Born in the U.S., Green Party leader Elizabeth May says she would 'die for Canada any day of the week'

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3 days ago

Yahoo News Canada presents 'My Canada," a series spotlighting Canadians — born-and-raised to brand new — sharing their views on the Canadian dream, national identity, and the triumphs and tribulations that come with life inside and outside these borders.
Many may not realize it, but Green Party Leader Elizabeth May isn't Canadian by birth. 'I came to this country as an intentional Canadian,' she says.
A family vacation to Cape Breton compelled May's parents to leave their home in Hartford, Connecticut in the late 1960s. At the time, May and her brother were teenagers. 'My father was British so he never really liked living in the U.S.,' she tells me from Ottawa. 'But my mother was from there so he was kind of stuck when he married her.'
Being on the island inspired the family to make Canada their home. 'My parents decided they didn't want to live in the U.S. anymore,' she says. 'They loved Cape Breton and they loved Canada.'
The young May — an activist even back then — recalls having rose-coloured glasses about what she expected Canada would be like. 'I thought it would be perfect because of Pierre Trudeau not wanting to encourage or support the U.S. in the war with Vietnam,' she says.
Canada wasn't perfect, but it was — and continues to be — quite profoundly, a work in progress. 'I have always loved the Canadian narrative,' May says. 'The U.S. has this notion of a melting pot. Sure they'll put up with immigrants, but they're expected to emerge from that pot homogenized.'
In contrast, May fell in love with the imagery of Canada being a mosaic. 'The country is beautiful in its diversity.'
She believes what is truly embedded in the fabric of our nation — and what sets us apart — is our community spirit. The ever-environmentalist at heart gives the example of the bravery and community spirit during the Fort McMurray wildfires to illustrate her point: 'I like to contrast the difference between Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Fort McMurray fires in 2016.' As the Hurricane Katrina floods approached New Orleans, as much as half the police department took off in their police cars to protect themselves, asserts May. 'In Fort McMurray [Alberta], not a single first responder left to save themselves. They safely evacuated 80,000 people. They didn't leave anyone behind.'
Compare this to the reaction of everyday Canadians during the fires. If a car trying to leave Fort McMurray ran out of gas, residents would jump out of their own cars, push it aside, and say: 'Jump in with us!' May says.
Community spirit is often put to the test in times of crisis, and United States President Donald Trump's ongoing tariff threats have done just that. Since he took office early this year, it has only succeeded in invoking a fervent sense of national pride and patriotism.
'If there's one thing Donald Trump has done for which Canadians may want to thank him, it's for bringing [us] together and to stop beating up on the country.' May thinks it's really good to be aware of how lucky we are. 'Our pride in our country is tempered with not the boasting and bullying bravado you get from the U.S., but about gratitude and renewed sense of care and concern for every other Canadian. We may be under threat and menace from Donald Trump, but we're also pulling together.'
May, who has been the Member of Parliament for Saanich—Gulf Islands since 2011 — that's five election wins in a row — says the Canada-U.S. tensions have changed her perspective on her country of birth.
'One of the things it has drawn into sharp focus for us as Canadians is that we've allowed multinational corporations to run our economy for a very long time,' she says. This starts way back when the first industry was based on Canadian trappers and beaver pelts, she says. 'We revolutionized our economy during the Second World War but we have basically allowed ourselves to be an economic colony of the United States. It's not just that we're dependent on them, but we've also allowed them to exploit us.'
It doesn't make sense to anyone in the U.S., and it doesn't make sense to Canadians.
She never would have imagined a U.S. president who decided his first order of business would be to take on Canada.
'It doesn't make sense to anyone in the U.S., and it doesn't make sense to Canadians,' she says. 'But it's a good wake up call. We have to expand our understanding of how many friends we truly have. You can't just pick one.'
But May says she most certainly can 'pick just one' when it comes to love of country — a choice she would make over and over again. '
Being Canadian means everything to me, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else,' May proclaims. 'Our values are deeply connected to Canadians like Tommy Douglas who gave universal healthcare, and what Lester B. Pearson did in making us a country known for peacekeeping. We have an amazing reputation around the world.'
But we have to live up to these values and not just rest on our laurels, she reminds us. 'I would give up my life for this country any day of the week.'