This morning, when I googled Wayne Gretzky to access more recent news reports about him to substantiate this article, I was amazed to see him described as Canadian-American. My first reaction was, how could someone who is such an icon to a nation be seeking citizenship in another country, especially if your country of birth is as renowned as Canada? It’s akin to LeBron James or Michael Jordan seeking Canadian citizenship. Most likely, Americans would be livid with them. Anyway, it is a free world, and we are all entitled to make our individual choices. The issue is that every choice we make has consequences. For instance, a teenager in the United Kingdom left the UK some years ago to support ISIS; her life never remained the same.
In a somewhat similar way, Wayne Gretzky’s support of Donald Trump amid the current trade/tariff war with Canada has called his loyalty and patriotism into question. Aside from Wayne Gretzky’s remarkable accomplishments as the GOAT of ice hockey and how he helped put Canada on many honorable mentions, some of his recent actions paint a picture of a man who may be ashamed of Canada. Some might attribute this to him being traded to the Los Angeles Kings on August 9, 1988, from the Edmonton Oilers. This and other speculations may be untrue or insufficient to explain his actions and inactions.
Wayne Gretzky is the only NHL player to tally over 200 points in one season, a feat he accomplished four times. Additionally, Gretzky tallied over 100 points in 15 professional seasons. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 61 NHL records: 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 All-Star records. Nevertheless, all these records have not been enough to quell the backlash from Canadians in response to Gretzky’s association with Trump and the US.
Can we say that Gretzky’s recent actions are enough to question his patriotism? Before we answer, let’s analyze our actions. If we engage in some introspection, we might see that, in some ways, we have all been unpatriotic. One of the factors that makes citizens and residents unpatriotic is how their nation is governed. For one, the leadership of Canada and the manner in which Canada is administered leave much to be desired.
How do we explain our natural resource endowments, human resources, and infrastructure, yet Canadians are still struggling? The current state of the Canadian economy and the quality of life of the average Canadian can be likened to that of some developing or third-world nation.
This is the compelling reason we must vote wisely in the coming election. We need to vote for someone with the education, experience, and leadership skills to guide Canada into an era where peace, prosperity, and progress reign supreme. This will enable all Canadians, wherever and whenever, to take pride in this greatly endowed nation of ours.
Timothy Wilson, Editor—ican3
