Wilfred Laurier on Canadian Citizenship.

“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes a Canadian and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet a Canadian, and nothing but a Canadian.

There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is a Canadian, but something else also, isn’t a Canadian at all. We have room for but one flag, the Canadian flag…. and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the Canadian people.’

Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier 1907

I couldn’t agree with this more, finally a prominent politician that feels the same way I do about immigration. It’s just a pity he was in office over 100 years ago. We need more politicians like him, men and women who aren’t afraid to speak their mind, who aren’t concerned with bending over backward to every minority and special interest group.

If you want to immigrate to Canada, and become a Canadian citizen, you should do so “in good faith”. Your heart, mind and soul, every faucet must become a Canadian. You must be loyal to Canada, and only Canada.

Canadians in general don’t appreciate nor tolerate discrimination, but it becomes increasingly easy to discriminate when immigrants don’t learn at least one of our official languages, our customs and our laws. When immigrants are ungrateful for what Canada represents, or when one ethnic communities group together in isolation from others. Isolation and an inability to communicate in an official language only slows our growth and divides our nation.

I grow tired of hearing immigrants using language as an excuse for ignorance of our laws, and of immigrant communities wanting special laws and exemptions. I’m sick of hearing immigrants complain about Canada, and tell me how much better their homeland is. If it’s so great, why do you not move back?

People come here to live in one of the greatest nations in the world, to have a higher standard of living or for better opportunities. If you want what Canada offers, you must embrace what has made it great. 

Don’t get me wrong, Canadians are proud to have a multicultural nation; a mosaic rather than a melting pot. However, if Canada is to move forward and become a prominent world leader, and we know it can, we must do so united as Canadians. We must consider ourselves to be Canadian. Not French Canadians, Indo-Canadians, Chinese Canadians or African-Canadians. No more hyphens. I think of myself as a Canadian. Not an Anglo-Scottish-German-Russo-French-OnlyGodKnowsWhat-Canadian. I am Canadian, and damn proud. That is what the future of our great nation must be.

Matthew Bleasdale,
(No hyphen) Canadian