Being Canadian isn't about what's on your passport or the province you live in. It certainly isn't about how much money you claim to have. It's about compassion, doing the right thing, giving of yourself for others, with no expectation of something in return. It's about being soft and understanding when needed. It's about being as solid as the Canadian Shield when confronted. It's about standing tour ground no matter what, to protect what you believe in.
That's what a Canadian is. And we'll never change.
You described it beautifully. True identity isn’t just about borders or documents, it’s about the values we choose to live by. And seeing how Canada has stood by Ukraine, with both kindness and strength, proves exactly what you’ve said. The world could use more of that spirit. Thank you for this. ❤️🇨🇦
And thanks to you and all Canadians for standing strong against threats to destroy your economy, freedom and sovereignty. Your fight will encourage and aid us in the US as we struggle to save ourselves. As always, our good neighbor can be relied upon during good and bad times.🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
I agree with what the man is doing as the majority of American citizens feel the same way. It is terrifying to see what is happening every day in USA. We are seeing people being removed from our country with no due process and all refusing to honor a judge's orders and continuing to fly people to another country after being told by the judge for planes to be returned to the USA. I hope things improve for you and your country with the help of Canada and the European Nations. Stay safe. I love your writing
What’s happening in the US is worrying, and I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to watch it unfold. I just hope that, in the end, justice and decency win. And yes, the support from Canada and Europe gives us strength. Stay safe too, and thank you for your kind words!
Although I am American, I have had extensive time in Canada working as an organizational change management consultant. I love Canada and Canadians and am in total support of their values. I am getting set to travel, and will have luggage tags with the Canadian flag on them. I don't want to be pre-judged as supporting any of the values espoused by Trump and his band of hateful technocrats. I love America -- they do not. I am not abandoning my country by this action. I am merely trying to wear my values on my sleeve.
The chaos is supposed to paralyze you into inaction. Don’t let that happen to you. Start figuring out what you are most passionate about & then focus your resistance in that direction. For me, it’s reading/research, educating & writing. I write here and on Facebook.
elsewhere standing with Ukraine.and i understand his comment. He can wear my country’s flag as long as he needs to in Ukraine.
It concetns me though that so many Americans are wearing Canada pins ( most US stores are sold out of them) mainly bc they dont want to be seen as Americans when they travel. Canada needs Americans to identify as Americans who dont support Trump, & that they stand with Canada in our own fight against this current thuggery.
Agreed! This aid worker was wearing our flag for the right reasons - and demonstrating that with his actions. Can't say I'm thrilled with the Americans doing it for travel in order to avoid unpleasantness. Wearing a pin doesn't make you act or think like a Canadian when you go outside your country. I can usually make the distinction even if a pin is being worn. Be authentic and own your true nationality.
Using Canadian flag luggage tags is a way to avoid harrassment in a crowded airport with people from many places who may decide to take out their anger on me simply because I am an American -- albiet a gray-haired, petite, 84-year-old woman.
In any situation where I might have an opportunity to talk with another person, with said flagged luggage tucked away back in my hotel room, I'll welcome any political discussion and try to educate anyone on who Trump is to most of us -- a weak, whiny, tiny tyrant. I don't want to be pre-judged in the same way that blacks, Muslims and other minorities are. We don't get to know a person until we engage with them, and I will welcome that engagement.
Yes I’m Canadian. Yes Trump is galvanising Cdns. Canadians had the usual regional. political & economic divisions. Now they are coming together to fight the very real threats from Trump to cripple our economy, take our land & destroy our sovereignty. Have you missed this?
You misunderstood. I shouldn’t have asked this. It’s a massive massive deal here. Trump is a lunatic who keeps disrespecting and threatening Canada and here we sit. I just thought to get a Canadian’s perspective. Sorry. Take care. Btw, Trump doing anything to Canada will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back here in this freak show called the US. Other than tariffs because no one has a clue here how they affect anything.
No, I haven’t missed it. I know zero Canadians personally here in Colorado. Just wanted a Canadian’s perspective in a way not reported by our media. Can’t see what I can’t see. Thank you.
Didnt mean that to sound sarcastic. I was genuinely a bit surprised bc its the biggest thing hanging over Canada rn but i guess its not on everyone elses radar in the same way😳
I just got my I STAND WITH UKRAINE shirt and am proud to wear it. I’ve ordered my Ukraine flag to be sure all my neighbors know where I stand. (California)
That means more than I could ever express, every flag, every shirt, every act of solidarity, everything matters. Ukraine sees California, sees you, and we are so grateful. Thank you so much. 💙💛
That makes complete sense. It’s also up to us living below the border to find ways to support Ukraine and Canada together.
Canada will not crack from economic warfare. I think it’s likely that Trump will increase his threats over time ,as he becomes more frustrated. At some point I think it likely that he says something like,”We may have to go up there and straighten them out”.
This, when it happens, it must of course be taken as the deadly threat of invasion that it is, but Americans have always thought of themselves as the good guys. I think they would be transfixed to find that they are becoming history’s villains. We have to hold up the mirror.
I just hope the soldiers will remember they took an oath to protect the Constitution and the country from "ALL enemies, foreign and domestic" and at least refuse to obey the orders of a drunk commanding officer and a crazed Toddler-in-Chief. :-/
Many in the US are hanging or wearing our flag upside down, which symbolizes that we are in distress.
Which we are. Existential. We are not (yet) physically threatened like Ukraine, and there is hope that we will be able to neuter Trump in our mid-terms. If we have them. I'm convinced that everything Trump is doing is because he has a plan to cancel future elections.
We will have to be as strong as Ukrainians to end him.
I feel your fear, and I feel your fight, dear Suzanne. That upside down flag is a cry for help, just like this man’s choice was a stand against silence. When democracy is at risk, the only way forward is courage. Stay strong. The world is watching. And you are never alone! ❤️
Thank you so much Estelle, I’m really glad it stayed with you. This article ended up much longer than I expected, but I guess some stories just need more space to be told. Thank you for reading and for sharing your beautiful flag with new meaning, and I was amazed these days when I learned that the constellation on your flag 🇦🇺 can be seen every night in your side of the world (provided the weather is nice, which is not a big issue in the land down under!)
He follows in the footsteps of many before him who have chosen conscience over national loyalty. During Vietnam, many did the same. I knew some of them. As did Elon Musk when he fled South Africa. Sometimes it's just about avoiding conscription or war, but often it's rooted in the deeply felt 'wrongness' of some societal or governmental dictate that they find immoral. Canada proudly lives our ideals and values and remains a sanctuary for people who share them, even if they have never set foot in our beautiful land.
American voters who empowered Trump to a second term have abandoned American principles. Too many were never taught American principles at all. Those ideas used to revolve around industry, generosity, compassion, community and responsibility to others. The culture here has crossed to the point where it is all about worshiping the richest and throwing our independence of thought into their craven and mendacious hands. I don’t accuse all Americans of being this way but we certainly have enough of them to bring us to this current crisis.
I think that Canadians and many other nations share the values I mentioned. They are modeling what nationhood is and why can’t more of us down here simply observe and emulate that?
What I'd like to see as part of a major reform of politics here in the U.S. is that, regardless of whatever else you are or were -- a gameshow host, football coach, career military, etc. -- as long as you're old enough (25 for a Representative [House of Reps.], 30 for a Senator, 35 for President) and qualify in other ways, if you want to run for ANYTHING, be it Dogcatcher on up to President, you'll have to take and pass the same civics test that any immigrant has to pass to become a U.S. citizen. At least that way, folks working in government would know about how the government works. X-P
Heck, I'd make it a requirement to vote, too... :-/
I like your idea about a civics test being required for anyone running for office. Requiring the same for every voter smacks of Jim Crow laws. I say this knowing how dangerous it is for anyone to vote in ignorance and we saw that last November. Voting without any knowledge of our system of government is something like being allowed to drive with no training.
Disaster can only result. Trump voters clearly wanted a king and that’s exactly what they got.
I just ordered a Ukraine flag crossed with a Canadian flag pin. I reject the lack of values and integrity the so-called leaders of my country, the US, have shown. They not only don't care about working class and poor Americans but they have shamed us all on the world stage. They are systematically destroying our democracy and attempting a fascist takeover. trump thinks himself on par with putin both are despicable excuses for human beings. I hope we can win this fight for our democracy but I worry not enough Americans understand just how bad it is and are failing to fight against the destruction. I love both Canada and Ukraine. I no longer love what the US stands for, it is shameful. I will wear my Canadian/Ukrainian flag pin proudly.
Rev. Ed Trevors on YouTube had seen something from a woman that had just recently found out things about her own country's history (I think she's Canadian) that made her ashamed (no country is perfect). His response? Gentle, reassuring Reverend Ed? "Don't be ashamed, be angry." History is painful, probably for anyone in any country, but I think what he meant was basically, "Don't just feel bad about the past. Learn about the past and do things so that it can't happen again now and in the future." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MHxo27pB4w
My pleasure, thank you for updates and keeping your faith in some of us in the West. NZ supports Ukraine, and I personally wish they would piss in the face of USA, well tRump and The Bloated Orange Yam Gang.
Victor, I felt like you were speaking for me today. It was a clean, good feeling, so unlike what I’ve
been feeling when trump, musk, vance or any member of this government speak for this country. They make me feel angry, enraged, really. But they also make me feel somehow dirty, covered in slime. It oozes from them and I think the world believes it covers all of is. It makes me want to choose not to be an American, too,
because the United States I grew up in is gone. And I don’t know if we’ll ever get it back.
This time, Victor, I am bringing the tears to my eyes myself, as I grieve for our lost country.
Resilience isn’t just for war. It’s for every moment when we refuse to let go of what matters. Even when certain people try to twist a country into something unrecognizable, even when it feels like everything good is slipping away, there is still strength in the people who won’t accept it. Ukraine knows this fight. And you are not alone in yours, dear Alia. Hold onto that fire. No one can take your pride, your history, or your country away unless you let them. And I know you won’t! ❤️🇺🇸
Viktor, I’ve been reading your beautiful reply of March 16 over and over. It soothes my soul. Resilience is what is needed for challenges like those our country’s face, even though mine isn’t at war (yet). I hope I can keep my internal fire burning, so that at the end of my days, like St. Paul, I can say, “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.” I believe that you will be able to say this when your time comes. I believe the whole people of Ukraine will be able to say it when this war ends. I believe in you, I believe in your people. For now, Viktor, find moments when you personally can be at peace. Find and take moments of rest so that at other times, your spirit will be filled with fire and you can fight on. Be blessed, my friend.
Being Canadian isn't about what's on your passport or the province you live in. It certainly isn't about how much money you claim to have. It's about compassion, doing the right thing, giving of yourself for others, with no expectation of something in return. It's about being soft and understanding when needed. It's about being as solid as the Canadian Shield when confronted. It's about standing tour ground no matter what, to protect what you believe in.
That's what a Canadian is. And we'll never change.
You described it beautifully. True identity isn’t just about borders or documents, it’s about the values we choose to live by. And seeing how Canada has stood by Ukraine, with both kindness and strength, proves exactly what you’ve said. The world could use more of that spirit. Thank you for this. ❤️🇨🇦
Bless Canada from a heart broken American.
Heart broken American is a perfect phrase. Bless Canada and Ukraine. My heritage is both.
🥹❤️ This isn’t the first time I’ve wished to be Canadian. This time it’s on steroids though. From your admiring neighbor 89 miles to the south.
And thanks to you and all Canadians for standing strong against threats to destroy your economy, freedom and sovereignty. Your fight will encourage and aid us in the US as we struggle to save ourselves. As always, our good neighbor can be relied upon during good and bad times.🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
That you, TrueCanuck. You summed up my Canada perfectly.
I agree with what the man is doing as the majority of American citizens feel the same way. It is terrifying to see what is happening every day in USA. We are seeing people being removed from our country with no due process and all refusing to honor a judge's orders and continuing to fly people to another country after being told by the judge for planes to be returned to the USA. I hope things improve for you and your country with the help of Canada and the European Nations. Stay safe. I love your writing
What’s happening in the US is worrying, and I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to watch it unfold. I just hope that, in the end, justice and decency win. And yes, the support from Canada and Europe gives us strength. Stay safe too, and thank you for your kind words!
Although I am American, I have had extensive time in Canada working as an organizational change management consultant. I love Canada and Canadians and am in total support of their values. I am getting set to travel, and will have luggage tags with the Canadian flag on them. I don't want to be pre-judged as supporting any of the values espoused by Trump and his band of hateful technocrats. I love America -- they do not. I am not abandoning my country by this action. I am merely trying to wear my values on my sleeve.
The chaos is supposed to paralyze you into inaction. Don’t let that happen to you. Start figuring out what you are most passionate about & then focus your resistance in that direction. For me, it’s reading/research, educating & writing. I write here and on Facebook.
I love his writing too. 🇺🇦♥️🇨🇦
I have huge respect for anyone from
elsewhere standing with Ukraine.and i understand his comment. He can wear my country’s flag as long as he needs to in Ukraine.
It concetns me though that so many Americans are wearing Canada pins ( most US stores are sold out of them) mainly bc they dont want to be seen as Americans when they travel. Canada needs Americans to identify as Americans who dont support Trump, & that they stand with Canada in our own fight against this current thuggery.
Agreed! This aid worker was wearing our flag for the right reasons - and demonstrating that with his actions. Can't say I'm thrilled with the Americans doing it for travel in order to avoid unpleasantness. Wearing a pin doesn't make you act or think like a Canadian when you go outside your country. I can usually make the distinction even if a pin is being worn. Be authentic and own your true nationality.
Using Canadian flag luggage tags is a way to avoid harrassment in a crowded airport with people from many places who may decide to take out their anger on me simply because I am an American -- albiet a gray-haired, petite, 84-year-old woman.
In any situation where I might have an opportunity to talk with another person, with said flagged luggage tucked away back in my hotel room, I'll welcome any political discussion and try to educate anyone on who Trump is to most of us -- a weak, whiny, tiny tyrant. I don't want to be pre-judged in the same way that blacks, Muslims and other minorities are. We don't get to know a person until we engage with them, and I will welcome that engagement.
You’re Canadian? Is Trump galvanizing Canadians? Was there much internal division before he was elected? If so, about what mostly? Now?
Yes I’m Canadian. Yes Trump is galvanising Cdns. Canadians had the usual regional. political & economic divisions. Now they are coming together to fight the very real threats from Trump to cripple our economy, take our land & destroy our sovereignty. Have you missed this?
And dRump in his stupidity decided to insult (51st state) Canadians first before threatening. This caused all of Canada to coalesce & resist.
You misunderstood. I shouldn’t have asked this. It’s a massive massive deal here. Trump is a lunatic who keeps disrespecting and threatening Canada and here we sit. I just thought to get a Canadian’s perspective. Sorry. Take care. Btw, Trump doing anything to Canada will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back here in this freak show called the US. Other than tariffs because no one has a clue here how they affect anything.
I hope it doesnt come to that.
No, I haven’t missed it. I know zero Canadians personally here in Colorado. Just wanted a Canadian’s perspective in a way not reported by our media. Can’t see what I can’t see. Thank you.
Didnt mean that to sound sarcastic. I was genuinely a bit surprised bc its the biggest thing hanging over Canada rn but i guess its not on everyone elses radar in the same way😳
I just got my I STAND WITH UKRAINE shirt and am proud to wear it. I’ve ordered my Ukraine flag to be sure all my neighbors know where I stand. (California)
That means more than I could ever express, every flag, every shirt, every act of solidarity, everything matters. Ukraine sees California, sees you, and we are so grateful. Thank you so much. 💙💛
That makes complete sense. It’s also up to us living below the border to find ways to support Ukraine and Canada together.
Canada will not crack from economic warfare. I think it’s likely that Trump will increase his threats over time ,as he becomes more frustrated. At some point I think it likely that he says something like,”We may have to go up there and straighten them out”.
This, when it happens, it must of course be taken as the deadly threat of invasion that it is, but Americans have always thought of themselves as the good guys. I think they would be transfixed to find that they are becoming history’s villains. We have to hold up the mirror.
I just hope the soldiers will remember they took an oath to protect the Constitution and the country from "ALL enemies, foreign and domestic" and at least refuse to obey the orders of a drunk commanding officer and a crazed Toddler-in-Chief. :-/
Viktor,
Thank you so much for your letters. They are meaningful and heartfelt and I look forward to “hearing” from you each day.
This particular essay really resonates with me because I feel just as your American friend you describe.
I love my country but loathe what is being done to it by a group of cruel, greedy and actually traitorous people.
I am sickened and ashamed of how this ignorant, small minded man and his cronies have turned America’s back on our allies.
God bless you and all Ukraine for your strength and courage. We all owe a debt of gratitude to you for fighting to preserve freedom.
I love what this man has done and why.
Many in the US are hanging or wearing our flag upside down, which symbolizes that we are in distress.
Which we are. Existential. We are not (yet) physically threatened like Ukraine, and there is hope that we will be able to neuter Trump in our mid-terms. If we have them. I'm convinced that everything Trump is doing is because he has a plan to cancel future elections.
We will have to be as strong as Ukrainians to end him.
I feel your fear, and I feel your fight, dear Suzanne. That upside down flag is a cry for help, just like this man’s choice was a stand against silence. When democracy is at risk, the only way forward is courage. Stay strong. The world is watching. And you are never alone! ❤️
Thank you for your incredible courage and wisdom, and for sharing it with us. 💙💛
Wow. What an amazing article, Viktor.
I will be thinking about this long after I walk away from my computer today.
And I proudly add my country's flag to this comment, with a new level of understanding of what that means... to myself, and to the world.
Thank you! 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇨🇦
Thank you so much Estelle, I’m really glad it stayed with you. This article ended up much longer than I expected, but I guess some stories just need more space to be told. Thank you for reading and for sharing your beautiful flag with new meaning, and I was amazed these days when I learned that the constellation on your flag 🇦🇺 can be seen every night in your side of the world (provided the weather is nice, which is not a big issue in the land down under!)
He follows in the footsteps of many before him who have chosen conscience over national loyalty. During Vietnam, many did the same. I knew some of them. As did Elon Musk when he fled South Africa. Sometimes it's just about avoiding conscription or war, but often it's rooted in the deeply felt 'wrongness' of some societal or governmental dictate that they find immoral. Canada proudly lives our ideals and values and remains a sanctuary for people who share them, even if they have never set foot in our beautiful land.
American voters who empowered Trump to a second term have abandoned American principles. Too many were never taught American principles at all. Those ideas used to revolve around industry, generosity, compassion, community and responsibility to others. The culture here has crossed to the point where it is all about worshiping the richest and throwing our independence of thought into their craven and mendacious hands. I don’t accuse all Americans of being this way but we certainly have enough of them to bring us to this current crisis.
I think that Canadians and many other nations share the values I mentioned. They are modeling what nationhood is and why can’t more of us down here simply observe and emulate that?
What I'd like to see as part of a major reform of politics here in the U.S. is that, regardless of whatever else you are or were -- a gameshow host, football coach, career military, etc. -- as long as you're old enough (25 for a Representative [House of Reps.], 30 for a Senator, 35 for President) and qualify in other ways, if you want to run for ANYTHING, be it Dogcatcher on up to President, you'll have to take and pass the same civics test that any immigrant has to pass to become a U.S. citizen. At least that way, folks working in government would know about how the government works. X-P
Heck, I'd make it a requirement to vote, too... :-/
I like your idea about a civics test being required for anyone running for office. Requiring the same for every voter smacks of Jim Crow laws. I say this knowing how dangerous it is for anyone to vote in ignorance and we saw that last November. Voting without any knowledge of our system of government is something like being allowed to drive with no training.
Disaster can only result. Trump voters clearly wanted a king and that’s exactly what they got.
🇺🇦 🇨🇦 ❤️
🇺🇦❤️🤍❤️🇨🇦
Beautiful story. If I wear an American flag pin, I wear it upside down. Which is a sign our country is in danger
Every American who is against Trump has to do something to resist him.
I just ordered a Ukraine flag crossed with a Canadian flag pin. I reject the lack of values and integrity the so-called leaders of my country, the US, have shown. They not only don't care about working class and poor Americans but they have shamed us all on the world stage. They are systematically destroying our democracy and attempting a fascist takeover. trump thinks himself on par with putin both are despicable excuses for human beings. I hope we can win this fight for our democracy but I worry not enough Americans understand just how bad it is and are failing to fight against the destruction. I love both Canada and Ukraine. I no longer love what the US stands for, it is shameful. I will wear my Canadian/Ukrainian flag pin proudly.
Rev. Ed Trevors on YouTube had seen something from a woman that had just recently found out things about her own country's history (I think she's Canadian) that made her ashamed (no country is perfect). His response? Gentle, reassuring Reverend Ed? "Don't be ashamed, be angry." History is painful, probably for anyone in any country, but I think what he meant was basically, "Don't just feel bad about the past. Learn about the past and do things so that it can't happen again now and in the future." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MHxo27pB4w
a great read.....and yes, a hero
Very very glad to hear that (or better, to read), thank you so much!
My pleasure, thank you for updates and keeping your faith in some of us in the West. NZ supports Ukraine, and I personally wish they would piss in the face of USA, well tRump and The Bloated Orange Yam Gang.
Victor, I felt like you were speaking for me today. It was a clean, good feeling, so unlike what I’ve
been feeling when trump, musk, vance or any member of this government speak for this country. They make me feel angry, enraged, really. But they also make me feel somehow dirty, covered in slime. It oozes from them and I think the world believes it covers all of is. It makes me want to choose not to be an American, too,
because the United States I grew up in is gone. And I don’t know if we’ll ever get it back.
This time, Victor, I am bringing the tears to my eyes myself, as I grieve for our lost country.
Resilience isn’t just for war. It’s for every moment when we refuse to let go of what matters. Even when certain people try to twist a country into something unrecognizable, even when it feels like everything good is slipping away, there is still strength in the people who won’t accept it. Ukraine knows this fight. And you are not alone in yours, dear Alia. Hold onto that fire. No one can take your pride, your history, or your country away unless you let them. And I know you won’t! ❤️🇺🇸
Thank you, Viktor, for your goodness, your courage, and your encouragement. Thank you
Thank you, Viktor, from me, too; I think Alia beat me to it, but your response helped. :)
Viktor, I’ve been reading your beautiful reply of March 16 over and over. It soothes my soul. Resilience is what is needed for challenges like those our country’s face, even though mine isn’t at war (yet). I hope I can keep my internal fire burning, so that at the end of my days, like St. Paul, I can say, “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.” I believe that you will be able to say this when your time comes. I believe the whole people of Ukraine will be able to say it when this war ends. I believe in you, I believe in your people. For now, Viktor, find moments when you personally can be at peace. Find and take moments of rest so that at other times, your spirit will be filled with fire and you can fight on. Be blessed, my friend.