There is much to be said for Canadian’s and their infamous ways. We are somewhat of an enigma to the rest of the world, and especially to our southern neighbours. We live in igloos, we play hockey, we ride polar bears to our day jobs at the maple syrup factory, and our diets subsist of bacon, and this mysterious meal rarely seen outside our own borders: Poutine. We are a majestic and bearded populace, and we have great taste when it comes to beer. Oh, and free healthcare. That’s a thing.
The ‘Poutine’ can proudly trace it’s origins back to the province of Quebec. The identity of the man who invented this spectacular food has been debated over, but never confirmed. It has become a part of our culture, and who wouldn’t be proud of fries, gravy and cheese curds? Yet, the poutine is not all that Canada has to offer… Eh.
We have our own way of spelling. We learned it from our British colonisers. We add extra U’s, switch around our R’s and E’s and replace Zeds with S’s. It may seem self-centred in day-to-day dialogue, but I find it all good humoured and rather colourful.
Oh, and we burned down the White House. Well, ‘we’ is not exactly accurate. All of this happened before we were truly ‘Canada’, but we’ll still take the credit from our British overlords.
Canada is an incredibly diverse country, and I’m not just talking about our vast array of prairie grasses. Our country is an amalgamation of peoples from across the globe. (Some of these travellers were responsible for colonising our land and bringing to the native population sickness, starvation, and the horrors of residential schools. Every place has a dark history, and that is ours). We have become a mosaic of cultures and ethnicities.
In modern history we strive for equality. Canada was leaps and bounds ahead of the United States in legalising gay marriage. We allow for freedom of religion. We invented the egg carton and peanut butter, and our national animal is a beaver.
We may not always get it right, but we do our best. Canadians are subtly proud. We dip our fries in gravy and drink our double-double at Timmy’s and call it a good day. We sing our anthem at hockey games, and we don’t wave our flag in people’s faces. Well, except when we stitch it to our bags and travel to other countries. We survive Chinooks, heavy rains, forest fires, droughts, blizzards and tornadoes. We face a myriad of obstacles because we are the second largest country in the world.
We learn accurate geography and teach our students about every country and continent. We may not be the world’s leading superpower, but we are well liked, and, we don’t mind the stereotypes.
Sorry.
Canada is a nation of farmers, soldiers, artists, and actors. We work in the oil fields, and the tundra, and even in the cities (yes, we have those). Our collars appear in every colour. Our prayers are heard in every form. Heck, we even measure our distance in time.
It takes us hours to drive anywhere, but there are few places quite like here.
I am quite proud to be from Canada. If you’ve never been, be sure to pick up a poutine on your way through.