🫵 Now Is Your Opportunity to Make a Difference!
Author: The CANADA List Team
Published: Feb 14, 2026
No doubt all of us are familiar with the already somewhat legendary speech that Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered at Davos. If you are reading this, you were likely among the many Canadians who watched it live, or soon thereafter. And if you were like me, you immediately felt a sharp sense of pride. For the first time in years, a leader stood on a world stage and said what so many of us have been waiting to hear, with conviction and clarity. It was clear and strong and courageous and ambitious and moral and mature and intelligent. It was everything we like to think that we, as Canadians, stand for and represent.
But it was not just us who were impressed. People across the world were inspired by the speech, and have been expressing openly their admiration for PMMC's courage and for Canada's values since that speech. People across the world have gone as far as to call PMMC a new world leader, and some have even wished their own leaders would show similar conviction.
Having Canada in the spotlight, on center stage, leading the charge, we are not used to this. But the world saw what we saw: a leader with the principled confidence to speak with conviction about a geopolitical structure that was no longer serving society's greater good; a structure in which leading powers have been using economic coercion to subjugate the rest of the world.
The attention PMMC's speech has received, both nationally and internationally, is all the more exceptional because this was not a pom-pom waving, "rah rah" speech designed only to energize the masses. It was careful, cautious, perhaps even sobering. In it, PMMC asked that we accept this shifting economic order, and acknowledge that we will likely experience equal parts opportunity and sacrifice as a result. That word, sacrifice, is not a word that usually draws admiration. But PMMC decided not to pull any punches, and not to shield us from coming pressures. He asked us to enter this new world order with our eyes open.
Why? Because, frankly, he needs our help. Not at the level of national security or international trade negotiations, those are his domains to handle. But at just about every other level of civic and corporate action. He needs our willingness to dig our heels in, to get dirty, to take action. He needs our ingenuity to build, develop, and create. He needs civic-minded leadership to cooperate, collaborate, and lead. He needs courage to challenge the status quo and take risks. He needs our volunteering spirit to build stronger communities and grassroots movements. He needs our perseverance to keep supporting local businesses, to keep buying Canadian, even when it is less convenient.
He needs all of this because the sobering side of the story is true: there will almost certainly be some sacrifices to come. For some, it may mean paying more than you are used to for domestic groceries. For others, it may mean experiencing job uncertainty as domestic industries adjust. For many, it may mean reduced community services in certain sectors, should PMMC need to make difficult decisions to protect the long-term resilience of our country.
Clearly PMMC's message has worked despite its sobering stance: Canadians from coast to coast to coast have greeted his message with a sense of pride, unity, and ambition not seen for decades, perhaps centuries. From Vancouver to St. John's, from Thunder Bay to Iqaluit, we as a whole are carrying ourselves differently now. We are suddenly more willing to speak out, accept responsibility, demonstrate intellect and courage and moral values, and lead by example.
But let us not get too caught up in the moment, because history demonstrates that these moments can be transient and fleeting. What matters now is what we do with the momentum we have built. The unity we are currently experiencing, this pride, this motivation, this social cachet, can quickly slip away if it is not matched with action. And it is in that action that PMMC needs our help.
So this is our moment. All of our moments. Your moment. To dig in. To take action. To make a difference.
Have an idea for a new Canadian business? Consider taking the plunge, because that business is likely to experience a larger wave of support right now than at any time in modern history. Have thoughts of starting a movement that brings Canadians together or inspires others to take action? You will almost certainly find allies ready to help. Want to join a cause that is already gaining momentum? Do it. Jump in and offer your help, your energy and expertise will matter. And of course, continue supporting domestic businesses that give back to our communities by buying Canadian whenever possible.
It was this kind of take-action mentality that led me to start The CANADA List in the first place. One night I was looking at a box of cookies in the grocery aisle with a false Canadian flag on it, frustrated that there was not a reliable resource to consult about these things. The next thing I knew, I was back home, sitting on the couch, digging in, building the resource myself. Truthfully, nine times out of ten, I would have let that frustration fizzle out with a wish that someone else build the resource. But for some reason, that night, I felt a little burst of inspiration, a feeling that I could make a difference. Acting on it became the first step in building what is quickly becoming a trusted national resource. Is it perfect? Not even close. Can it get better? Absolutely. Do I deserve a prize? Hardly. But none of that is the point.
The point is that we all get these ideas, these little bursts of inspiration. And if you are like me, nine times out of ten, you let these ideas fizzle and end with a wish that someone else do something about it. But now is not the time to let things fizzle, or to wish someone else will solve our problems. Now is the time to act. To accept PMMC's call for help, and to do everything we can to support the country we love.
So, in this special issue of The CANADA List newsletter, I put the pointed question right to you: how can you make a difference?
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