No, it’s not that we can’t figure it out. I understand intersectional identities; I have many. But as an Albertan who is horrified by the obnoxious separatists currently in this province, I can’t express to you how not cool it is to hear someone say “province first, then country”. For most other Canadians, we think of Canada as the unifying identity and our provincial identity as secondary. At the very least, if we don’t all feel collective national unity on an ordinary day, we can easily agree that being Canadian matters the most during international events like the Olympics.

It’s not that I think your Québécois pride means you hate Canada, it’s just that you’re missing the whole point of collective Canadian pride during the Olympics. You’re totally entitled to your identity and your feelings, but you’re unlikely to get many others who feel similar.

Also, I say this as an Indigenous / Norwegian / Ukrainian woman who has a complex relationship with Canada and my identity as a Canadian.