JonathanTolsma

Everyone knows about the Royal Canadian Air Force, full of talented and brave pilots. But Canada has another air force. A secret air force used as a last line of defence. And you do not want to mess with them...

What is a Canadian? Is it someone who always wanted a House Hippo? Is it someone who can sing the lyrics to The Log Driver's Waltz? Or is it someone who can tell you what a Gordie Howe Hat Trick is? Maybe it is someone who knows how to make love in a canoe, as Pierre Berton was alleged to have said. I've thought a lot about our identity in the past few weeks. We face something we have never experienced in living memory, or at least since the Second World War. A threat to our sovereignty and our identity. Whether it is political bluster or a real attempt to force us to lose who we are, this is our opportunity to celebrate what it means to be Canadian and embrace our national identity. To often we see ourselves as part of a region of Canada, and adopt an us vs them philosophy within our own nation. That mentality won't work going forward. When faced with a danger to our nation, even just economically, we have to link arms, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, from the Arctic to the Great Lakes, and proudly say "We are Canadian". I don't want to be anything but a Canadian. And each day, I am going to keep sharing our history and culture to help us forge that national identity we need now more than ever.