Dear Canada,

We have to talk.

Even though our relationship was arranged, I didn’t get to pick who I loved, the moment I was able to understand what you were all about, it was love at first sight. I looked around at all the other countries and soon realized you were the best of the bunch. You were big, strong, determined, hard working and a hell of a hockey player. You were kind, caring, and compassionate, yet others knew not to screw with you. You could be a vicious fighter if provoked or attacked. You defended your people, your borders, your values and your culture. But more than that, you had integrity and you were honest. But you also weren’t perfect. You had your faults as well. You made mistakes. I understood that. I accepted that. I loved you for it. All of it. I fell deeply in love with you. So much so that I decided to serve you, and defend you, and brag about you to others. I actually had you tattooed on my skin to show the world who I loved and committed to. The world respected you and in turn me when I went outside your borders. I was so proud of you! I had patches on all my luggage just so people would know I stood with you. I took your name and made it mine.
I AM CANADIAN!
I loved you! You loved me!

Lately I have noticed a lot of changes in you. First and foremost, you don’t seem to love me anymore.
You seem to love everyone else but me. You go prancing around to all these other countries looking for love, fame, and favour. You’re spending all our money on frivolous foreign activities while your kin is at home struggling to put food on the table. You’ve neglected all your children while galavanting with the UN. The kids are all fighting with each other because there’s no stability at home. Then you bring home millions of people that abuse what we have built and don’t respect our traditions or way of life, and you expect us all to get along. You ignore all your responsibilities at home and blame all of our ills and what ails us, on me. If I bring in lots of money by working at home you take our money and spend it on all your new friends. Then you give me shit for making a mess while working hard to bring in that money. Then you tell me I can’t work anymore, I’m just supposed to stay away from supporting your new way of life and live in servitude to you! Instead of supporting me and appreciating the spoils of my hard work, you turn around and buy those same spoils from someone else. All our friends have abandoned us, leaving me no options for work even if you’d let me. You take direction from others that don’t have our best interests in mind and then tell me that we don’t have an identity or that we don’t even exist! It’s intolerable.

Many of the other folks that took your name, that loved you, showed that love by giving their lives to defend you. Yet when those same people ask you to help them you spit in their face and go dancing with India or to the beach with Aga and George.

This relationship is extremely abusive. I don’t know what to do.

You lie, you cheat, you steal, and you abandon all responsibility just to be friends with people that want to see our relationship fail. You abuse me at every turn. You neglect the children. You neglect our friends. But most of all, you’re giving up our freedom, our sovereignty, our way of life we worked so hard to build. The cornerstones of our relationship.

I’m at my wits end. You don’t communicate anymore. You just dictate based on what your new friends tell you to do.

I don’t know if you have a drug problem, if you have mental illness, or if you are sick. Maybe a brain tumour or some other form of cancer or serious condition. What I do know is that this can’t go on anymore. You need help, serious help.

I haven’t changed. I am still the same old Canadian that came into this relationship. You’ve changed. I feel
like I don’t even know you anymore.
I still love you, I always will, because at your core, I know what you’re capable of. Hell, I’d even still defend you and what you used to represent, to my death. But I can’t live like this. I need the old Canada back. I need to be respected like I respect you, and cherished like I cherish you. I feel a great sense of loss and grief because it feels like we’re already done. That you really don’t care about us anymore. Not only that you’ve given up but you’ve given it away! At this point, divorce may be the only option. I have to save myself and our children. It’s about survival now. We depended on you and you have let us all down. It’s so sad. But I’m pretty sure you don’t even care.

So Canada, you either get help, figure this shit out, dump all those friends around the world that have come between us, determine if I’m worth it or not, or we’re done. I’ll make my own life with someone who does love me. It’s up to you. I’m not waiting much longer.

With love,