Years ago, I spent a few months in residential treatment for an addiction to alcohol. An addiction that nearly killed me.

As part of the treatment, every day we had to fill in these forms — DMIs, we called them: Daily Moral Inventories. Basically, you’d try to remember times in the last 24 hours in which you exhibited a bunch of traits — selflessness, patience, indifference, lying, and so on.

The one that was hardest for me to wrap my head around was “False modesty.” This is where you pretend to be humble or self-effacing, but you’re actually fishing for praise. Like a guy holding a trout in his Tinder profile.

That one was hard for me and most people. Later, I started to wonder if that was cultural.

Big Country, Small Talk

Have you ever noticed how Canadians talk about Canada? We talk about it like it’s the opening act at our own concert. We say things like:

• "We're not perfect."
  As if anyone thought we were.

• "We're just a small country."
  Even though we're the second-largest landmass on Earth.

• "Nothing really happens here."
  While the politics of Alberta alone could power six seasons of Netflix.

It’s not that we’re modest; it’s that somehow, culturally, we’ve mistaken self-deprecation for identity. After a while, you say something enough times, you start to believe it.

We’re known for being polite, quiet, humble. But somewhere along the way, those values got twisted. Polite became passive. Humble became apologetic. We talk about our artists like “they’re good… for a Canadian.” And when something extraordinary does happen here, we act surprised—like we forgot we were capable of it.

The problem isn’t that Canada lacks substance. It’s that we’ve spent so long pretending it doesn’t, we’ve started to buy our own false modesty. And just like in treatment, the first step is admitting it.

Big Country Energy

So here it is: Canada is fucking great.

Not perfect. Not finished. But great.

This is the country that gave the world insulin, the telephone, basketball. We’ve led peacekeeping missions, welcomed waves of refugees, brokered impossible compromises.

We’ve raised poets and astronauts, invented whole genres of comedy, and our passports still open doors in almost every country on earth.

The Case for Confidence

What would it look like if we actually took our own country seriously?

We’ve been taught that boasting is rude. But what if that’s not true? What if taking pride in this place isn’t arrogance, but a responsibility to the next generation?

Maybe the Americans with their chest-thumping and eagles flying over tailgates had it right all along.

It’s probably not just what we need, but what this noisy world needs right now: A country that can lead without shouting.

Already Worthy

On my 38th day in treatment, one of the other patients walked up to me. Big guy. Muscles that would power a tank. He said “You know, I’ve figured you out. You think you’re less than. You’re not.”

“You’re just scared to be more than.”

I remember that day, because it was a turning point for me.

Now, I look at Canada and wonder if we need someone to say the same thing to us. We’re not less than. But sometimes we’re scared to be more than.

We don’t need to become arrogant. Just honest.

Because becoming who you’re meant to be starts with one hard thing: admitting you already matter.

We All Need Some Good News ❤️ 

• Like mother, like lawyer: A mother-daughter duo just made Ontario legal history, getting called to the bar together after a decade of studying at separate law schools.

• Somewhere over the rainbow: Stormchasers caught the moment a massive tornado crossed paths with a rainbow this week. 

• Canadian universities dominate, taking nine of the top ten North American spots, with only one from the U.S. making the list.

• A Thunder Bay woman who never imagined graduating high school after years of drug addiction will receive her diploma next week.

• ICE is now reportedly running out of money, facing a budget shortfall of more than $1 billion. (I mean…. 🤣)

More than Moose 

• Dolphins: 1, Man: 0: A man was fined $5,000 for speeding on a personal watercraft toward a pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins to film them.

• Two Highland cows recently said “I moo” during their wedding ceremony on a farm in Ontario.

Trade War: Canada vs U.S.

• Local businesses in Niagara Falls are bracing for a slower summer as the U.S.-Canada trade war casts a shadow over the usually busy tourist season.

• Sip local: Canadian wines have gained a sales boost from a ‘Buy Canadian’ push and provincial bans on U.S. alcohol amid the trade war.

• Vancouver-based athleisure brand Lululemon is cutting 150 corporate jobs as the company braces for tariff impact. 

• Canada will raise tariffs on U.S. steel if a trade deal isn’t reached next month.

Science Breakthroughs

• A rare black iceberg spotted off the coast of Labrador may be carrying extraterrestrial material from an asteroid strike.

• The U.S. has approved the world’s first twice-a-year injection to prevent HIV.

• New research suggests dishwashers may be shedding microplastics from plastic containers, raising concerns about what could be ending up in our food and water.

The First Peoples 

• An $11M donation is bringing an Indigenous Wellness Centre to a hospital in downtown Toronto, featuring a medicine garden, sweat lodge, sacred fire, and expanded access to elders and traditional care providers.

• Ontario Premier Doug Ford apologized for saying that First Nations cannot "keep coming hat in hand all the time to the government" for more money. (Bruh.)

• Members of Muskoday First Nation completed an eight-day, 300 km walk to the Saskatchewan Legislature, urging urgent action on the province’s escalating fentanyl overdose crisis.

Across Canada 

• Grand theft auto in the GTA: Four suspects, including a 16-year-old, have been arrested after an alleged attempt to steal… Doug Ford’s car 🤣

• A Canada-bound flight with more than 250 passengers was forced to make a U-turn back to Amsterdam after the airline realized the plane was overdue for maintenance.

• A major Toronto taxi scam has been uncovered and hundreds of passengers have been affected. 

• A time capsule from 1995, originally sealed inside St. Albert’s Hudson’s Bay store and meant to stay closed until 2045, was opened on the store’s final day and has now been donated to the local Heritage Museum.

• As Canada’s only “sugar tax” ends, a new study suggests Newfoundland and Labrador’s levy on sweetened drinks may have actually curbed consumption.

• Canada’s population has flatlined, with 0.0% growth reported so far this year.

• Canadians can expect new laws and financial changes starting next month, including a tax cut and increased benefit payments.

• More than 18 months after opening, a Kingston prison site letting inmates use smuggled drugs under medical supervision has had only one visitor. 

• Most Canadian grocers fail to meet seafood transparency standards, with a new report revealing a widespread lack of disclosure on environmental and human rights risks in their supply chains.

Dystopian Hellscape 

• Research suggests social media is now the main source of news in the U.S.

• “Dave’s not here, man!” A California man was arrested at the U.S.-Canada border after a GPS error led him there… and authorities found $300,000 worth of marijuana in his vehicle. Whoops! 🤣

• Experts question whether the $499 Trump phone can be fully made in the U.S., saying it would be “virtually impossible.”

• Pizza shows the world is on the brink: Just before Israel’s attack on Iran, an account tracking pizza shop activity near the Pentagon flagged an unusual spike fueling speculation something big was underway.

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