Our Connections in Canada

“Oh wow, I grew up there! I haven’t been there in years.”

“Hey say hi to my Mom! She lives just south of where you are.”

“Be sure to visit that town - it has the best pizza!”

These are the experiences after 3 months of travel across our nation. Sharing the journey has inspired a sharing of story and pride for roots and history and memories. So many friends and colleagues express their pride of place - of where they made their own memories and had formative or sentimental journeys of their own.

I am equally inspired by the places I have landed - imagining friends playing on the beaches, working in the shops or building their first homes. The community connections I have felt and how it connects us all makes Canada - a very big country - seem very small and deeply connected.

My passion for community-first development and investment hit me yesterday in Gananoque, Ontario. I arrived to kayak with 1000 Islands Kayak Adventures. The community was ‘beautified’. Not for tourism but from pride - pride of place evident in the air, the flowers, the waterfront, the parks, the locals. The community shines for its own benefit - nestled on the shores of the St. Lawrence River, surrounding by children and dog parks, colorful artsy restaurants, a charming downtown core, and open-hearts and hands to visitors.

Communities pride-of-place is the tourism attraction! When a town feels cohesive, when they share and embrace ‘community’, it shows… and shines. From Ganaoque, Ontario and all communities west that I have visited so far, that love where they live - thank you for expressing your love of where you live and helping me - as a visitor - grow to appreciate what you love and why too!

And then, wistfully, I begin to imagine what it could be like - to live in these communities with their endearing qualities and natural or recreational spaces, and of the cultural expression in history, people and art. Sigh. I could talk for hours about those qualities of Yukon and of my home of 33 years - Whitehorse - and now, I endeavor to explore and seek to understand what Canada knows about what they love for where they live.

#forglowinghearts

#communitylove

#firstnations

#inuit

#metis