This is the last article from this trip. It's strange knowing that it's over. It's sad. We met more than a thousand people across the country, recorded and wrote down dozens of conversations, recorded dozens of videos, and wrote a lot of articles. Our beards got very long. We asked people across the country whether or not Canada should break up. Out west? There were some people who thought so. In the middle there weren't so many. In Quebec? There are many more who would like to leave than the west. Quebec remains the most in favour of separation, but with current global politics, the general consensus (even among separatists) is "not right now." Out east there isn't a soul who thinks that we should break up.
So what do I think? To many people's chagrin during our western section of this trip, I didn't yell at the top of my lungs "CANADA SHOULD STAY TOGETHER FOREVER, I LOVE CANADA." I received several hundred DMs from westerners telling me to "fuck off" because I wasn't arguing for Canada to stay together, I was unfollowed by hundreds of people because I was willing to speak with separatists, and I had a few threats in there as well. It was certainly a lot of action for such a benign line of questioning.
Of course, that's what it means to be a journalist. I ask questions. I write about the questions. When I ask questions people agree with, they tell me I'm a hero. When I ask questions people are uncomfortable with, they email me and text me slurs. We live in a really messed up society.
We're less online than you think
What strikes me as disturbing is this age of the internet where people freely threaten public figures online. What disturbs me about this society that exists is that people are more attached to their phones than other people. Or at least, that's the impression we often get. After biking across the country, I no longer think this is true.
It was striking to see how few people are truly addicted to their phones across Canada. I'm not sure this is true in the United States, but in Canada I think it is. Going across the country, I have more questions than I started with. What is Canadian society? Have we ever had an identity? What is an identity? What is a nationality? Earnestly, I'm not sure I know.
Some friends of mine argue strongly that there is a national identity. They point to things like Angine de Poitrine and the giant crowds who go to their shows. Canada is lit up by this band. It's a uniting factor. Others laughingly point at fun little things in common; Tim Hortons or McCain's deep and delicious cake. I like Timmies, and I love McCain's deep and delicious cake. But I don't know if a band being popular is an identity, and I'm definitely sure that a corporation isn't one.
Jay posted a brilliant article about Canada not having an identity. People either strongly agreed or were incensed. Some big influencers posted things in response. It was great, lots of thoughtful debate. What made me laugh was that the comments all disagreed with each other.
"Canada does have an identity! what about this thing???"
"Canada does not have an identity, this thing doesn't matter to most people."
Go look at that post on instagram. The comments are great. I love them. I love how passionate people are. It was a great moment during the trip to see such heated, real emotion without people being rude or harsh. Just people with a lot of love for their country, and their family, and their friends.
Discomfort
But it's that same love of country that makes me highly uncomfortable. Being on the left makes it challenging to feel a sense of national pride. Quebec's history makes me feel a bit of nationalism, but then I look at the state of the province and I think to myself... well, it's not so great right now. The relationship of the left with nationalism is an uncomfortable tension, because yeah, I'm glad to be here and I like aspects of the country. At the same time, it's quite arbitrary. Lines drawn on a piece of paper, a nation of abstract ideals that aren't put into practice. Housing is a human right in Canada. Okay, but we have up to 300,000 people who are homeless. Our founding myth is literally "peace, order and good governance." Except that there's been multiple mass shootings in the past year, and the police actively shoot and kill indigenous people all the time, not to mention systemic racism within the government and police that targets racialized people. That's not good governance. That's not peace.
Canada is an incredible, and impressive place. Each province is marvelous. Genuinely. Each province could be its own country (except PEI). Each province could survive on its own. There might be better systems of governance for the country. Canada is a federation-- there's a central government that has more power than all the provincial governments, but the provincial/federal jurisdictions generally don't cross over too much. Sovereign provinces in a united country. We are the most decentralized federation on earth.
Still, would an EU model work better? A set of basic rules in a true confederation? We call ourselves confederated, but a confederation is completely sovereign countries that unite under a banner. The EU is a confederation. Canada is a federation, despite what we call our founding.
Canada is constantly arguing with itself. This must be one of the most dysfunctional countries on earth. Our federal elections are literally "who will bother us the least of our options?" That's how people vote. In 2025, Donald Trump was scary and so the country decided that Carney was the option we wanted. Before Trump was kicking around, Poilievre was on track to be the guy, because we were tired of Trudeau. Carney moved the Liberals to the centre right, versus Trudeau's centre left. Poilievre was right wing. Why have we never voted in the NDP federally? Well, they would do too much and change the country too quickly. Canadians are broadly progressive-- 6 in 10 voters vote "left" (if we include the Liberals as "on the left" in the traditional sense.) Mostly, Canadians are somewhere around the centre.
I am not America
There's one thing that stands out above all after this journey. There is one identity that we all share: We are not American. I think that's the strongest identity marker for our whole country. Some people are extremely bothered by this. They would say that our identity can't be a negative. You can't define yourself with a "not."
Why the hell not? What's wrong with that? I think it's a really good thing that we're not Americans. Americans suck! I lived in the United States! I had a long term partner in the United States! What a terrible culture! I would got to concerts and genuinely be afraid that someone would pull out a gun and start shooting up the place. Gun violence is a bit higher right now than it's been for the past twenty years, but I don't walk around in fear. There's not a lot of countries that allow us to walk around safely at night, you know. While in Paris in 2022, someone pulled a gun on me. While touring the US and playing music, a man mugged me with bricks. Listen, Canada is remarkable with how peaceful it is! Even at its worst!
And yet, statistically I'm unsatisfied. Femicide and violence against women is still extremely prevalent. Poverty is rampant. The other day in Montreal a man threatened to run me over with his car. Folks, this society isn't in a good place. I'm not sure it ever was-- but with poverty so high, and the division between the rich and poor at its all time highest levels, things are going to continue worsening. There are obvious and easy solutions. Tax the rich. Build social programs. Save money while building out our welfare. It's easy.
We're not gonna do it. It's Canada. We'll continue to embrace our okay welfare systems, and our mediocre human rights record. We'll continue being a large scale polluter and we'll continue over policing. Folks, we're fortunate to be here, but it's through colonialism and violence that any comfort exists in our lives.
Should Canada break up?
Should Canada break up? It won't be breaking up any time soon. Also, it probably won't exist in its current form forever. Good chance I'm not here if it breaks up. There's also a real chance that somewhere like Quebec leaves eventually. I don't know, it's hard to predict the future. It also doesn't matter to me.
What matters is that we do exist. We are a country right now. And we can do better. If we're going to exist, we may as well improve. If we're going to stop existing, it should be to make something better than what we have. Most separatists we met out west want to leave the country because they don't like Indians. I am comfortable saying that this is stupid, and those people are dumb. But when I talk to thoughtful separatists in Quebec who want to build a social welfare system, have green energy, and have proportional representation, yeah, I think they're on to something. But let's be honest– is Paul St Pierre Plamondon the one who's gonna do it?
No.
So should Canada break up? You tell me. All I know is that we need to do better with what we have right now. I was raised to believe that we needed to value what we already have before trying to get more. So let's start there and see where we go next.