The good news is we’ve faced challenges equally grave, and met them. We overcame past threats of annexation and invasion from the United States. We came to the brink of breaking up during two referenda on Quebec succession and survived. What we had then, and desperately need now, is a sense of purpose. We have let too many things drift for too long, so that today we face a crisis of crises.
This fall will be about proof. For all the talk of a fresh start, Canadians have grown skeptical that any government can deliver on the big promises.