Ryan Painter: Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew proves to the Canadian Left you can be a ‘progressive patriot’

Earlier this month, on Canada Day, a Canadian premier posted a video on X, stating:

“And so I want us to take time to remember those [Canadian soldiers] who paid the price of admission for us to have this great way of life that we do.”

Holding a Canadian flag in his hand, he expounded on how “moved” he was during a recent trip to France, where he saw Canadian flags flying above Second World War graves. The Canadian soldiers buried there came from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. “French, English, Cree, Metís” he explained. But they all fought alongside and died alongside one another for their country.

The politician’s message was positively patriotic, the kind of acknowledgment of Canadian sacrifices and greatness that many have come to expect from conservatives.

Only this premier wasn’t a conservative.

It was Wab Kinew, Manitoba’s newly minted NDP Premier. And the first-ever First Nations provincial premier in Canadian history.

Shocked? It’s understandable if you are.

NDP and Liberal politicians, especially Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have spent the last few years emphasising ad nauseam to Canadians, how we must constantly “reflect on the deep injustices our country has committed,” “focus on our unique identities” and “realise how much work there is to do.”

But not Premier Kinew.

For him, the focus was on what unites us and what brings Canadians together. Rather than dividing Canadians by their differences, Kinew instead sought to unite them around what they have in common.

His message was to look at the flag with pride and have it be a unifying symbol of a great country that needs its citizens to be actively engaged in its formation and evolution. This of course includes Indigenous peoples, who have an essential place at the table.

“For young Indigenous people I want you to know that you’re a part of this thing too,” said Kinew, intentionally avoiding the language of his comrades on the left, who would instead call this land, “Turtle Island” or “the place we now refer to as Canada.”  They would have you believe Canada’s statehood wasn’t justified or legitimate. Not Kinew, who is living proof of reconciliation in action.

“There’s only one Manitoba. One Canada. One world. And we are all a part of it,” he concluded.

Kinew’s whole message brings to mind the clarion call of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, who urged Americans to, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

His remarks were a breath of fresh air in cloud of unpatriotic left-wing smog, created by a side of the political spectrum galvanized by their grievances. Thinking about his Canada Day statement in the context of left-wing politics today, you get the sense that Kinew is building a new kind of progressive movement in this country. It’s a movement conservatives should keep an eye on.