I am not indulging in foolish brag, but I maintain that no Canadian can rightly prize the worth of his citizenship who does not know something of his country, something of the wealth of meaning lying behind that word 'Canada,' and I purpose to tell you this evening something of some of Canada's big things.

I shall speak of them with gratitude and with pride, but chiefly with a solemnising sense of responsibility.
"As for the 'water and the snow' question: Let me settle that now.

Water for a great inland continental country like ours is one of its most valuable assets for it means three things.

First, cheap transportation.
We have the longest continuous waterway in the world, and with two small cuttings Canada can bring ocean-going ships into the very heart of the continent.

Second, water means climate rainfall, and there need be no fear of snow and frost while great bodies of open water lie about.