Avi Benlolo: Canada should be getting wiser on its 159th birthday. Instead, it got meaner

Immigrants hold Canadian flags and their certificates of citizenship during a Canadian citizenship ceremony at the Daniels Spectrum in Toronto on Oct. 16, 2012. Photo by Matthew Sherwood /Postmedia

Article content

This week we proudly celebrated Canada’s 159th birthday. We’ve come a long way as a country. We’ve built a nation that is the pride and envy of the world, a nation of peace, of shared values of freedom and democracy, and one that respects personal dignity as enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Article content

This year, I’ve written a lot about missing the Canada where we left our doors unlocked. Where our children sang Kumbaya in school gymnasiums and where good citizenship marked by kindness, compassion and civility reigned. They can still be heard in small towns across the land, but I miss the sound of hockey sticks hitting the pavement.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Our country seems to have gotten less Canada. Less nice. Less tolerant or accepting of one another. We now need more laws to control the rising tide of hate and antisemitism. A man (whom I happen to know through the community) was beaten up walking to synagogue this week.

Article content

Article content

Interestingly, on that very same day, some 66 non-Jewish business executives were compelled by the hateful Canada they see to take out ads in every major newspaper across the country to denounce antisemitism. But this article is not about antisemitism per se; it’s about the future of Canada and why we should all be concerned.

Article content

Once, we freely sent our children on the Toronto subway. Today, we wonder if they might be attacked or pushed. We are failing to take care of our most vulnerable and that is reflected in the homelessness on our streets. It’s not hard to miss. People in suits walk past sleeping bags on the sidewalk, sometimes right beside the road. It makes me very sad and worried about our future.

Article content

Crime has gotten out of hand in our beautiful country so much so that we even needed bail reform to try to stop the “revolving door” where repeat offenders, organized crime members and those committing random acts of violence are released back into the communities before trial.

Article content

Article content

At dinner the other day, a friend of mine who lives in Etobicoke said he locks his house down and sleeps in fear every night with a bat in hand. There were a whopping 131 home invasions in Toronto in 2025. There is an erosion of trust in the justice system. Just yesterday, I was notified by a victim of an antisemitic assault that charges were dropped against the perpetrator.

Article content

I fear this erosion is coming from a lack of moral clarity. We were once the nation that was known for keeping the peace around the world. We were the ones who advocated against the usage of landmines, and we prided our balanced approach to international affairs, working to unify rather than divide. We worked in tandem and partnership with our biggest trading partner, the United States. No matter the administration, we learned to get along — to play nicely.

Article content

Now, what Canadians are seeing is a meaner Canada on our streets at home and through our conduct around the world. Shouldn’t we be getting wiser with age? It worries me that instead of working with our democratic partners, we are now cozying up to countries like China, Qatar and even Syria. I was alarmed to hear that Canada is considering reopening its embassy in Iran – ignoring the fact its terrorist regime just slaughtered thousands of citizens.