OTTAWA—In my column last week, I focused on why I love Quebec, as well as assessing some of its flaws. I quoted former Quebec premier Jean Lesage, who described his attachment to his homeland and his country as “Le Québec, ma patrie—le Canada, mon pays.” 

This week, for Canada Day, I thought I would articulate the strengths and weaknesses of our country. This seems pertinent as this year our celebration of Confederation takes place while two provinces—Quebec and Alberta—contemplate leaving. 

Let’s begin with the positives. Canada is a country with two official languages, which is an enormous asset globally. English is the international language of business and tourism, and French is spoken by 400 million people. As neuroscientists will attest, bilingualism creates cognitive capacity that delays dementia. About seven million of us can speak both languages fluently, and many more can “get by” in either language. 

Canada’s Blue Economy Opportunity: A Global Partnership Worth Building

We live in a stable democracy, with a free press and the rule of law. While we take this for granted, there are dozens of countries where that’s not true. 

We are a country of immigrants, managing to successfully integrate people from everywhere into a common sense of “vivre........

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