I’ve been thinking about unity lately, and I’m not entirely convinced I understand it.
When I’m in the town where I live and someone asks where I’m from, I say, “just up the street”.
When I am in Victoria, and asked where I am from, I reply, “Nanaimo-Ladysmith.”
On the mainland, I answer, “Vancouver Island.”
In another province, I reply, “B.C.”
And when I’m in another country, suddenly I’m from Canada.
Funny, isn’t it? The farther away I get, the bigger my sense of belonging becomes.
We do the same thing with sports. We cheer for our local team. Then, if it’s a provincial competition, we’re suddenly all British Columbians. Put a Canadian jersey on the ice, on the field, on the water, during the Olympics and, without hesitation, we’re all Canadian.
So why does distance make us more united?
Perhaps because distance gives us perspective. Up close, we see all the things that divide us.
We argue about towns, regions, politics, accents, diversity, priorities and whose backyard matters most.
But from far enough away, those differences disappear. Suddenly, the things we have in common are what we see first.
And this makes me wonder about the separatist movements in Quebec and Alberta. At a time when so many of us are trying to find ways to strengthen and unite Canada, why are some people working toward making the circle smaller?
Every town, every city and every province, has its strengths and weaknesses, its resources and its needs, its ways of helping and supporting the others.
None of us has everything. That may be precisely the point.
Because together, we seem to be something rather special: more likeable, more resourceful, more tolerant, more kind, and, frankly, a lot funnier, than we sometimes give ourselves credit for.
From my perspective, unity isn’t about making everyone the same. It’s about recognizing that our differences are part of our collective strength… and beauty.
I’m from up the street, I am from Nanaimo-Ladysmith. I’m from Vancouver Island. I’m from B.C. I’m from Canada.
Maybe the challenge is to learn to feel as united when we’re standing next to each other as we do when we’re standing on the other side of the world.
Because I shouldn’t have to leave home to remember that we belong to one another.
What do you think?
PS: And yes I could go on and ultimately say I am from planet Earth, but my thoughts are on this current talk of referendums and separation (again).
“”No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.” John Donne 1624
Words and Photography Joëlle Rabu October 7, 2026 *photo is an aerial view captured on the west coast of Haida Gwaii*
