Canada is kind of having a moment right now. Our musical exports are topping the pop-charts, our Ryans are the hottest in Hollywood and our national leader is a politically progressive international heartthrob.
Just this past weekend, we celebrated our 150th birthday. Every Most Canadians came out to celebrate the big sesquicentennial anniversary. On Saturday, Carly Rae Jepsen, Alessia Cara and Serena Ryder were among those who performed at #Canada150 celebrations across the country. On Sunday, Toronto’s very own hype-man, Drake, made a surprise concert appearance at Nathan Phillips Square. And between all of this celebrating, Canadian celebs on both sides of the border took time to shout out to their homeland on social media.
There was, however, one citizen who was noticeably absent from the festivities: Canadas’s most infamous cultural output, Justin Bieber.
Last year, the Biebs took to Twitter to give his home a shoutout. But for our big 1-5-0, Canada got nothing from the “Sorry” singer. Not a surprise Parliament Hill appearance. Not a straight-faced selfie in a red T-shirt. Not even a simple maple-leaf-flagged tweet.
If we’re going to police patriotism, we should shame all absentee Canadians icons. Chart-topper The Weeknd, Pretty Little Liars star Shay Mitchell and Ellen Page are just a few of the social-media-friendly faces we missed this weekend.
There are, however, valid reasons why some Canadians didn’t participate in #Canada150. For example, some believe that the sesquicentennial anniversary celebrates colonization, genocide, broken treaties and resistance for Indigenous people in Canada. If this is why celebs are choosing not to celebrate, they should use their big voices to speak up.
But, Justin, Canada has been there for you since day one. When we’re asked, we poll you as Canada’s “second most famous living musician.” When we travel the world, we tell people that we know you personally (because it feels like we do!). And every year, we award you with multiple MMVAs and Junos, even though we know you won’t show up to accept them.
Justin, where are you now that we need you?
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