Canadian Friends of Scotland

05/30/2026

🇮🇪 Liam Neeson has often spoken about the connection he feels to Ireland and the sense of calm that comes with returning home. For many people, the landscape, the air, and the familiarity of the place carry something difficult to explain but easy to recognise.



📸 Irish Roots

05/30/2026

🌿 On This Day — 29 May 1687 🌿

The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle — Scotland’s highest order of chivalry — received its modern statutory foundation under King James VII in 1687.

Yet the thistle’s story reaches much deeper into Scottish memory, carried through legend, loyalty, and generations of service.

Today we celebrate not only an ancient Order, but the enduring traditions it represents — honour, duty, and remembrance.

Especially fitting are congratulations to Andrew Bruce and the Bruce family, whose remarkable three-generation connection to the Order reflects a distinguished legacy of Scottish public service.

As Robert Burns wrote in Scots Wha Hae:

“Scots, wha hae wi’ Wallace bled,
Scots, wham Bruce has aften led…”

Nemo me impune lacessit —
“No one provokes me with impunity.”

A story of Scotland, memory, and honours faithfully carried across generations.



https://open.substack.com/pub/canadianfriendsofscotland/p/this-day-in-history-eb6?r=1v8jje&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

05/18/2026

Victoria Day has been celebrated in Canada for more than 175 years, first honouring the birthday of Queen Victoria on May 24, 1819. Long before Confederation, communities across British North America marked the occasion with parades, music, picnics, bonfires, and fireworks — traditions that still echo across Canada today. 🍁

Queen Victoria’s reign also coincided with the great Scottish migration to Canada. From Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island to Glengarry County and the Canadian West, Scots helped shape the nation through language, music, faith, poetry, and community life. Pipe bands, Highland games, ceilidhs, and the songs of home became part of Canada’s cultural fabric.

Victoria herself held a deep affection for Scotland and Balmoral Castle, helping popularize Highland culture throughout the Victorian era. The spirit of Scotland crossed the Atlantic with emigrants who carried beloved folk songs such as Loch Lomond and The Bonnets of Bonnie Dundee to new communities across Canada. 🎶🏴

Listen to Loch Lomond performed by Runrig here:
Runrig – Loch Lomond

As Robert Burns famously wrote:

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?”

These enduring words from Auld Lang Syne remind us that friendship, heritage, and memory continue to unite Scotland and Canada across generations.

Wishing all our members and friends a joyful and peaceful Victoria Day long weekend.

“The Highland Fête at Balmoral, 22 September 1859” by Egron Sellif Lundgren. Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2024.



https://open.substack.com/pub/canadianfriendsofscotland/p/happy-victoria-day-from-canadian?r=1v8jje&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

05/10/2026

This Mother’s Day, Canadian Friends of Scotland remembers Flora MacDonald and the generations of Scottish mothers who carried language, music, faith, and heritage across oceans to Canada.

Following the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden in 1746, a young Highland woman named Flora MacDonald risked her life to help the fugitive prince escape government forces by guiding him “over the sea to Skye.”

Her bravery became one of the most enduring stories in Scottish history.

“My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here…” — Robert Burns

A story of courage, exile, loyalty, and the enduring spirit of Highland women.



https://open.substack.com/pub/canadianfriendsofscotland/p/flora-macdonald?r=1v8jje&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

04/12/2026

On April 12, 1892, Lord Stanley of Preston introduced a simple silver cup—never imagining it would become a symbol of a nation.

Across frozen rivers and village ponds, a game took hold—shaped by winter, community, and Scottish roots carried across the Atlantic.

From Al Purdy, Hockey Players:

“They glide like birds on ice…”

From those early days to now, hockey is more than a sport—it’s memory, identity, and belonging.

Canada • Scotland • The World

04/12/2026

On April 12, 1606, James VI and I brought together the crosses of St Andrew and St George—forming the first Union Flag.

But Scotland has always been more than a symbol.

As Hugh MacDiarmid wrote:

“Not traditions—but the living truth…”

A reminder that identity isn’t fixed in the past—it’s carried, lived, and reshaped across generations… and across oceans.

03/29/2026

“Give me Scotland, or I die.”
— John Knox

On this day, we remember John Knox, a defining voice of the Scottish Reformation whose ideas on faith, education, and community shaped Scotland—and travelled across the Atlantic with those who helped build Canada.

From Scotland’s past to Canada’s present, his legacy still echoes.

03/22/2026

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to The Wealth of Nations 🇨🇦🏴 from the Canadian Friends of Scotland
Voices Across 250 Years
From Scotland to Canada, Smith’s influence endures:

“His works will remain as long as the language in which they are written.” — Dugald Stewart

“The Wealth of Nations is not a naïve apology…” — all Ferguson

“Markets don’t have values. People do.” — Mark Carney

250 years on, Smith still reminds us: prosperity is built on freedom, institutions, and human creativity.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith — a work that didn’t just found economics, but reshaped how we understand prosperity, freedom, and human cooperation.

03/10/2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/canadianfriendsofscotland/p/international-bagpipe-day-from-ancient?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Every year on March 10, musicians and enthusiasts around the world celebrate International Bagpipe Day, a day dedicated to the remarkable instrument family that spans continents and centuries.

02/07/2026

In a world that often feels sharp-edged and unforgiving, it’s a quiet relief to step into the glow of Charles Dickens.

Dickens wrote in turbulent times of his own, yet his stories never surrendered to bitterness. Instead, they offered warmth: a lit window on a winter street, a shared meal, a second chance. He believed — stubbornly, beautifully — in the power of ordinary kindness to soften even the hardest seasons.

Today, as we mark his birth, his words feel like a hand on the shoulder, steady and reassuring:

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”

It’s a simple idea, but a radical one — especially now. To notice. To care. To choose generosity when cynicism would be easier.

Perhaps that is Dickens’ lasting gift: a reminder that compassion is not naïve, and hope is not outdated. It is, and always has been, necessary.

— Canadian Friends of National Galleries of Scotland

Today, Canadian Friends of Scotland joyfully commemorates the birth of Charles Dickens (7 February 1812) — a writer whose stories crossed oceans as easily as they crossed class lines, touching readers in Scotland, Canada, and far beyond.