Early yesterday, I was on the highway trying to escape Toronto so I could enjoy the Canada Day weekend with some friends. Weekend plans called for nothing more than sitting by the water, eating good food and generally kicking back and enjoying life. The first part of my trip involved driving along Highway 401 – the busiest freeway in Canada. And even though it was before 7 a.m., traffic was picking up. Out of my side mirror, I saw a white pickup truck speeding in the outside lane. I could see several Canadian flags flying from the back of the truck. As it passed, the side of the pickup had the word FREEDOM painted in red. And in the back window, a sign said: “Patriots on board.” When I headed north, the truck headed east toward Ottawa.

Sigh.

The nation’s capital – and maybe the entire nation – is bracing for a much different Canada Day weekend this year. The return of the so-called “freedom convoy” protesters to Ottawa is raising our collective temperatures during what used to be the best long weekend of the year. With most pandemic restrictions lifted, what “freedoms” are they protesting? We published an excellent story this week by political scientist Fiona MacDonald from the University of Northern British Columbia who explores the motives of the people who flocked to Ottawa last winter and who are returning again.

“Emotion is what compelled the so-called ‘freedom convoy’ – in particular, a sense of aggrieved entitlement among white men’ fuelled by anger and resentment at changes in a society they believe is wrongly marginalizing them,” she writes.

I was thinking about MacDonald’s article as I continued my Canada Day drive. I also wondered why we’ve allowed aggrieved people to hijack and politicize both the term “patriot” and the Canadian flag. The symbolism of the flag is the topic of this week’s episode of our Don’t Call Me Resilient podcast. And for your weekend reading – it’s a short collection because you should get away from your screen during the holiday – I’ve included some of our recent articles about Canada Day, the Ottawa protests, patriotism and, from our archive,  a provocative piece on the citizenship oath.

During this long weekend, we should all take a moment to reflect on what it means to be Canadian. But let’s not think too hard. Long summer weekends are times for friends and family, food and fun. I’ll be doing all that and hope you are able to as well.

Enjoy. We’ll be back in your Inbox on Monday.