Happy belated Canada Day everyone!
Regardless of your political persuasion or history, this is a time to come together to celebrate our shared country and the people that we share it with. Canada as a united country with an initial four provinces was first established over 150 years ago. The fact that this union, so long in forming, with such a fractious beginning, still exists in relative peace is reason enough to celebrate.
Canada has managed to absorb immigrants from around the world, making it one of the top 20 most multicultural countries in the world, according to Pew Research.) How well we continue this great experiment will be determined by how well we manage to honour the truth of our differences, while at the same time rallying around our shared values of, well, we don't really know as we don't have a document telling us our shared values.
I would guess most of us would agree that we value freedom, people, our land, democracy, equality, etc. That in itself, is something to celebrate.
For my bit to commemorate Canada Day, here are my thoughts about a rarely mentioned individual: Ann Nelson Brown.
Historians may disagree but, based on my knowledge of wise men and a bit of history, I would like to up-end, or at the very least, I would like to cause interest in reconsidering your view of the 1867 Fathers of Confederation. Perhaps, as historian Frank Underhill says in the Canadian Encyclopedia: "Perhaps the real father of Confederation was Mrs. Brown."
Brown is buried in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her grave is marked by a nice headstone, but no mention is made of the mark she made on Canadian history. The graveyard attendants sadly had no knowledge of her history or significance when I visited in 2016.
She became the wife of George Brown, politician, Father of Confederation and founder of the Globe newspaper. The story seems to be that under threat of absorption into America (it's been a problem for a long time,) George Brown and his most hated opponent John A. Macdonald had to find a way to get along in what was at the time the province of Canada. Mr. Brown was vehement that the French not be granted special rights, while John. A. insisted upon it. It seems that the eventual compromise that was found had significant influence from Mrs. Brown. She was Scottish and knew what living as a conquered people was like, so she encouraged George to soften his position toward the French. An entertaining introduction to the story is available in a movie called "John A: Birth of a Nation."
We don't know very much more of Ann Nelson Brown, but she was at the very least an informed woman who took an interest in the troubles of her times and spoke up.
A good example to follow, even so many years later.
