The whole reason Canada exists is because John A. Macdonald and his like-minded colleagues wanted to make a clear distinction between our land and America.

As they looked southward with anxiety at the America forming in the aftermath of the Civil War, they knew that without Confederation – and everything it entailed, such as federal borders – there’d be little to keep Britain interested in our survival and stop the patchwork lands of Canada from being annexed.

Yet to talk about Canada today as a proud and robust sovereign entity is frowned upon by a sizeable contingent in the establishment. We’re seeing this in a number of issues coming to a head.

The current migrant crisis at our borders is a prime example. You wouldn’t know it from some of the social justice activism that masquerades as reporting, but these are illegal entries. The migrants are deliberately avoiding ports of entry, which is illegal. They know if they presented themselves to an official location, they’d be turned back. As such, they're circumventing the law.

However when Conservative MPs called for efforts to halt these illegal crossings, Gerald Butts – Justin Trudeau’s main advisor – tweeted out dismissively that “this will not age well”.

This will not age well. https://t.co/9ljw8iyxzU — Gerald Butts 🇨🇦 (@gmbutts) February 20, 2017

This is the same man who Liberal MPs refer to, according to The Hill Times, as Prime Minister Butts. And yet he’s criticizing politicians who want to see federal laws enforced.

We also now know that the uptick in illegal crossings at the Quebec border are not a response to the Trump presidency, but an attempt to use U.S. visas issued in Saudi Arabia as a conduit to enter Canada.

The Canadian Press reported that “the visas were obtained to use the U.S. as a transit point to get to Canada and claim asylum – plans set in motion long before the U.S. election in November”.

This should be cause for alarm. And thankfully cabinet ministers are expected to meet over this topic later in the week. But whatever solutions they come up with, one thing that would go a long way is if they convinced their boss to stop sending out coded gestures that invite exploitation of our laws.

Like how the government has almost passed a bill that allows dual nationals convicted of terrorism to keep their citizenship. “Trudeau’s agenda prioritized helping a man [Zakaria Amara] who hates Canada so much he wanted to wage war against it,” as my colleague Candice Malcolm put it.

Or how right after President Trump unveiled his executive order on immigration, Trudeau tweeted out “Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith... #WelcometoCanada”. This caused The New York Times, among others, to report in glowing language about our “open-door policy”.

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada — Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017

And while the PMO was keen to signal their virtue by writing to Fox News to demand a correction over another story, they never publicly chastised the Times for this error. (We don't have an open-door policy.)

Meanwhile, more Canadian municipalities are getting on board the sanctuary city train that uses municipal resources to undermine immigration laws. Despite this being an affront to federal matters, Trudeau says nothing to condemn it.

If I were a terrorist, I’d get myself one of those Saudi visas, cross the border at Quebec and then dash over to Montreal, the latest sanctuary city hot spot. #WelcometoCanada indeed.

Canada is not some sort of post-national state, contrary to popular misconception. It’s not an international refuelling station to cater to the whims of a diverse cadre of global citizens, regardless of whether they are creative class consultants working for multinational firms or dual-national terrorists.

No, that’s not it at all. Canada is a country and one of the best in the world. Is it too much to ask that we strive to keep it that way?