Happy 141st, Canada

I was laying in bed trying to get Leah asleep and I turned the radio on to give some background noise. Being a CBC radio household, I tuned into a CBC radio show themed around Canada Day which is July 1 for the international readership of this blog.


The specific topic that interested me was a call-in discussion about what defines us as Canadians. This is not a simple question to answer. Being a relatively young country, our identity is still developing. As well, our rich and interesting history is largely unknown even by Canadians. Too often, our regional diversity and pride in the area we come from makes being a Canadian seem like a secondary distinction (for example I am a prairie boy and still identify myself as such). Unfortunately, we sometimes identify with what we are not... American. This is the little brother syndrome we have that is hard to shake. I was guilty of this just one week ago. My brother Dean and I went down to the border town of Eureka, Montana last weekend to pick up his new boat. We stopped at the information centre to use the restroom. I talked with the lady for only a minute or so before she asked where in Canada I was from. Given that I did not have anything in my appearance to distinctly proclaim me as Canadian, I felt proud that I was somehow distinguishable. What a silly reaction.

I've been lucky enough to see a lot of this country. I've been east coast to west coast and have seen more than most Canadians ever get to. However, it is travelling overseas with a Canadian flag loosely stitched onto my backpack that really gave me an appreciation for being a Canadian.

There are a million things that help to define Canada (examples being self-deprecating humour, spectacular landscapes, politeness, vastness of our country, abundant wildlife, regional diversity, our northern identity, our ethnic mosaic). In the end, it isn't any of these in isolation, but all of these in collection.

Perhaps Pierre Burton described it best by saying "A Canadian is someone who knows how to make love in a canoe".