Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
Omer Aziz is an author and geopolitical adviser.
2025 was the year that Canada’s resolve was tested, and the country was forced to reinvent itself.
The year began with a provocation from the south, when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to annex Canada. What apparently started as a bad joke turned into real animosity, as businesses and citizens across Canada rallied around the flag.
In the spring, Canadians elected a Liberal government led by Mark Carney, a victory owed in large part to the sterling economic and global credentials of the new Prime Minister. Though a minority government, it nonetheless reflected a clear national judgment: the largest share of the popular vote for any party in 40 years. If 2025 was a referendum on the question of leadership and what citizens in a democracy want during a time of crisis, Canadians decisively chose excellence over chaos. Canada chose to build rather than to burn it all down – a decision that will shape Canada’s trajectory in the year ahead.
Two words were elevated above others in the national consciousness this year: Sovereignty and resilience. While the annexation threats were rhetorically inflammatory, it became acutely clear that Canadian sovereignty could no longer be taken for granted. Canada began in earnest to diversify its economic partnerships, doubled- (and then tripled-) down on defence spending to protect its borders, especially in the Arctic, saw King Charles III open Parliament and deliver the Speech from the Throne, hosted the G7, and attracted the largest direct investment in Canadian history – a $70-billion investment from the United Arab Emirates.
Canadians themselves showed extraordinary resilience this year. Canadian families, farms, workers, small businesses, and startups weathered harsh storms and yet maintained their sense of direction. Nearly 78 per cent of Canadian businesses said in one survey that they were optimistic about their long-term future.
Canada’s per capita GDP – a much more reliable indicator of economic well-being – was recently revised upward, which RBC called “a significant milestone.” Even with trade pressures, this country has proven, once again, that its resolve can be tested but not broken, and that its insistence on a better future – even amid multiple storms – is a testament to its national character. As for the trade battles, let’s just say that Canada’s patience is also a strength, and what matters in negotiations, as in hockey, is not how any game or series is opened but how it is closed.
On the international front, a new order began to form, one which Canada will have to continue shaping. The war in Ukraine continued, as the fate of Europe appeared no closer to resolution. A tenuous ceasefire was reached in Gaza, with a new regional concert of Middle East states coming into formation, including Turkey, Egypt, and the Arab Gulf States.
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As for China: It used its leverage over rare earth elements to nearly shut down the global auto industry and remind Western economies of the extent of its economic power. China prophesied this level of economic statecraft exactly a decade ago, in 2015, when the “Made in China 2025” plan was unveiled, and even further back, to Deng Xiaoping, whose signature slogan in the 1980s was to “bide your time.” Well, time’s up for the old system. China overtook the West in electric vehicles this year, and BYD stores could be spotted from San Jose, Costa Rica, to Paris. Separately, China also hosted the first ever World Humanoid Robot Games this year – the inaugural Olympics for robots – and somehow this barely made the news in North America.
Meanwhile, the United States experienced paroxysms of uncertainty this year, and the reverberations naturally reached Canada. Too much has happened to summarize (another feature of living in 2025, that even narrativizing is difficult because of event overwhelm), but the recently published U.S. National Security Strategy sums it up best. “No administration in history has achieved so dramatic a turnaround in so short of a time.” America may be experiencing what all great powers eventually face: the choice between substance and distraction. What Canadians need to remember is that elections happen every two years in the United States, that Americans of all parties genuinely have very positive views of Canada, and that a new American leadership class is emerging that views Canada as a friend and ally. Once again, we can do what we have always done best: maintain our focus and play the long game.
As winter approached and dusk fell over a riotous year, a country that had survived a pandemic and economic crisis looked to a future where the challenges would compound and time would further collapse – where current decisions would shape the next decade. In some respects, Canada crossed the Rubicon this year. We were faced with near catastrophe, our people staring down an unforgiving challenge, and we rallied together. In a year that shook the confidence of the world, Canada’s resilience and unity were quietly remarkable.
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Canada could have faltered, yet the country endured and began building. This, too, is worth celebrating. We do not glamorize our stiff upper lips like the Brits, nor do we dramatize our feats like the Americans, but instead do something perhaps more honourable: face every battle with resolve, move forward with quiet confidence, and ultimately seek an outcome that uplifts everyone. The determination and perseverance of Canadians this year are something every Canadian should remember.
At the same time, Canada’s national unity cannot be taken for granted. The fate of this federation will be tested again, particularly at a moment when digital platforms and bad-faith actors are invested in exploiting frustration and anger to sow discord. Canadians will have to manage internal divisions in the year ahead while navigating pressures from abroad. The challenges ahead will be serious – but it is in such times of uncertainty that Canadians have always risen to the occasion.
A country as big as this one is destined for big things in the new year. And once more, it will be the inherent qualities of Canada that will save Canada – and the younger generation, stepping up, who will redefine this nation. The future will demand renewal and imagination. It will also demand those older values that have endured through the years: patience, perseverance, kindness, resilience. These are quiet virtues, rarely celebrated, but foundational when history comes calling.
Canada began the year facing questions about its sovereignty and future. It ends the year having decisively answered them. The test ahead is whether we can finish what we’ve begun.