“He shall have dominion from sea to sea”

Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our dominion within thy loving care;
Help us to find, O God, in thee
A lasting, rich reward,
As waiting for the Better Day,
We ever stand on guard.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

--

Unlike Americans, Canadians aren’t really taught to be proud of their history. Without fail, every person I know who has taken Social Studies reports it as insufferably dull. The history I learned in my own humanities classes consisted mostly of apologies for Canada’s past oppression of minorities, which is all well and good but makes for a rather lopsided view of the past. No, we didn't have a glorious war for independence, but you’d think that they’d take advantage of the more interesting parts of our past—the Loyalists, or the invasions in 1775 and the War of 1812, or the various rebellions, or the World Wars.

Few people remember or care about the British involvement in Canada, but it was Britain who gave us our judicial system, our parliamentary system, and much of our culture—and our Christianity. Like it or not, Canada was indeed a Christian country. It’s a part of our heritage that has affected us more than hockey or totem poles ever could. And we are the better for it. Maybe—just maybe—the success of America and Britain and the colonies was because of our founders’ worldview, not in spite of it.

I don’t have an idealised view of the nineteenth century and earlier. I know that there were injustices then as there are now. But at the same time I am proud of what the early Canadians did, the things that should not be forgotten: battles like Vimy (miserable mess though that war was)—the liberation of the Netherlands and other events of World War II—Canada’s years as a refuge for escaped slaves—the explorers, missionaries, and settlers who didn’t sadistically smother noble Aboriginal cultures, but actually benefited the Natives that they encountered (imagine that!).

Happy Dominion Day!

And it's really a great pity that no one wants to annex Turks and Caicos.