“From a historical point of view, “Canada” is a changing thing.”

A History of Canada In Ten Maps by Adam Shoalts

I recently read A History of Canada In Ten Maps by Adam Shoalts. It was one of the most engaging explanations of Canada’s history that I’ve experienced. The book reminded me that Canada–any country–is not fixed.

From the Indigenous nations to the Vikings to the French, English, Americans, fur companies, and explorers, territory was always shifting. Even in my life, borders were redrawn when Nunavut became a territory in 1999.

Beyond the physical environment and official boundaries, attitudes and opinions change.

Shoalts wrote, “If there’s been one constant throughout Canada’s history, it’s been our wilderness… Unspoiled wilderness… is the bedrock of our country–the harsh but beautiful reality that gives meaning to our national identity.”

While wilderness may be part of our national identity, I’m not sure many Canadians feel wilderness at the heart of their personal identities. Many exist so distant from nature, let alone wilderness.

While the farm is far from unspoiled wilderness, we live closer to nature here than most people do. We feel the rhythms of the seasons, pay closer attention to the changes in the weather, see what is happening in our environment more clearly. How low or high is the creek? How hard is the ground? How green are the fields? What colour are the trees?

With global warming, those observations are weighted with anxiety. But they are also lifted with possibility. This property has the potential to grow food, filter water, hold carbon, make oxygen, provide homes. I feel a responsibility to care for this small section of Canada. To do my best for the land and everything that lives here. To do my best for Ellie’s future.

Shoalts ends his book with a plea to preserve wilderness.

“The Haudenosaunee concept of “Turtle Island”–the idea that all North America is a fragile, interconnected ecosystem that humans share equally with plants and animals–offers one such possibility. Perhaps the revival of… Indigenous knowledge holds out the hope that we’ll recognize Canada’s remaining wild lands and wildlife for the irreplaceable gifts that they are.”

On Canada Day, this feels like a good wish for our country.