This past Monday was Manitoba Day. The celebration of our province’s 155th birthday may have gone by unnoticed by many but there was cake to be had to mark the occasion a couple days early at the Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) Museum. The MHV has been marking Manitoba Day for many years with traditional cake and the raising of the Manitoba flag. It is also a special time for those gathered to share what makes Manitoba special to them.

The stories, whether from residents who have lived in our province their whole lives or just recently come to Manitoba, paint a vast picture of what makes our province special. Many have only ever lived in Manitoba while others came to the province to reunite with family or for employment opportunities. Each had something special to say about the province, from the friendly people to the natural beauty of the province’s lakes and forests.

One of the things that makes Manitoba unique is that it is, literally, right in the middle of Canada. While it went unnoticed for a long time, several years ago a giant sign was erected on the Trans-Canada Highway showing the geographical center of Canada. Since then, it is almost always being visited by travellers eager to take a picture in front of the “Center of Canada” sign. For Manitobans, this means that we have close connections to both the eastern part of Canada and the western part. Many Manitobans spend their summer weekends in Ontario near Kenora enjoying their lakes. While others might find themselves dipping into Saskatchewan along our western border.

While Canada has a long, and at times painful, history with Quebec separation desires, increasingly there is talk about separation by Alberta. While these still seem to represent a minority of voices, they do express the frustration that many have with the state of affairs in Canada today. National unity must always be the top priority of any federal government, and it should be expected that it will be for new Prime Minister Mark Carney as well.

In this effort Manitoba is well positioned, literally, to have a positive impact. The ability to see the concerns of all regions of the country and propose alternatives that find common ground is something Manitoba has often demonstrated. During my time in Cabinet, I participated in several federal-provincial-territorial meetings (called FPT’s) with my counterparts from across the country. It was often left to Manitoba to propose solutions to problems that helped to bridge the divide between provinces.

Now in a time of increased division in our country, there is again an opportunity for our province to extend its reach to the east and the west and help to bring the country together by not only speaking about the value of Canada, but proposing practical solutions to expanding energy exports, building more housing, and broadening our export markets (to name a few).

Manitoba Day was a good day to remember the important role our province plays both in our individual lives and in the nation as a whole. The center of our great nation needs to continue to help bind Canada together.