A brighter future is always up to us

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”

— Abraham Lincoln

Those words, spoken by the former U.S. president more than a century ago, ring just as true today. As we count the final hours of 2025 and look toward a new year, there are many reasons to feel a sense of trepidation for the future, but even more reasons for optimism.

We may be worried about the rising cost of various items, groceries in particular, but there are encouraging signs that prices are stabilizing for some items and dropping for others. The price of gasoline is now lower than in a good while.

We may be concerned about the housing supply, but new homes and apartments are being built across the country.

We may worry about terrorism and violence in other areas of the globe, but our corner of the world continues to be among the safest on the planet.

We may fear the impact that our neighbours to the south will have on our economy, but Canada is doing OK so far. The national economy has shown surprising growth and resilience, and we are forming new trading relationships with other, more reliable, nations.

We may be concerned about the impact of U.S. tariffs on the Canadian steel, aluminum, auto and forest industries, but none of that seriously impacts us here in Brandon.

If you turn down the volume on the rage farmers and fear mongers and take a moment to quietly contemplate the situation before us, you cannot ignore the fact that life is pretty good here in Westman, and a lot better than almost anywhere else in the world.

Contrary to what some opportunistic politicians may insist, Canada isn’t broken. To the contrary, we are the envy of the world — the stable and prosperous safe haven that many citizens of other nations would love to call their home.

When Lincoln spoke the words set out above, the very existence of America was at risk. And yet, he saw that the best way to escape the darkness of the past was for each citizen to focus instead on building a bright future for all. With that objective serving as his star on the horizon, he guided his nation through a civil war, setting it on a course toward prosperity.

We can all learn from his words and deeds, and that starts with acknowledging that our future as individuals, and as a nation, is up to us.

We live in a country where the only thing holding us back from achieving our goals is the size of our dreams and our willingness do the work necessary to achieve them.

Our future is very much within our control, which means that the question of whether 2026 will be as satisfying, rewarding and prosperous as we want it to be largely depends on our commitment and effort to achieve those goals.

To paraphrase Lincoln, the best way to predict Canada’s future is to resolve to make it the future we want it to be, and then do the work required to transform that objective into reality.

There may be rough water ahead for us as individuals and as a nation, but there always is. And, as has always been the case, we will face those challenges together as neighbours, as Manitobans, as Canadians.

That is the dauntless resolve that built our great nation — the resolve that has carried Canada through two world wars and countless other crises. It will guide us through these challenging times, toward a brighter future for all.

On behalf of the management and staff of The Brandon Sun, we wish you the very best in 2026. We wish you good health, good friends and a prosperous new year.