'O Canada'

For this lifelong, loyal Canadian, Remembrance Day only intensifies patriotic emotions by Beth Elhard, Castor, Alta.

 

- Beth Elhard, Castor, Alta

As I watch the final rays of a golden Prairiesunset glistening on the hoarfrost of the trees, I am moved to tears at the breathtaking splendour of this beautiful piece of Canada. I know that somewhere else in this land someone is in awe at the sight before them. From the West Coast to the East Coast, it is a collage of beauty.

I am a third-generation Canadian and to say that I love this country would be an understatement.

For this lifelong, loyal Canadian, Remembrance Day only intensifies patriotic emotions by Beth Elhard, Castor, Alta.

“Our home and native land”

 It is not just the beauty of Canada alone, however; it is the core of the country that I love as well. Canada’s heart and soul has its roots in the generations gone before us and it leaves in my being a deep, intense feeling of gratitude for those who forged their way in a new country.

I think of my English grandmother and great-grandmother who arrived in northern Ontario in 1910 in 40°F weather. They were wearing felt slippers and sweaters and were met by my great-grandfather, who was to die soon after, leaving them destitute and enduring unbelievable hardships.