“It is easy to love humanity. The hard part is loving your neighbours.”
— Ivan Illich
(A working reflection.)
I’ve noticed a shift lately.
There’s been a lot more talk about buying local, supporting Canadian, and investing in our own. I’m not against any of that — in fact, this is very much the reason why I joined The Canadian Association For Stand Up, Sketch and Improv Comedians in the first place. I wanted to contribute to fostering Canadian comedy as an industry, an art form and a cultural preservation.
But there’s something about the timing of everyone else saying it now that sticks in my throat. Almost as if it only became urgent because it stopped being easy.
For a long time, our collective posture seemed to be, “Why build it here when we can get it cheaper elsewhere?” And now, with tariff pressure and a few hard lessons in international dependence, the messaging has turned inward and all of a sudden, Canadians are SUPER CANADIAN.
I’ve spent my career working, performing and building in Canada, for Canadians, and I can tell you confidently it wasn’t treated like a badge of honour. It was always seen as a limitation — a nice effort, maybe, but not scalable, not exportable, not “serious.”
And now I see the same representatives, institutions, and brands that once looked outward suddenly trying to retrofit national pride into their narrative. Kind of like when your recently divorced friend suddenly loves yoga. Not wrong. Just abrupt.
There's nothing more artificial than people trying to remember who they are and I find it hard to believe in a Canada that only knows who it is when it’s being squeezed.
That doesn’t mean I don’t believe in Canada — just that I expect more than catchy slogans and emergency gestures. I'd rather see long memory. Quiet support. A willingness to invest before it’s fashionable or financially safe.
Not out of nationalism. Just out of respect for who we are, where we are. Last-minute loyalty just feels too transparent to take seriously.
This raises two questions:
1) Are we only patriotic when it’s convenient?
2) Is Canadian patriotism something we reactively manufacture instead of building from principle?
We're inevitably going to experience economic triggers that force us to change course. But this current trigger has shown Canada's hand. That our global posture was more shallow than we let on.
Supporting local is an incredible ethic but completely devoid of merit as a performative campaign. We're suddenly supposed to have a short memory and forget the past indifference to Canadian creators, farmers, innovators, etc until it fits a crisis message?
We weren't "Canada-first" when US relations helped our bank accounts. We're at this point where Canadian insecurity is baked in seeking approval and valuing profits over people.
If we try to be everything for everyone—at what point do we actually figure out who the hell we are?
We could be at a reset-point that would benefit Canada long-term if we:
- Build for sustainability
- Invest long-term in Canadian systems, industries and identities before the pressure hits
- Stop being so transparently desperate and actually respect ourselves
We were probably never really global citizens. And we're not really nationalists. We've basically been whatever pays best. So what would a real “Canada First” look like — one that’s not reactive, not synthetic, not stitched together in a scramble?
Maybe it means:
- Supporting Canadian art, even when it's not internationally validated
- Investing in regional industries before they collapse and require saving
- Trusting our thinkers, inventors, and builders to lead — not just follow
This moment could be our invitation to build an authentic Canada for once. I’d like to believe we’re capable of that kind of quiet dedication. But it really depends on what we do next.
What I think is triggering this reaction for me is not that we’re saying “Canada First” now… but that we weren't saying it when it mattered.
Even our national anthem sounds disappointed in us... Oh, Canada.