Happy Canada Day!

Yes, Happy Canada Day! Today is this "Lost Canadian's" first Canada Day, so I thought I'd learn about some of the things which make Canada such an amazing place and so absolutely worthy of celebrating today - and every day. I learned . . .

• Being Canadian offers a high quality of life with universal healthcare, a strong social safety net, and a globally respected passport. 
• Citizens enjoy robust political rights, extensive travel freedom, and the ability to pass citizenship to children born abroad, all while legally recognizing dual citizenship.
•  A Canadian passport provides visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to over 170 countries and territories worldwide.
• Canadian citizens never lose their right to enter or remain in the country, even if they live abroad indefinitely.
• Canada fully embraces dual and multiple citizenships, allowing you to hold a Canadian passport alongside passports from other countries.
• Citizens have the exclusive right to vote in all federal, provincial, and municipal elections, as well as the ability to run for public office.
• Canadians benefit from a publicly funded healthcare system, which ensures access to necessary hospital and physician services without out-of-pocket costs at the point of care.
• Citizens and permanent residents receive heavily subsidized public schooling and significantly lower domestic tuition rates at Canadian universities and colleges compared to international students.
• Canadian citizens can enjoy benefits like free admission to Parks Canada locations for specific milestones or programs, and Canada has no traditional inheritance tax, though assets are treated as deemed dispositions at the time of death.
• All individuals in Canada are protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ensuring fundamental freedoms (like expression and peaceful assembly), legal rights, and equality rights.
• While traveling abroad, citizens have access to emergency consular services and assistance through the Government of Canada's diplomatic network.

All of these things are wonderful parts of being Canadian, but I

wondered what Canadians like about being Canadian and learned the following . . .

• Canadians love their high quality of life, citing their publicly funded healthcare system, generally safe communities, and the country's breathtaking natural landscapes.
• High quality of life, citing their publicly funded healthcare system, generally safe communities, and the country's breathtaking natural landscapes. They also highly value Canada’s vibrant multiculturalism, the welcoming and polite nature of its people, and their strong sense of global citizenship.
• The cultural mosaic of Canada is celebrated nationwide. Recent national research shows strong support for family values combined with a deep appreciation for diverse ideas, lifestyles, and multicultural workplace.
•  Many Canadians take pride in being known as peace-loving and willing to assist on the world stage.

So what do actual Canadians say? I discovered . . .

• "As a younger Canadian, I love that school shootings were never a concern. We were told to avoid the front entrance after school one day, and there was a black bear in a tree outside."
• "My dad almost died from an aortic dissection. He got an emergency surgery within an hour of arriving at the hospital. He was in the cardiac ICU for a week and the regular patient ward for another week. All of this and we didn't have to pay a single dollar, except for the parking fees."
• "All Canadians pull together in a crisis! Even when we don't always agree, when it's important, we're together!"
• "I really like Canadian culture. I love how people are chill, diplomatic, have a good sense of humor, and are pretty hard-working. We have a nice balance between individualism and social responsibility, and a ton of great rock and folk music."
• "We have more of a sense of responsibility for each other. It is part of the reason we have universal health care. We know that we have to take care of each other — and we just do it."
• "Going for a short walk and seeing people from all sorts of different nationalities speaking different languages."

So, there are many reasons for this "Lost Canadian" to celebrate Canada today on Canada Day - I'm going to use a few of the resources from the Canada Day Celebration Tool Kit site at this link as well as recipes from this link using maple syrup to celebrate and I plan to wear red and white today. There is also a National Canada Day Evening Show I may be able to watch on-line at this link!

Happy Canada Day!