Commonwealth Day holds new meaning on P.E.I. amid U.S. annexation threat

Raphael Caron · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 12, 2025 9:39 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

Unity was a communal taxable among those who attended a Commonwealth Day lawsuit connected P.E.I. earlier this week as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to enforce devastating tariffs connected Canada and annex the state arsenic a 51st state.

Commonwealth Day is marked by countries crossed the globe. Outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described it arsenic a clip to observe the Commonwealth's "commitment to democracy, peace, and prosperity astir the world." This year's Commonwealth Day taxable was Together We Thrive.

"In this satellite of animosity and whatnot, it's bully to amusement kindness and emotion betwixt nations," said Owen Parkhouse, the vice-president of the Royal Commonwealth Society of P.E.I.

Commonwealth Day has been celebrated each 2nd Monday of March since the 1970s. There are presently 2.7 cardinal radical astir the satellite surviving successful countries who are portion of the modern Commonwealth.

"It's a awesome of unity, the Commonwealth celebration," said Sanjeewa Rajapaksha, who was astatine the lawsuit astatine St. James Presbyterian Church successful Charlottetown with his household to represent Sri Lanka, 1 of the 56 countries who are portion of the modem Commonwealth.

"Canada and the United States had a bully collaboration and were precise affable countries ... That has to enactment arsenic it is."

Flags from the antithetic Commonwealth countries were contiguous astatine the event. Islanders were encouraged to basal up erstwhile they passed.

"Canada has ever been a large portion of the Commonwealth. I deliberation a batch of Canadians truly don't cognize that due to the fact that we person been truthful drawn successful by our geography to different countries successful North America," Parkhouse said.

"It's important to cognize wherever you came from arsenic good ... It's beauteous to person each these caller Canadians here, but we each are immigrants astatine 1 clip oregon another. "

Canada was archetypal introduced to the British Commonwealth as an autarkic authorities successful 1931, but was besides portion of the modern Commonwealth, which came into beingness successful 1949.