The following is a condensed version of a speech I gave on Saturday in Ottawa to the organization POGG Canada:

John A. Macdonald came to what we now call Canada from Scotland in 1820 at the age of 5 during an era in which average people were accustomed to considerable hardships.

As a child, Macdonald saw his brother die after a blow to the head. He later watched his first wife suffer from illness and face an early death. And their first son died at just over a year old.

These are only the notable events. There were also daily trials and tribulations for all Canadians back then.

Yet amidst all of this, Macdonald still managed to put together a nation, a railroad and more.

The life we live today, with our creature comforts and petty complaints, is very different than the life of those figures we remember on this, our 150th anniversary.

However, there are glimmers of continuity with the stories of people today. Every day, regular Canadians triumph against the odds. Every day, new immigrants come to Canada, often in the face of hardships, to pursue a better life.

And those who worked hard to forge our nation and those who work to keep it strong, clearly see something attractive about this land. Something worth fighting for.

Canada has become, in a relatively short period of time, an exceptional place. We routinely place in the top of rankings and lists compiled by various institutes and think-tanks.

Why it is so important that we acknowledge this on the occasion of Canada 150 is twofold:

First of all, not everyone agrees that there is, more or less, no better place in human history for the average person to live than right here and right now. But, more alarmingly, not everyone believes it is worth preserving.

This split is the crux of many of the cultural schisms we see in Western society today.

Those who hold these views believe that Western values are good and preferable to others on offer.

Those who do not at best refuse to have a discriminating taste when it comes to filtering through the array of options we are given when making life’s big choices. At worst, they believe that the West is decadent and celebrate its decline.

People feel this tension viscerally. They’re frustrated that the perimeter is closing in on their ability to stand up for Canadian values and exceptionalism – those very things the promise of which drew people to this country in the first place.

It’s troubling that we welcome people who are coming precisely to participate in Canadian values and then proceed to tell them that we no longer go in for that.

At the same time, people are growing frustrated by the rise of moral relativism. We embrace other cultures, but why does that mean we have to sit silently while Saudi Arabia or Iran have the gall to lecture us at international gatherings?

We believe in helping the most vulnerable, but why can’t we demand self-reliance from our fellow able-bodied citizens?

We care about our environment, but is it really necessary to punitively tax regular families?

And we are fine with multilateralism if it means the best ideas float to the top. We are not fine if it means the triumph of the lowest common denominator.

It is with this in mind that we need ask ourselves which countries and values do we most want to intermingle with in every possible sense. Which allies will the best of the West be well suited to survive and even thrive alongside?

We are now bogged down by increasing debt, regulation and the belief that government should further replace civil society. This form of socialism continues to rise.

Then there are the countries that sadly see orthodox and radical Islam take hold over their communities. Turkey and Indonesia are now moving backward in this sense.

These are threats to the West. As a new world order takes shape in the coming years, we need to double down in our unapologetic defence of the rule of law, capitalism, democracy, equality, a robust civil society, and secular values underscored by a Judeo-Christian tradition.

To many, this will sound like a no-brainer. But to others, it’s wrong to even have this conversation. Troublingly, this view is popular in some of the institutions that shape our future.

Politicians should be praised for speaking about Canadian values. We should have the moral clarity to stand up for them on the world stage. We should stand strong with our allies who share these views and continue to welcome like-minded immigrants to join us.

Canada’s an exceptional place. Let’s work together to keep it that way for the next 150 years.