Canada Day!

One hundred and forty four years ago today, Canada came to be as a real country. It had a long way to go to get to the size it is now, but humble beginnings mean not a humble end. Canada is indeed one of the largest countries in the world, something I took for granted as a child.

 

The Ottawa River in the Gatineau hills of Quebec, Canada.

I grew up in rural Northern Ontario, and have only recently ventured outside my home province. As I grow older, I learn of all the amazing places held within this country's borders. Coast to coast, ocean to ocean, the breadth and size of this nation and its people is astounding. Not to mention our ability to live in a land where winter lasts anywhere from 4-8 months of the year, depending on where you're situated!

Frozen Lake Nipissing in Ontario, Canada.

I'm always going to love this land I was born into. There's a piece of me that will always be attached to North Ontario's rolling hills and valleys, its abundant swamps and ponds, numerous lakes and the web-work of rivers, streams and creeks. This land is vibrant, filled with a pulsing life imbued by generations of settlers and immigrants that came to conquer her and call her home.

A hayfield near my hometown of Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, Canada.

My own relatives have been here since before Canada was in existence. My ancestors helped forge a path for those of us here today. Not many people I know can trace their lineage back so far. My blood has walked this land since it was named New-France and even before.

Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada.

While my love for this land is undying, I will admit the institution that is Canada's government does not illicit such fervent emotions of love. I know I am lucky to live here, in this country where I am free to be who I want to be and do what I want to do. But I still also believe that this country still has a long way to go before I can really be proud to call myself Canadian in political terms.

 

  The Ottawa River at Deux-Rivières, Ontario, Canada.

But if anybody asks, I am Franco-Ontarienne, a French Canadian living in Ontario. And I am proud of that. So Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians, and an early Happy 4th of July to all you Americans! Cheers!