Thank you, Sir John A. Macdonald. You made a country possible.

Judging history isn't as easy as some would like to believe.

Today, Sir John A. Macdonald would have been 210 years old.

Sir John A. was many things:

• A Father of Confederation

• The founder of Canada

• The man responsible for our transcontinental railway and bringing BC into confederation.

• The man responsible for Residential Schools and the Chinese Head Tax

• The execution of Louis Riel

• The Pacific Scandal

He was a complicated man who left a complicated history.

He found himself in a place to forge a nation 134 years after his passing has the 9th highest nominal GDP in the world, the 18th highest Human Development Index score, the 19th highest per capita nominal GDP, over 41 million people, ten provinces, three territories and is one of the worlds oldest democracies after the United States (1), Switzerland (2), and New Zealand (3).

A Scottish immigrant who believed in a country that could exist not because it was anti-British but because it could use that heritage to forge its own unique and distinct path.

This is sometimes looked at with derision because Canada had no founding war or clear impetus to be independent.

That did not stop Sir John A. from believing in a country founded on tolerance and freedom.

Our independence was undoubtedly gradual.

From the passing of the BNA Act in 1867 to the Statute of Westminster in 1931 to bringing our constitution home in 1984.

We don't know what would have happened without Sir John A.’s visionary leadership, but one thing is undoubtedly clear: Canada would not be Canada without him.

I want 2025 to be the year we finally uncancel Sir John A.

I cannot claim credit for this concept, as I saw fellow John A. fan Stephen Taylor post this sentiment earlier this morning (the second time in a week Stephen has sparked my creativity).

I believe it is a sentiment that it's time Canada got behind.

To mark Sir John A. Macdonald's birthday, I've compiled the best stories and videos about the leading Father of Confederation I could find, starting with my good friend Chris Sankey's personal and very moving letter to our founding Prime Minister.

Sir John A. was not perfect; he would have admitted as much. He was a product of his time, and as we reflect on his legacy, the good and the bad, we should remind ourselves how to be healthy and improve our country.

Enjoy and give thanks to the man who deserves recognition and respect for thinking and dreaming of the country we Canadians call home.

Additional reading and viewing

A letter from an intergenerational survivor: Chris Sankey for Inside Policy

Plett: 'Cancelling' Sir John A. Macdonald denies Canada's rich past

Sir John A Macdonald and the fog of cancel culture

Pushing Back on Macdonald's Cancellation

Beheading Canada’s history: The desecration of Sir John A. Macdonald’s image in the Canadian national memory