Canadian nationalism is on the rise in the snowy mid-winter
It’s a soft, winter-white, blustery day out there, where noises are silenced by snow as I brave the elements of white wind gusts and cold. Canadian pioneer Catherine Parr Trail always said February was the coldest month in Canada. . . but is it the snowiest?
The white-out conditions of a weekend snow day create a perfect day for traditional introverts like me, where the simplicity means only a few things: Tea, cats, my open notebook and Canadian books like Charlotte Gray’s Sisters in the Wilderness — the Lives of Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Trail, two female authors/pioneers in the backwoods on Upper Canada. (In the midst of winter I am strangely drawn to stories of arctic explorers or rural isolation, survival and struggle — go figure?).
Outside my window the snow blankets the garden and trees in the backyard as one simple, white canvas, and while CBC radio invites us to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count for a few days in February, I still have yet to see a single bird or living creature outside in the snowbanks today.
This simplicity of winter is evident in our Canadian flag, and there is a rise of Canadian nationalism in the air in this new era of Trump tariff threats. Saturday, February 15th was National Flag Day — 60 years since Canada’s flag was raised for the first time in 1965. Our flag is the only country with a maple leaf on its flag, which emerged in the 19th century as a symbol of Canadian identity in books, songs, coins, badges, and banners. And this weekend it’s proudly displayed on hockey jerseys of the Canadian team of the Four Nations Face-off.
What do other countries think of our Canadian flag and identity?
I asked my Dutch friend living in Holland yesterday her opinion of the Canadian flag and she said this:
“I immediately associate the maple leaf with Canada and nature — the red with the colourful autumn and the white with snow. Canadians were our liberators in WWII so the Canadian flag also represents a sense of freedom to me. It also reminds me of maple syrup which I like a lot. In short, a strong brand/mark.”
So all in all, we were liberators, we make good syrup, we have a beautiful, natural country and a well-recognized, well-liked flag. It’s all very simple, right? It’s a thought I will ponder as I clear my mind of the week’s stories of news and politics, sip my cup of tea, read, and watch a bit of the Canada-U.S. hockey game in Montreal (minus the fighting please). Enjoy the snowy, white silence.