"To Donald Trump, from one old guy to another: I can tell you Canadians prize our independence. We love our country. We have built something here that is the envy of the world — when it comes to compassion, understanding, tolerance, and finding a way for people of different backgrounds and faiths to live together in harmony.
"We've also built a strong social safety net — especially with public healthcare — that we are very proud of. It’s not perfect, but it’s based on the principle that the most vulnerable among us should be protected.
"If you think that threatening and insulting us is going to win us over, you really don't know a thing about us. You don't know that when it came to fighting in two world wars for freedom, we signed up — both times — years before your country did. We fought and we sacrificed well beyond our numbers.
"We also had the guts to say no to your country when it tried to drag us into a completely unjustified and destabilizing war in Iraq.
"We built a nation across the most rugged, challenging geography imaginable. And we did it against the odds. We may look easy-going. Mild mannered. But make no mistake, we have spine and we have toughness.
"Every time that Trump opens his mouth, he creates new allies for all of us. So let’s get organized! To fight back against a big, powerful bully, you need strength in numbers.
"The whole point is not to wait in dread for Donald Trump’s next blow. It’s to build a country and an international community that can withstand those blows.
"I am 91 today and blessed with good health.
"I am ready at the ramparts
to help defend the independence of our country as I have done all my
life."
—Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
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