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Many Canadians are waking up to the reality of having our values threatened. The United States President Donald Trump has expressed his desire to make Canada the 51st state of his country. It’s more important than ever that we define ourselves and our strengths so that we can fight against this geopolitical tyranny.

We talk about Canadian values, but does anyone spell them out? We could really use a moral compass right now and some leadership to remind us of that direction!

Here’s an attempt at spelling out Canadian values from my own personal perspective, but also from a lot of research:

Equality and Inclusion:

Multiculturalism: This policy was adopted in 1971, celebrating diverse cultures. Canada was the First Nation to adopt this policy.

Gender Equality: Equal pay and rights protections along with legal and social activism towards equity.

2SLGBTQ+AI Rights: Broad protections for the Queer community culminating in same-sex marriage in 2005. We were among the first countries to legalize!

Peace, Order and Government:

Our Constitution Emphasizes:

Social Welfare and collective responsibility

Cooperative Governance: between parties and levels of Federal, Municipal and Provincial Government

Stability of the rule of law: respect for the rule of law

Respect for Human Rights and the Rule of Law:

The Canadian Charter of Human Rights came into being in 1982, giving us civil liberties such as freedom of expression, religion and assembly

The Environment:

Policies to protect natural resources, sustainability and mitigate climate change

Bilingualism:

Canada is officially Bilingual

Reconciliation:

Canada is working towards reconciliation with its Indigenous peoples including land rights, languages and cultural heritage

Compassion and Social Responsibility:

Canada’s social safety net is an expression of fairness, equity and community caring
This includes education, public healthcare, Canada pension plan and much more

Democracy and Civic Participation:

Canada has a strong democratic tradition based on strong institutions, free elections and the cultivation of civil society.

Most Canadians believe in looking after each other. We aren’t perfect and have some really challenging social issues right now.

What’s different about Canada versus the United States?

Whereas the U.S. emphasizes individual freedom, self-determination and personal responsibility, Canada emphasizes collective well-being, social harmony and responsible governance.

Canada has a policy of multiculturalism and encourages cultural retention alongside integration, whereas the
U.S. is a melting pot model for assimilation into a unified American identity. Canada celebrates diversity in official institutions whereas the U.S. often debates diversity politically.

Canada has a universal public healthcare and strong social welfare programs, whereas the U.S. has limited supports preferring to focus on charity or private initiative.

Canada has strict gun control laws, regulated and limited, whereas the U.S. see guns as a symbol of freedom and self-reliance.

Canada views itself as a peacekeeping cooperative nation with an identity shaped by moderation, diplomacy and tolerance, whereas the U.S. is shaped by independence, exceptionalism and ambition.

Canada is more secular in public life and government policy, whereas the U.S. has strong influence by religious groups on social issues and elections.

It’s important that we work to clarify, teach and really own these values that have evolved in our great country. We must fight to protect them and ensure we continue to work towards a more inclusive, diverse and equitable society.

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I’m not sure I need to advocate for increased funding to Canada’s Health Care Systems. Most Canadians would agree that the systems are on life support. This is in large part due to the underfunding of these systems and sneaky conservative governments that would like to privatize them. If you make a system look dysfunctional and then offer privatization….well, many uneducated wouldn’t understand what is happening, right?

Yes, there might be some waste in the system and we need to continually work towards efficiency to leverage more money for care, but we are doing a very poor job overall. Shortages of doctors and wait times for procedures and specialist are just a few of the problems. We also don’t cover many procedures and need to have a national dental and drug program for all.

One thing I’d like to point out is that many Canadians don’t understand taxes and healthcare. Many Canadians talk about wanting to pay less taxes and have no clue what that does to healthcare and education. Less funding also guts Canadian Social Programs like Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, Employment Insurance, Canada Child Benefit, Canada Workers Benefit, Social Housing and Rent Assistance, Disability Benefits, Indigenous Support Programs, Student Financial Assistance, Food Assistance and Community Support, Higher Education and more. In progressive countries France, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and so many more citizens are happy to pay taxes as they see the social benefits. These countries put roughly 25-30 percent of their GDP into these social safely systems. They get angry when cash is going under the table and people bypass paying taxes on this money. They understand how it is robbing the social safety systems. Canada only put 21 percent of our GDP into our social systems. Imagine how much better they would be every time we up that by one percent! The U.S.A. by contrast only puts 13.8 percent of their GDP into social safety systems. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see the results of inequity in that country!

On the education front, we have an extremely inequitable system of education. Its inequity is growing. Why do middle class parents want to send their kids to certain public schools, private schools or even schools, from the Catholic School Board? Because these schools have more. They have enriched programs, school trips, more extracurricular activities, more technology, more arts programs and often better teachers. How did we let this happen? Does our public even realize (especially the working classes), how they are getting screwed? That the future for their children is not the same as the children from middle class families in “richer schools”. It’s shameful.

I believe that a Canadian value is that of interdependence. We look after each other….well, mostly. Or at least we have believed in interdependence, otherwise we wouldn’t have these social programs. The concern today is the influence of those who believe that they would be ok without the social programs and that they can just pay for what they need out of their own pocket with little concern about others. This attitude is often permeating from our southern neighbours. Another interesting attitude is that some Canadians think that they should pay less taxes and still have all of the social safety systems. Where do they think the money comes from to run them?

I hope that the contrast in our media of the U.S.A. versus Canada is enough for most to understand the value of fighting for and improving our social safety infrastructure. Don’t let our governments erode it. Advocate for more spending to make sure they are equitable and serve the needs of our population. Be against the privatization of education and healthcare.

Get angry. Speak out. Use your voting power and learn more about these issues. The future of our children’s world is investments in social systems. A world where we believe in looking after our fellow man. A world where we don’t leave our people on the streets to suffer and die