Canada Archives - Succeed Sooner

The Great Coming Together (or why I’m a proud Canadian)

April 17, 2020February 3, 2023 by Tim Empringham, MBANo Comments

The past four weeks have been incredible on so many levels. The world has effectively shut down the global economy. Travel has stopped. People around the world are staying indoors and social distancing. Thousands and thousands of people are dying. The news is filled with sad stories, big numbers, graphs, and doom and gloom. But in Canada we have found a way to use this time to pull together. And I'm proud of us. (more…)...

I Am Canadian – Canadian Values

January 16, 2017June 30, 2017 by Tim Empringham, MBANo Comments

Today, as my neighbours to the south celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day to celebrate the life of one of the greatest spokesmen for Civil Rights we have ever seen, I have found myself bombarded with messages in the news and in social feeds that scare me as a Canadian. This is a unique MLK Day with the looming inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States, a man who has pulled no punches in sharing his discriminatory views during (and after) the election campaign and who has filled his cabinet with similarly right wing and discriminatory folks. The words of Martin Luther King Jr are ringing in my ears as I look to the south of Canada: There is nothing more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.Martin Luther King Jr. But the language and messaging that has come with the Donald Trump election campaign and media fury has spilt over into Canada, into the country that I am proud...

Last Refrain – Humanity’s Poet

August 22, 2016 by Tim Empringham, MBANo Comments

Saturday night Canada shared a moment that will be burned into our collective history for years to come. We came together as a country to celebrate the life, talent, and most of all humanity of Gord Downie as the poet of our generation. September seventeen For a girl I know it's Mother's Day Her son has gone alee And that's where he will stay Wind on the weathervane Tearing blue eyes sailor-mean As Falstaff sings a sorrowful refrain For a boy in Fiddler's Green The lyrics from Fiddler's Green mourning the loss of a child feel fitting after a night where Canada was able to celebrate and mourn with someone who has done so much in his life to help paint our own identity as a nation. The Canadian humanity with which Gord Downie shared his lyrics instantly connected him to the whole nation, and simultaneously brought us all together in a way that no politician, no athlete, and no artist had done before. (more…)...