Canada is having a moment.

The world has become less predictable. Our closest ally has become an economic adversary.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has responded by talking about the things that, too often, have been postponed: pipelines, ports, mines, lumber, defence and major national infrastructure. That is important. But are Canadians prepared to act like a country that believes in its own future?

During the Blitz, Britain was confronted with an enemy that appeared capable of destroying its cities and breaking its spirit. Buildings disappeared. Families were separated. Invasion was a genuine possibility.

Yet something remarkable happened. The British did not simply wait for the government to save them. They organized themselves. Service clubs and churches swelled and, remarkably, people partied as they never had before and volunteered in numbers no one previously had witnessed. Ordinary people began to behave as though the fate of the country was in their hands.

Neighbours cared for each other. Volunteers staffed shelters and hospitals. Ordinary citizens opened their homes, shared scarce resources, rationed,........

© The London Free Press