My Defining Canadian Moment is:

First Canada Day with my daughter

By: Karl Leutner, Brampton, Ontario

My wife and I have shared Canada Day celebrations before, but none made me feel more Canadian than in 2011.

This was the first year I got to share Canada Day with my new family. Our daughter wasn’t even a year old yet, but she loved the excitement and people.

This was also the year that William and Kate came to Canada. We all know it was because of my daughter but I guess they came to tour the country too

How could you not feel more Canadian when hosting royalty on the day of the birth of our nation, in our nation’s capital, and with my first child to experience the excitement and camaraderie.

In the picture, we were waiting for William and Kate to head back from the events on Parliament Hill and some fellow Canadians next to us let my daughter hold one of their Canadian Flags.

I’ve never been more proud to be Canadian than seeing how happy she was to wave that flag.