Have you ever been to Ottawa?  If you have not, then I highly recommend you put it into your travel plans.

One of my wife’s bucket list items was to be in Ottawa on Canada Day.  So here we are: July 1^st 2015 in Ottawa celebrating the birth of this amazing country of ours.  We are 148 years old this year.  We are a mere babe compared to most countries on this wonderful planet we call home.  But even though we are very young as a country, we have accomplished much.

My wife and I have had the privilege of doing a fair bit of international travel in both the developed and developing world.  It’s through this lens we have grown a deep appreciation for Canada.  Sadly, oftentimes it is not until we see what others do not have that we fully appreciate that which we do have.

As we walked amidst the grandeur of Ottawa we reveled in the richness of our history reflected in myriad monuments to and of the marvelous legacy of leadership that has preceded us and forged the way for the Canadian lifestyle we enjoy today.  I realized I am often disconnected from the daily leadership struggles going on at the highest levels which create and facilitate the culture we celebrate.

Look at your daily life – what do you enjoy on an ongoing basis?  Perhaps it may be that which you can take for granted?  Certainly that which you will take for granted if you have never traveled internationally, or if you do not cultivate an awareness of international issues through the news, or if you do not have at least a semblance of historical knowledge of the world events comprising the history of western civilization.

We enjoy a strong, stable economy.  We are not wracked by unchecked inflation and a currency unable to compete globally.  We have a free enterprise system enabling us to prosper financially.  We are governed by elected officials within a Constitutional Monarchy and a Parliamentary Democracy.  We are not ruled by tyrants, despots or dictators.  We have a say into who leads us through our multi-party political system: a system which enables us to respectfully disagree with each other.

We live safely and securely by the rule of law within a policing and court system diligently working to uphold the laws of the land free from bias.  We have a developed infrastructure consistently providing the necessities of daily life like clean water, electricity, communication mediums, sanitation, transportation and much, much more.  We have an abundant supply of quality food at affordable prices.

We have world class education and health care available to all Canadians.  We are continually developing cutting edge technologies and scientific breakthroughs to forward our already high standard of living.

We have freedoms that many countries around the world do not enjoy:  freedom of movement, of association, of thought, of speech, of religion, and many more.

And what did we see in Ottawa?  We saw the glorious buildings, the institutions, the processes, the programs and the people who facilitate much of this.

We saw the legacy of leadership which has created this great country of ours.

Parliament, the Supreme Court, the Prime Minister’s office, the Senate, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Royal Canadian Mint, the National Research Council, Rideau Hall – seat of the Queen’s representative in Canada: the Governor General.  We saw numerous war monuments, sober reminders of the price that thousands have paid for the freedoms we enjoy.

As we strolled through the marvels of Ottawa I was overwhelmed by the Legacy of Leadership that has created Canada.  Everything we enjoy and celebrate on a daily basis as Canadians is only possible because someone bore the burden of leadership to accomplish a worthy objective.

Are we without challenges of many kinds from within and without?  No.  But at least we have the character, the fortitude, the resolve, the mechanisms, the legacy and the leadership in place to successfully address these issues.

And now, let’s ensure we take our place in the long line of those who have gone before us and make our leadership contribution to the True North Strong and Free!