Lonely Canada

Canada is not a person. It is an entity composed of persons, but it’s very lonely on 1 July. Why? Because it is the federal holiday called Canada Day. Lonelier because the entity (country) does not have grout that binds patriotism tiles like other entities. France has Bastille Day.

Spain has All Saints Day. Sweden has Midsommardagen.  United Arab Emirates has Eid Al Fitr.  Lesotho, in Africa has King Moshoeshoe’s Day.

Canada the entity envies these countries because they have longstanding cementing agents such as language, religion, geography, history or struggle for independence. Canada is not solid, like floor tiles joined by grout. It is like confetti which does not lose its colors when it hits the ground.  

Canada, the entity has people from all over the world who embraced it, to free themselves from religious, cultural and economic roadblocks but still refer to the countries they left behind as, home. 

Cellphone and landline companies can go bankrupt if Canadians stopped making telephone calls to Africa, Asia and Europe. Of course, they Zoom, send text messages or Skype, but hearing someone’s voice is still the preferred method of touching base. 

There are a few examples of grout that binds countries.  Religion and geography.  Once upon a time, nature allocated parts of the world to certain races. For example, black people were given Africa, people we know as Italians are in a certain corner, what we call Arabs are in another corner etc.

Wars and greed upset nature’s allocation of geography. That is why we have double digit citizens: Korean Canadians, African Canadians, Polish Canadians and so on.  What also makes Canada the entity feel lonelier on Canada Day is the $20 bill which has the face of another country’s monarch, the Queen of England.

Is Canada a country or a British colony?  Don’t even go there, we don’t want a civil war now, do we?  Some Canadians might feel that you are tampering with roots, the very foundation of the entity. Which brings us to cross pollination.  

According to Stats Canada, there were 437,180 immigrants that were accepted as permanent residents in 2022. They might stay or eventually cross the border to the U.S. which is not something new. Close to a million Canadians live there because of work, the weather or retirement.

They will be waving Canadian flags this 2024 Canada Day.  The entity recognizes that it does not have the grout that binds the tiles, but it is grateful for the confetti.  It might be loose, light and the little particles don’t lose their colors, but that is the cementing agent.  That flexibility sustains the entity called Canada.

 Nonqaba waka Msimang

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