2017 has proven to be an amazing year thus far, and it is really only getting started if you think about it. After enjoying a quintessential Canadian winter, it’s time for us all to stretch and get ready for a sunny and warm spring. With the new season comes a sense of excitement, and I am happy to be able to finally tell you all that we have partnered with CIBC for their #StandForCanada campaign which coincides with #Canada150 & CIBC 150th celebrations taking place across the country. For the next few months, the #DoTheDaniel team will be attending some incredible events and bringing you all BTS with us in the process. But before we jump into what a busy Canadiana schedule looks like, I thought I would take a minute to ask you all what it means to be Canadian?
Now that is of course a pretty big question and each of us will have a different answer. What makes me proud to be a Canadian? Our country and it’s amazing citizens are defined by their sense of inclusion. Specifically, my marriage to my beautiful husband makes me proud. Marrying the one you love is something many of us might take for granted, but the freedom to love who you want to love is so quintessentially Canadian in nature. We are a country founded on the traits that we share, and not those that divide us. That’s a pretty powerful message and one that I think speaks to each and every Canadian.
Speaking of Julio, he is a person who embodies what it means to be Canadian in a whole other perspective. His mother and he immigrated to Canada from Guatemala when he was quite young and therefore he sees our country with an entire different perspective. From the appreciation of our country welcoming them in with open arms, to his passion to know about Canadian (and more specifically Torontonian) history, he reminds me of some many facets of Canada that I might not always see. You see, I come from a unique background myself. My mother is a first generation Canadian whose parents immigrated to Canada after the war. But I’m umteenth generation Canadian on my late father’s side, who’s family was one of the first to found Canada from France. So, I also offer a dichotomy to the definition of what being Canadian means.
I love our stories and hearing those of the people I meet across the country. There is something inspiring about the journey it took each and every one of us to reach this moment in time as proud Canadians. That is what the #StandForCanada campaign truly embodies. Posing the question to us all about what we stand for as proud Canadians. With the recently launched website https://standforcanada.cibc.com, CIBC is looking to collect what Canadians have to say from coast-to-coast. The website will collect each and every expression we create this year as a repository of all this Canadian. It is a place to find inspiration and express yourself whoever you chose to see fit when you stop to ask yourself the same question. By using the hashtag, it will allow you to join an important conversation for Canada as a whole!
Above is the first of many pieces of art I will create this year to join in on the conversation with Canadians from coast-to-coast. I would love if you joined me in creating a conversation online around what that means to you and your loved ones. By visiting the #StandForCanada website, you too can be inspired by the images Canadians create using #StandForCanada on social media. Especially during the incredible #Canada150 energy that is building as we get closer to Canada Day, I cannot wait to see how you express yourself and how YOU #StandForCanada.
I should note again, since we are on the topic of our exciting new partnership with CIBC, that they have commemorated their 150th anniversary and we invite you to download the CIBC150 App (on Google Play and The App Store on iTunes) to discover new stories every week from our collective history as Canadians.
To join in on the social media conversation, make sure to follow @CIBCnow on Instagram, @CIBC on Twitter & ‘Like’ their Facebook page. While you enjoy 
all things Canada, make sure to use the #StandForCanada hashtag when sharing your moments of Canadian inspiration. The world is waiting for us to tell our story, and this is how you can add your moment to it with us all year long. Like a few familiar faces are doing along with us…
For more behind the scenes of this and other amazing brands we are working with around the world, make sure to follow along with the #DoTheDaniel Instagram account. We would love to have you join on our adventures!
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Photos: All social media accounts listed above, CIBC & Daniel Reyes
Cheers!
*Please note that this is a sponsored post – our disclosure can be found at all times by clicking here.