Sometimes, the right six words can steady a nation.

Five years ago, during the height of COVID-19, the air felt heavier. Every cough in the cereal aisle felt like a loaded gun. Borders closed. Hospitals overwhelmed. We weren’t just anxious; we were untethered.

In the middle of it all, while other countries got leaders with fire and fury, in my home province of B.C., we got something quieter.

We got Bonnie Henry.

Dr. Henry was the province’s chief medical officer, a globally recognized expert in infectious diseases.

At the end of one of her first grim press conferences, she gave us all a gift. A compass we didn’t know we needed. She looked into the camera and said:

“Be kind. Be calm. Be safe.”

I don’t know if she meant it as a rallying cry, but for a people gasping for reassurance, it was the first breath we could all take together. At every news briefing — possibly hundreds — she ended with those same six words. The saying started showing up on bumper stickers, at the supermarket, on transit cards.

.

The New York Times did a profile on her, calling her “one of the most effective public health officials in the world.”

Now, here we are again.

Not in a health crisis, this time, but a political one. Another storm we didn’t start. Tariffs, threats, our sovereignty being treated like a bargaining chip.

I keep thinking about those six words, and how they managed to hold a whole province’s grief, fear, and hope, without demanding anything more than our presence.

Being KIND
…isn’t a weakness. It’s a decision. When a larger nation throws its weight around, Canada’s strength has never been in matching volume; our superpower has always been restraint. A refusal to be baited into belligerence, illustrated by how we treat our allies and adversaries alike with dignity, even when they forget to do the same. 

Being CALM
…doesn’t mean doing nothing. It means crafting policy with compassion, not vengeance. It means standing firm when the world’s loudest economies try to shout us down. It means recognizing that fairness in trade isn’t a threat, it’s the foundation.

Being SAFE
…isn’t the absence of danger, it’s the presence of care. It’s building systems that catch people before they fall through the cracks. Refugees fleeing violence. Women demanding bodily autonomy. Trans people asking for basic human rights.

Look, trade wars come and go. Presidents change. Ambassadors spin. But who we were during the crisis (and, for that matter, who we refused to become) is what will be etched into the history books.

Those six words carried us through the hardest days of a pandemic. They carried us when we were lost.

Maybe they can guide us again.

Not just through crisis, but toward the country we still hope to be.

There’s Still Good News Out There

• The Canadian passport continues to outrank the U.S., landing at #8 on the list of the world's most powerful passports, while the American passport came in at #10. 

• Not today, MAGA: All six Canadian venues cancelled shows by a controversial rising MAGA Christian musician this week, forcing him to find new spots for the first leg of his Canadian tour.

• Two young girls from Alberta were surprised with the opportunity from the Kids with Cancer Society to join the ranks of RCMP as co-commanding officers for the day.

Animals

• A blind baby moose calf needs a new home... and the Toronto Zoo might be the answer. A wildlife rescue in Ottawa is hoping the province will approve transferring the moose to the zoo to live out its days in care.

• The co-creators and stars of the new comedy series Cows Come Home, about competitive cow showing, call it a “love letter” to the hardworking, honest, and generous people of rural Ontario’s small towns.

• A nurse captured footage of a giant leatherback sea turtle off the B.C. coast, a rare sight celebrated by conservation specialists, as the species is critically endangered in Canada.

Sports & Entertainment 

• Chappell Roan gives a massive shoutout to Saskatchewan in her upcoming song The Subway. “If in four months, this feeling ain’t gone, well, f*ck this city, I’m moving to Saskatchewan.”

• Big reactions, small... nevermind 😉: The White House slammed South Park after the show portrayed U.S. President Trump seducing Satan, calling it a  "desperate attempt for attention" and claiming the show “hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years.”

• The Toronto Blue Jays have reportedly struck a record-breaking multimillion-dollar deal with a 14-year-old star player from the Dominican Republic.

Trade War: Canada vs U.S.

• Not even grandma's ring is safe: A Nanaimo couple has been hit with nearly $200 in duties to bring a family heirloom, a wedding ring that they've owned for years, back from the U.S.

• Sorry, not sorry: An American journalist recently sent to Canada seemed hilariously shocked by how angry Canadians are at the U.S., from buy-Canadian mantras to bare store shelves devoid of U.S. booze. 

• A new report says Canadian home prices could cool about 2% due to the trade war. New data shows new car sales have stalled in Canada as trade tensions take a toll. 

The First Peoples 

• The $200-million McLean Legacy Fund for federal day school survivors and their families is now accepting applications.

• We still haven’t fixed this shit yet?! The 1,000 people who live in Chippewas of the Thames First Nation were told not to drink tap water due to aging infrastructure that can't keep up with the demands of the community. 

That’s Not Very Canadian

• Dine and dash: A Kelowna food truck owner was stunned when a customer he’d just served allegedly stole his car and drove off just steps away.

• Fascist fight clubs known as "active clubs" are growing across Canada, posing as community and fitness groups while operating within a decentralized network tied to white nationalist, neo-Nazi, and other far-right groups. 

• Toronto police have launched a hate crime investigation into an art group after it shared an Instagram graphic reading “Death, Death to the IDF!”

Across Canada 

• Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday! A visit to one of Canada's most iconic landmarks took a turn when a tourist got stuck in the CN Tower elevator, about 147 storeys up, for 40 minutes. 

• It just got harder to sponsor parents and grandparents in Canada, as the IRCC recently updated its annual income requirements for applicants. 

• A Canadian senator says it’s time for Canada to follow the U.K.'s lead by lowering the voting age to 16 to strengthen democracy and restore trust in politics, noting that about a third of 16-year-olds are employed and already taxpayers.

Dystopian Hellscape 

• Venmo’ing Uncle Sam: Americans can now Venmo the government to help chip away at the $36 trillion national debt.

• Arrested for fishing: A Quebec man is warning Canadian boaters after he says the U.S. Coast Guard accused him of fishing in American waters and detained him for hours.

• The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has barred transgender women from competing in women's sports, citing an “obligation to comply” with an executive order from President Trump.

• Kids at a Florida Chuck E. Cheese watched as an employee was arrested on credit card fraud charges... all while still wearing the pizza chain’s iconic mouse costume.

• Florida's Attorney General is encouraging people to tip off his office if their ex is in the U.S. illegally.

Tap here to subscribe to my YouTube channel

FOLLOW TOD ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Let’s Be Friends!

I only post some of my content on the channels below, and I do not read comments or DMs: Facebook • Instagram • Threads • LinkedIn • Mastodon • TikTok