Today is Canada Day, the yearly holiday to mark the anniversary of Canada becoming a country. This year, Canada celebrates 150 years. However, 150 years is only Canada’s official age, and does not take into account the centuries of trade and exploration before that, including the founding of the world’s oldest department store, the Hudson’s Bay Company(where both my mother and I worked, though at different stores). It also does not include the rich history of the indigenous peoples, whose culture was almost destroyed by white settlement, millennia of art and language and living with the land dismissed by our more ignorant forebears.
I lived in Canada for fourteen years. It’s where I attended high school and university, where I learned to drive, where many of life’s milestones happened to me. It’s a country I love dearly, where I still have friends, and where I met my husband. I also hold citizenship, so am proud to call myself Canadian on this day.
It is a place of wonders, of glimmering mountain peaks, vast prairies and tumbling waterfalls. Of wildlife fierce, tooth and claw, of people kind and welcoming. Its cities are bright and clean and vibrantly multicultural, and regularly place high on the list of best places to live. Canada has spawned authors and dancers and musicians, actors and directors and doctors and scientists.
It’s not a perfect country – nowhere is. But it’s pretty damn close.
And so today, on its 150th birthday, I would like to say Oh Canada! Happy Birthday to you 🙂
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Helen Glynn Jones 
Lovely post! We join in “Oh 🇨🇦 Canada 🇨🇦! Happy Birthday to you!!”🌹❤
Yay! Thank you 🙂
Touring Canada back in 2007 was one of the highlights of my life 😀
Ooh, where did you get to? It’s a place I loved living, and never tire of visiting. Lots of lovely memories there 🙂
It’s such a huge country, we only saw a bit of it even though we spent 3 weeks out there.
We flew into Vancouver, and took a ferry over to Vancouver Island for a few days, then back to take the Rock Mountineer train across to Banff, then on to Calgary. Spent 3 days at the Calgary Stampede (had to get my horse fix!), coach up to Lake Louise via the Athabaca Glacier, and then to Jasper. Did the cable car to the top of the mountain there, then caught the train again, and up to Whistler where we spent a couple of days, then the train again (love that train!) back to Vancouver. And lots of other stops along the way.
As I learned to say out there AWESOME!
Wow, you saw some wonderful country – I lived in Vancouver for a couple of years and have done the drive through the Rockies to Banff etc then on to Edmonton – some of the most beautiful scenery in the world 🙂 Lucky you, sounds like a fabulous trip! x
One of those trips of a lifetime, where after just a few days you find yourself saying, “Next time we’ll do…”
Oh, I love those kind of trips! 🙂 Hope you get back there one day x
I plan on it!
Happy Birthday Canada! We loved visiting Vancouver and the Columbia Icefields last year! The glacier water was amazing. Great article. Thanks for the share!
Thank you for commenting! Canada is a great place, isn’t it? I lived in Vancouver for a couple of years (I was in Ontario the rest of the time) and just loved it 🙂
Lovely post :). Happy Canada Day! Might need to pick your brains at some point regarding book 3, as I’m trying to make my hero Canadian (British Columbia based) and don’t have a clue where to start! I feel a holiday coming on, though…;).
OOh yes, please do pick my brains whenever you like 🙂 And a holiday? Well, if it’s in aid of book research then surely it’s tax deductible, right? ;-D
Hi Fay, if you need to pick someone’s brain, I’m a BC dweller who’d be happy to oblige! You can find me at http://www.amovitam.ca.
Happy Canada Day, Helen! I just love it that you spent a lot of time in the Great White North! Cher xo
Happy Canada Day to you too, Cher! I love the Great White North, definitely 🙂 xx
Happy Canada Day, Helen! 🇨🇦 Lovely post and lots of memories here. ❤
Thanks Sarah! Yes, lots of good memories in Canada – my formative years, so to speak 🙂
I love this and learning more about your life and Canada. Happy birthday USA Canada and Argentina on Sunday. July is just packed of birthdays isn’t it?
It’s my husband’s birthday this month as well, so another one to celebrate! Happy birthday to Argentina as well 🙂
Yay! Happy birthday to all!
Well said, Helen!
Thanks, Linda 🙂
I’m only a couple of weeks late here (that’s what I get for not going online for a while), but on behalf of my country, this new Canadian says Thank You! And happy Canada Birthday to you, too. 🙂
You’re very welcome! Hope you’re having a wonderful time travelling, and enjoyed the Canada 150 celebrations 🙂