Canada Day Reflections On Faith That Shaped A Nation

Canada Day is a celebration, but it’s also a mirror. When we pause long enough to look, we start asking bigger questions: What shaped Canada into the kind of place that values freedom and justice? What happens when a culture forgets the difference between right and wrong? And what does faith have to do with the strength of a nation’s character?

Today I share a personal thread from my own life a book my wife gave me called Canada Portraits of Faith. It highlights 52 people whose faith influenced Canada in lasting ways, from early educators to hymn writers to leaders who quietly changed the course of history. Along the way, we remember names like Marguerite Bourgeoys, Joseph Scriven (who wrote “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”), John Hunter, and Timothy Eaton, each one a reminder that belief can become service and that legacy is often built through everyday faithfulness.

We also sit with a powerful quote from Pierre Elliott Trudeau about the “golden thread of faith” woven throughout Canada’s story, shaping values that strengthened our laws and our lives. Then we bring it home with Scripture: Psalm 88’s warning about the “land of forgetfulness” and Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 that we are “the salt of the earth.” If salt loses its taste, it stops preserving anything and that image is a challenge I can’t shake.

Transcript

Welcome to Starting Right

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Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mack. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and let me help you start your day right. Well, good morning and happy birthday, Canada. Because it is Canada's birthday today, I want to do something just a little bit different. A while ago, my wife gave me a book entitled Canada Portraits of Faith. In this book, it lists 52 individuals who, from even before Canada became a nation, right on up through to more recent times, of people whose faith impacted our country beyond measure. Many of these names you might be familiar with, yet there are others that you will probably never have heard of before. A woman by the name of Marguerite Bourjois, she was Canada's first school teacher. There's Joseph Scrivan, who wrote the hymn What a Friend We Have in Jesus. There's John Hunter, who actually led Canada's first prime minister to Christ. Yes, he led John A. MacDonald, the famous drinker, to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Right on up to Timothy Eaton, who most of us in Canada will remember or know of, the Eaton's department stores. These are people of faith and many others in this book that talk about our foundation that we have, a foundation that says faith is important to who we are. The preface of this book contains a quote from Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who was the Prime Minister of Canada back in the nineteen eighties, and is the father of our current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. But Pierre Elliot Trudeau said this The golden thread of faith is woven throughout the history of Canada from its earliest beginnings up to the present time. Faith was more important than commerce in the minds of many of the European explorers and settlers, and over the centuries as successive waves of people came to this country, many in search of religious liberty, they brought with them a great wealth and a variety of religious traditions and values. Those values have shaped our laws and our lives, and have added enormous strength to the foundation of freedom and justice upon which this country was built. It is in acknowledgement of that debt that the Parliament of Canada later gave its approval during the constitutional debate to the statement that Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law. Faith played a large part in the lives of so many men and women who have created in this land a society which places a high value on commitment, integrity, generosity, and above all freedom. To pass on that heritage, strong and intact, is a challenge worthy of us all who are privileged to call ourselves Canadians. As we celebrate our country today, let's remember the heritage that we have. Let us not forget what that heritage meant. Psalm 88 and verse 12, the last portion of that verse says, Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about righteousness? No. If we start to forget what's right, if we start to forget what's good, if we start to forget the difference between right and wrong, then we are bound to go down a path of destruction and failure. These fifty-two people of faith listed in this book who were part of the heritage of faith of our country, all understood this principle from Matthew chapter five and verse thirteen. You are the salt of the earth. But if that salt has become tasteless, how can it be made more salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. They recognize that principle of influence, that they were people to make a difference. They were called by God to make a difference in this country of Canada and to the people around them. And you and I are called to do the same. God is for us, He is with us, He wants us to make a difference in the lives of people and continue to make a difference in our country and to not forget about what is right and important and what we need to stand up for. I am so happy and proud to call Canada my home. And to all my friends out there who are in other countries today, may God's peace and strength and joy be with you. And I want to encourage you too that you have got the ability to have an impact where you are. With peace and joy and the faith in Jesus Christ, our world can be changed for him. Have a great day, my friends. Thank you for listening today. And I invite you to join me Monday to Friday right here on Starting Right with Danny Mack.