It’s time to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday! There isn’t a Canadian alive that doesn’t know it’s a milestone year for this young country of ours.

While our First Nations people have been here thousands of years, our nation is still just a baby in comparison to most countries. Heck, there are buildings in Europe older than our whole country. But 150 years is nothing to belittle. We might have a shorter history, but in that time we have added much to this grand world of ours. We created insulin and the snowmobile, the world’s first cardiac pacemaker and the Canadarm. Our gastronomical feats include the world’s best dessert (the Nanaimo bar, of course) and poutine.

We live in the best country on earth. There is an abundance of lakes, rivers, streams and oceans. We have wide open prairies and breathtaking mountains. Most of us have unlimited clean, free water. We have food in our fridges or access to food banks to help us when we need it.

We are urban and rural, fiercely loyal and tied to other countries. We are a people of many colours, beliefs and opinions, yet, for the most part, we coexist in peace. We are a nation of helpers and friends, of neighbours and family joining together to make our nation great.

Our freedom is almost uncomparable. We have the right to say, do or believe what we wish so long as it does not harm those around us. We have the right to gather in peace or protest, to make our voices heard. The newspaper you are holding right now is an example of our freedom of speech, something countless others in repressed nations long for.

Of course, there are blights on our nation’s history. There are many things we cannot be proud of, and some things that still need to change. But today, we celebrate the positives and potential in this nation of ours.

It has been said before, but on this, our Sesquicentennial, it bears saying again: we are truly blessed to live in this country. So this July 1st, gather your clan, embrace the celebration and mark the day.