If we put as much emotion into our politics as we do into our hockey, we would probably have the healthiest democracy on the planet.

Why didn't more Canadians protest Stephen Harper’s decision to prorogue Parliament? Sure there was a large backlash from academics, some columnists, and even Facebookers, but on the whole Canadians didn’t do much to complain.

So why did we acquiesce? Because in recent years Canada's narrative has been built around hockey and coffee, not around a strong, participatory democracy and good governance.

Mr. Harper isn’t much for long speeches and narratives. When the Conservatives do say anything to the public, complex policies get dumbed-down, and technocracy gets passed off as prophecy. Be it proroguing Parliament, or floor-crossing MPs like David Emerson, the reaction from Mr. Harper is always, “who cares? What’s the big deal?”

With so many stories floating around about our hockey heritage, have we forgotten the stories that value good government and responsible citizenship? These stories seem lost from our current national narrative, and lost upon our leaders. So maybe it is time to revisit those stories and reclaim our narrative, as we did with the 1995 Quebec unity rally, when the nation came together in support of equity and good governance.

This momentum will not come from the leaders of the opposition, it will come through committed individuals willing to engage Canadians through the written and spoken word as to why we should put the same amount of emotion into our politics as we do into our hockey.

But today when it comes to the Harper Conservatives, all we are left with is photo ops in hockey rinks and coffee shops.