“Today, we celebrate each other. We are a nation of kind, compassionate, hardworking people, as remarkable and diverse as the places we call home all across Canada. Ours is a country that spans three oceans, six time zones, and ten million square kilometres of breathtaking landscape, built and bound by a great conviction: that we are strongest when we are united.

That conviction was declared at our Confederation in 1867 – a founding bet that together we could build something greater than the sum of our parts. It was laid down in steel in 1885, when a national railway linked east to west. And it crossed a continent again in 1962, when the Trans-Canada Highway opened, connecting communities from St. John’s to Victoria.

Canadians have never just imagined a stronger, more united country. We’ve picked up our tools and built one.

At this decisive moment, we are choosing to build big once again – with Canadian workers, Canadian materials, and Canadian values. Choosing Canadian produce. Rediscovering our own country, from the Cabot Trail to the Columbia Icefield, from the Bay of Fundy to the northern lights. Small acts of solidarity, repeated millions of times, proving that together we can give ourselves far more than anyone could ever take away.

There will always be forces that want to divide us. They forget this country’s founding insight: that unity is not uniformity, that our differences are strengths to nurture rather than risks to manage, and that our values serve as an unshakeable foundation.

When we show kindness, kindness grows. When we seek unity, unity grows. When we are Canadian, Canada grows. Happy Canada Day.”