History is a great teacher. Lessons from the past can help us shape a better future.

In my home province of Saskatchewan, 85 years ago this summer the Hon. James G. Gardiner was sworn in as premier for the second time. Why does that matter? The answer flows from the two elections immediately before.

Gardiner first assumed office in 1925, but in 1929 he lost to J.T.M. Anderson, a right-wing populist who came to power with the backing of the Ku Klux Klan.

It’s an ugly scar on Saskatchewan’s history that this insidious foreign organization built on hate, fear, intolerance and prejudice once infiltrated our province and occupied a place of respectability.

In the United States, African-Americans were the main victims of the Klan’s racism; in Canada they directed their vile mentality against Catholics and waves of non-British immigrants. Jimmy Gardiner fought them hammer-and-tong. His message was about diversity, inclusion and pluralism. And in 1934, he won. That’s why his second swearing-in was so significant. Imagine the consequences if the Klan’s preferred candidates had been re-elected.

Gardiner (and the Depression) drove the KKK out of Saskatchewan. In that 1934 campaign, Anderson lost every seat.

The troubling thing is that the ascendancy of the Klan happened in a completely overt and democratic manner. And this is not the only example in our history when simplistic, fear-filled populism has diminished us.

Think of the Chinese Head Tax, or the internment of Ukrainian Canadians in the First World War and Japanese Canadians in the Second World War. Think of the rejection of South Asians on the Komagata Maru, or the turning away of desperate Jewish refugees aboard the MS St. Louis.

More recently, think of the torrents of abuse on social media against newcomers — especially refugees. Listen to the rants of shock-jocks, trolls and the white supremacists. Witness the graffiti and vandalism in places of worship. Assaults and hate crimes. Misogynistic attacks. Homophobia. Anti-Semitism. Islamophobia. And the murder of six Canadian citizens only because they were at prayer in a mosque.

Think of residential schools, missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and more than a century without reconciliation.

Our history records some serious failures. They serve as tough reminders that our pluralism is far from perfect. It cannot be taken for granted. Indeed, it is fragile and demands our constant vigilance and hard work.

This does not imply for one second that we are at all naive about our safety. Our police and security services need the best tools and resources to protect us in a troubled world. But we also need the clear-eyed recognition that violence and hate don’t just emanate from Daesh, Al Qaeda and the Taliban. They can come from any form of extremism or intolerance.

Our security framework requires transparency and accountability to safeguard the rights and freedoms of Canadians and our open, diverse and inclusive society.

But most importantly, it’s incumbent on each of us, in the way we live our lives and treat one another, to uphold the values that make Canada — despite our lapses — a global example of successful pluralism.

Our sense of fairness and justice. A spirit of generosity. Compassion. Open hearts and open minds. Pride in our vast diversity.

Our unshakable commitment to democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law.

We must practice the art of inclusion and accommodation — to make room for one another. To reach out. To listen to each other. To bridge differences. To try very hard to understand one another.

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And then, we always need to be prepared to act with and for each other, together. Not because it’s in our self-interest. Not because it’s easy or popular. But because it’s right for the decent and inclusive country we aspire to be.

Canada is a triumph of the human spirit — built and held together, not by the force of laws, or the force of arms, not by a single language or culture, but by our common will. And that kind of nation-building is a never-ending process.

Canada is now and ever will be a precious work-in-progress. And every day, it depends on ALL of us, working respectfully, hopefully and relentlessly, together.