Executive Publisher’s Comment: There are many reasons to be proud of Canada

How well I remember the Quebec referendum of 1995.

Several of us from the Truck News team bussed five hours down the 401 to Montreal, at which point we joined with thousands of other Canadians from across the country.

We were gathering at what turned out to be the largest rally of the referendum campaign.

The energy in the crowd was electric, countrymen from every province and territory in the land met in Montreal to show the people of Quebec how much we valued their inclusion in this great nation of Canada.

Just a few days later the results of the referendum were announced – the people of Quebec by the narrowest of margins had said no to sovereignty.

The country was in shock, the most serious constitutional crisis in its history had been averted by only 1.2 percentage points. It was certainly an eye-opener.

Many pundits suggested the margin of victory was due to the massive rally and show of support only days before.

We felt we had made a difference and that was good.

Yet we also came away with the sense of how fragile our country was at that point and that was frightening.

Ever since then I have made it a point to reach out in little ways to my fellow Canadians, to try and understand their different views whether cultural or regional.

My reaction to the events of 1995 is not unique – any who were there and I’m sure most who couldn’t make it to Montreal are reaching out in their own ways to better understand their fellow countrymen.

I am reminded of those days at this time due to the fact there was a election in the province of Quebec recently.

I read the paper the next morning and noted that the Party Quebecois had lost the much-anticipated election.

I won’t pretend to understand all the important issues in the minds of the Quebec voter (I suspect they are very similar to the rest of the country’s issues).

I’m just happy to note that separation is not one of them.

It’s comforting to know that Canada is more unified now than in 1995.

The other headline which shared the front page was about Mike Weir’s victory at the Masters.

Can you believe this guy? What grit, what tenacity, what a cool thing to do.

A great moment in Canadian sport.

He makes you proud to be a Canadian. He reached out and touched each and every one of us with that victory.