Friday July 3, 2026 | VICTORIA, BC [12:30 pm PT]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Here’s some editorial comment about Canada Day, even though that was two days ago… observations remain.
For years now there’s been a trend to confuse the federal government of the day with celebrating Canada Day.
When I had a storefront office years ago, some people tried tearing down the Canadian flags that were posted in the front window on Canada Day — the perpetrators said they weren’t supporters of the prime minister of the day (that was Stephen Harper at the time). They were missing the point.
Some folks in 2026 are still surprisingly challenging the idea of celebrating Canada Day, because they have criticism for the current prime minister (Mark Carney) and how he is doing things.
Prime Minister Mark Carney in Vancouver on July 2, 2026.
This country is massive and requires leadership. We have a parliamentary system that brings political leadership to Ottawa, but the country still runs on its own clock most of the time.
Look around, we live in one of the best places on Earth. Though Canada has indeed fallen short in many areas over the past few decades.
Yes, there are public safety issues but we can feel free to go about our days in freedom. Yes, there are health-care system shortfalls — some of them significant — but we still have a country where health-care is free, if not always readily available. Yes, there are serious economic problems — many people cannot make a good living anymore and live paycheque to paycheque, and may now even visit a local food bank duet to the increasingly high cost of groceries.
Healthy food choices in the fresh produce section of your grocery store. [Mary P Brooke / Island Social Trends]
We can access nature and the outdoors, for the health of it and the fun of it but still in many ways we challenge the protection of it.
Canada can do better.
But we live in a country that wants to fix those things. Sometimes the ‘fixes’ are temporal or superficial. Canada definitely needs a government system that rolls up its sleeves to solve problems in real ways.
At this time we have a prime minister of a fluid stripe — leading the Liberal party but pulling many Conservative-style tools out of the toolkit, yet not afraid to maintain some types of social supports (something that used to be the terrain of NDP leaders).
For the most part, it’s working right now as Canadians sense a real need to keep this country together in the face of a range of threats. Not the least of which is a sovereignty challenge by the United States administration. Stop and think about what it would be like to be in a gun-friendly country, without free access to health-care, and where multiculturalism is not the goal.
Probably in future we need a political system more like in Europe, with preferential ballots and proportional representation — where politics is about working on improvements for society so that there are not distinct tracks for winners and losers but an authentic chance for all, and a commitment to a social safety net that really works.
Some federal leadership will do better than others. As an editor and journalist I cover politics. There’s lot to write about as to how federal, provincial, and municipal governments are running things. Some of the news is good, though oftentimes it’s clear that governance needs improvement.
But it’s quite okay to celebrate the country we all call home … a place that people have fought to preserve and protect, to come here as new Canadians, and who have lived here for millennia (well before it was ever called Canada).
We have a special place here. Too bad the political system can sometimes be fraught with toxic opposition. Finding positive solutions is everyone’s responsibility.
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Working with the system we have and then improving on it is smart in this decade. For example, how the BC NDP government since 2024 has found its practical side and is working on the economic front with fervour … not in the manner of business and investment for its own sake but for the larger benefit of a society that puts people first.
Get your Canada hat on, every day.
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About the writer:
Mary P Brooke has been a full-time independent editor and publisher on south Vancouver Island since 2008.
Her publications, in series, are: MapleLine Magazine (2008-2010); Sooke Voice News (print weekly, 2011-2013); West Shore Voice News (print & PDF/online weekly, 2014-2020); and Island Social Trends (fully online, 2020 to present).
Mary P Brooke, Editor, Island Social Trends [2023]
Ms Brooke received a King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2025 for her contributions to community through journalism.
A proud mother and grandmother, Mary contributes to societal improvement through thoughtful, insightful journalism and publishing.
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