Today is the annual day on the calendar when Canada pays tribute to our membership in the Commonwealth, a world-wide organization made up of nations of the former British Empire. We have traditionally played key roles in the organization, particularly under Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Both leaders were able to effectively employ our membership in the Commonwealth to battle South African apartheid.
Below is the statement Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made on Commonwealth Day in 2017.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: “Today, the citizens of the Commonwealth of Nations honour the common ties and shared values that unite all 52 member countries.
Headed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Commonwealth family spans Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and the Pacific; it includes more than two billion people, and many different backgrounds, cultures, and languages. This year’s theme – ‘A peace-building Commonwealth’ – reminds us that diversity and inclusion form a proven path to peace and prosperity.
The Commonwealth is a champion of democracy, freedom, sustainable development, the rule of law, and human rights, especially the rights of women and girls. As a member of the Commonwealth, Canada remains committed to protecting and promoting these values.
I invite all Canadians to use today as an opportunity to learn more about the shared history and values that bind the peoples of the Commonwealth.”
Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.