“I AM A CANADIAN” - A Tribute to Canada

I came from all the world, and come yet.
I came for freedom, and brought freedom.
I came in hope, and brought fulfillment.

In measure as I have made Canada what she is, she has formed me to her own needs. Her breadth and openness have infused me, have given me a firmer step and a farther look in the eye.

I am the primitive hunter, the lonely explorer who ventured the edges of a new world. I am the people of coast and plain whose history was forgotten before the invention of History. I am the indomitable men who wouldn’t be stopped as they hammered together a nation.

I am the strip farmers, the trappers, the traders who pushed back the curtain on this green and untried continent. I am the men who roamed, paddled, mapped and settled; the men who left only their graves.

I have blasted her rocks, channeled her waterways, survived her snows. I have run my hand over her face, searching out the strengths and beauties and moods of my country. She is rich, wild, potent.

I am not the average Canadian. There are no average Canadians, and this is my country’s glory. It is the surest measure of her freedom to be a nation of individuals, people who are Canadian by nature rather than by decree.

I am a Canadian and I am deeply myself. For this privilege I give thanks to my country. May she never falter, and may she never swagger. May she realize her potential without losing her character. May she have peace, and may she give it. May it always be a proud thing to say:

I am a Canadian.