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Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife, Diana Fox Carney, greet attendees at the Canada Day celebration in the suburb of Barrhaven in Ottawa on July 1, 2026. The Canadian Press/Keito Newman
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Governor General Louise Arbour both called for unity in their messages to mark Canada Day.
In his message issued July 1, Carney said Canada was “built and bound by a great conviction: that we are strongest when we are united.” He said four colonies decided in 1867 to become one country, “a founding bet that together we could build something greater than the sum of our parts.”
July 1 this year marks the 159th anniversary of Canada’s founding, when the British North American colonies of the Provinces of Canada (Ontario and Quebec), New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia formed the Confederation.
The threat of annexation by the United States had been a motivating factor at the time for the colonies to unite.
Concerns about the United States have also played a large role in Canadian politics of late. Carney’s Canada Day message mentions a slogan he has previously used in that context, saying “we can give ourselves far more than anyone could ever take away.”
In response to external pressures, Carney has sought to build the internal economy and diversify trade relationships. His Canada Day message focuses not on outside pressures but on domestic tensions.
“There will always be forces that want to divide us, but they forget a founding insight of our country, that unity is not uniformity, that our differences are strengths to be nurtured, not risks to be managed, that our values serve as our unshakable foundation that no one can take away: inclusivity, sustainability, solidarity,” said the prime minister. “When we seek unity, unity grows.”
Carney’s unity message comes ahead of key votes related to separation in Alberta and Quebec.
Alberta will hold a referendum in October on whether to hold a formal separation referendum. Quebec will hold its provincial election in October as well, where the Parti Québécois (PQ) could hold a third separation referendum if it forms government. The PQ is currently leading in voting intentions in most polls.
Carney is spending Canada Day in Ottawa, where he attended a local event and delivered remarks at the ceremony on LeBreton Flats. He then left for Edmonton later in the day.
The prime minister is in Alberta a day ahead of Premier Danielle Smith making a “major announcement,” expected to be around the province’s proposal for a new pipeline to the West Coast.
Ottawa and Alberta signed an energy memorandum of understanding last November, which seeks to address tensions between the two jurisdictions around oil and gas production and emissions reductions.
Carney said in a “forward guidance” video on June 30 that the previous Liberal government’s emissions targets won’t be met amid a period of energy insecurity, U.S. trade tensions, and affordability concerns. He also said the previous emissions plan worsened national divisions.
Arbour’s Message
Arbour, who was installed in her role in early May, said she is “extremely happy, enthusiastic and particularly grateful” to be celebrating her first Canada Day as governor general.
While calling Canada a country that “shines in many spheres,” Arbour said Canada is also “realistic about the challenges ahead: persistent inequalities and issues that still too often divide us.”
Arbour called on Canadians everywhere to celebrate “what unites us, not despite our differences, but through them.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre posted a message on social media for Canada Day, “God keep our land glorious and free,” along with a video of excerpts from his speech on national unity delivered in Alberta on June 8.
“A promise is what this the country offers all of us,“ he said. ”It’s a promise of a government that is servant and not master. A promise of free people, free speech, and free markets. A promise of meritocracy, not aristocracy. A promise that anyone from anywhere can achieve anything. A promise for which the soldiers, sailors, and airmen of Canada sacrificed.”
