Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his official Canada Day address called for unity amid a potentially divisive national holiday on Friday and called for a deepened commitment to Canadian values like hope and kindness.
The date marking Canada’s 155th anniversary of the confederacy offers an opportunity to embrace the values the Maple Leaf represents, adding the flag is more than a symbol, said Trudeau and added it offers a promise of opportunity, and safety for those fleeing violence and war, and a promise of a better life.
The first in-person Canada Day events in Ottawa since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic provided an extraordinary level of security both for locals and visitors alike in the national capital Friday.
Trudeau’s official holiday message, released Friday morning, described Canada as strong due to the diversity among its roughly 38 million residents.
Referring to Canada’s “historic wrongs” in the treatment of Indigenous people, including at residential schools, the prime minister also said while we can’t change history, we can work to build a better future.
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