We Love This Country and You Should Too. Maple Nationalism examines issues impacting Canadian Nationalism and explores ways of strengthening our great country.
For a long time, Canadians had the luxury of taking Canada for granted.
We could assume that our largest trading partner would remain predictable. We could assume that deep economic integration with the United States would always be an advantage. We could assume that Canadian sovereignty was something discussed in history books and constitutional law classes rather than something that might become part of an everyday political conversation.
That assumption has been shaken.
In August 2026, the United States imposed new 50 percent tariffs affecting $27.6 billion of Canadian goods. Canada responded by announcing matching counter-tariffs. The dispute is only the latest reminder that even extraordinarily close friendships between countries ultimately operate according to national interests.
There is an important lesson in that.
Canada needs to remember that it has national interests too.
Canadian nationalism should not mean believing Canada is perfect. It should not mean hostility toward other countries. And it certainly should not require Canadians to agree with one political party.
It means believing that Canada is worth protecting.
It means understanding that our ability to make our own decisions matters.
It means recognizing that Canadian industries, resources, institutions, workers, communities and culture cannot be treated as interchangeable pieces in somebody else’s economy.
Canada occupies an unusual position in the world. We share a continent with a superpower more than eight times our population. American companies, entertainment, politics, news and culture surround us every day.
There is nothing inherently wrong with that. Americans are our neighbours, friends, customers, colleagues and allies.
But friendship is not the same thing as dependence.
A confident country must possess the ability to disagree with its allies.
It must be able to protect its strategic industries.
It must know where its food, energy, technology and essential goods come from.
It must be capable of defending its territory.
And its citizens must feel enough attachment to their country to care when those things are threatened.
That attachment is nationalism at its healthiest.
Recent events suggest Canadians understand this instinctively. An Angus Reid Institute survey conducted August 22 to 24, 2026 found that 69 percent of Canadians wanted their province to take a “Team Canada” approach during the current trade dispute rather than prioritize provincial interests. Majorities supported that approach in every province surveyed.
That is significant.
Canada has always contained powerful regional identities. We are Ontarians and Quebecers, Albertans and Newfoundlanders, British Columbians and Nova Scotians. We live thousands of kilometres apart and often see national issues very differently.
Yet there are moments when Canadians remember that there is something larger connecting all of us.
This is one of those moments.
The maple leaf should represent more than a logo printed on a backpack.
Being Canadian should mean more than simply not being American.
A national identity becomes meaningful when people are willing to sustain it.
That means building Canadian businesses.
Supporting Canadian workers.
Protecting Canadian sovereignty.
Celebrating Canadian achievements.
Teaching Canadian history honestly, including its triumphs and failures.
Strengthening the institutions that connect Canadians across provincial boundaries.
And believing that the country should still exist as a distinct, sovereign nation generations from now.
Nationalism can become dangerous when it teaches people that they are superior to everyone else.
But a country can also weaken itself when its citizens become embarrassed to believe in it at all.
Canada does not need arrogance.
Canada needs confidence.
And right now, confidence in Canada may be one of the most important national resources we possess.
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