1 week Ago By Brandon Sun
On Sunday afternoon, thousands of Manitobans gathered on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislative Building to express their love for Canada and celebrate the national pride we all share. Read this article for free: Already have an account? As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support.
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On Sunday afternoon, thousands of Manitobans gathered on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislative Building to express their love for Canada and celebrate the national pride we all share. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Opinion On Sunday afternoon, thousands of Manitobans gathered on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislative Building to express their love for Canada and celebrate the national pride we all share. Prior to the event, Premier Wab Kinew said that “it’s our rally for Canada .
.. It’s all about celebrating the true north strong and free and this country that we love so much.
” He explained to media that he decided to organize the event after hearing the concerns of Manitoba school children. He said last week that “Right now, kids in classrooms that I’m visiting — above a certain age, maybe 8 or 9 years old — every single one of them asks if we’re going to become the 51st state.” At the rally, he told the children in attendance that “I want you to be reassured and to be confident as Canadians, and to keep working together to make this country even better than it is today, so that the country you inherit, when it’s your turn to run things, is going to live up to the vision that you have in your hearts and minds.
” We commend the premier for taking steps to reassure our youngest Manitobans that Canada will always be the true north strong and free, but we suggest that children aren’t the only group of Canadians who would welcome that reassurance. Over the past several weeks, following the inauguration of U.S.
President Donald Trump, uncertainty and anxiety has arisen among Canadians of all ages with respect to the future of our nation and its citizens. We have heard Trump’s oft-repeated desire to have Canada become America’s 51st state. We have heard him repeatedly disparage our leaders, our economy and our military.
We have even heard him question whether Canada is a legitimate, sovereign nation or simply the unintended consequence of an artificial line being drawn on a map long ago — a line he argues should not exist. Beyond those inflammatory statements, Trump has also imposed tariffs on many Canadian goods, and has threatened to add even more tariffs in the coming weeks. As a consequence of those measures and threats, thousands of Canadians have already lost their jobs and thousands more may also become unemployed in the coming weeks and months.
Manitobans were the focus of Sunday’s event, but let’s hope that many other Canadians were also paying attention and share the love that Manitobans feel for our country. In particular, let’s hope that politicians such as former Reform Party leader Preston Manning and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith received that message. An opinion piece authored by Manning was published in the Globe and Mail newspaper last week, in which he argued that “the greatest future threat to national unity is emerging not from Quebec, but on the Western front.
” Even more ominously, he claimed that “Voters, particularly in central and Atlantic Canada, need to recognize that a vote for the Carney Liberals is a vote for Western secession — a vote for the breakup of Canada as we know it.” On March 20, Smith warned Canadians that Ottawa must comply with a list of demands she made in order “to avoid an unprecedented national unity crisis.” She claims she isn’t advocating for Alberta to separate from Canada, but she recently reminded reporters that there is a process for Albertans to initiate a referendum on their own.
She says she will create a committee — she calls it the “What’s Next” panel — after the election in order to collect feedback from Albertans on what issues might be put to a referendum. Manning’s remarks have been condemned by Liberal Leader Mark Carney as “unhelpful at a time when Canadians are coming together,” while Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has also rejected the idea of secession. He told reporters that “we need to unite the country .
.. We need to bring all Canadians together in a spirit of common ground.
” We agree with Carney and Poilievre, and so do the vast majority of Canadians. A number of public opinion polls conducted over the past two months have consistently shown that more than 90 per cent of Canadians reject the idea of Canada joining the United States, and instead want it to remain sovereign and independent. Those poll results remind and reassure us that Manning and Smith speak for a very small, but very loud, segment of our society.
If the two leaders genuinely love Canada and really want to know what Albertans think of the prospect of no longer being Canadians, they should follow Kinew’s example and organize similar rallies for Canada across their province. They will quickly learn that Albertans love our nation every bit as much as Manitobans. Advertisement Advertisement.
