To build and defend Canada, Carney should look to Canada's first prime minister

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John A. Macdonald is back, just in time to celebrate what would have been his 211th birthday on Sunday.

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It’s not just his statues and honorifics — though those are coming back too, most notably his now unboxed statue at Queen’s Park and the revived Prime Ministers Path project in Wilmot, Ontario.

It’s also the resurrection of a “Build Canada” ethos. There’s even a new civic group of that name committed to the idea that our nation isn’t just about saying “sorry” and being polite; it’s also a recognition that the country needs reinforcement and had to be built in the first place. It’s about cherishing values like “growth is good,” “bold beats safe,” and “success should be celebrated.”

There’s nothing like an existential threat to make you realize what really counts. Whether it’s a brush with death or terrible illness in your personal life, or a wildly unpredictable American president willing to upend international norms and impose American hegemony throughout the western hemisphere, moments like this can force a reassessment of what you can and should learn from your nation’s history.

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