thoughtful ways and sometimes do without, to sacrifice.

This Canada Day, it’s time for Canadians to come together and ask what they can do for the nation, as generations have done before us.

Can Canadians stand together? Yes, most certainly we can.  Just watch us.

Loreena McKennitt CM, OM, CD, LL.D. and D.Litt

Stratford, Ontario

Loreena McKennitt is an international, multi-platinum recording artist, a member of The Order of Canada, the former Honorary Colonel of The Royal Canadian Air Force and founder of Wise Communities.