I am Canadian

by m. werneburg, 2001.11

I'm Canadian. I was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, and have lived in Canada for most of my life, in four provinces in places like:

Toronto
Calgary
Vancouver
Halifax
and five other places across southern and central Ontario

I've lived on a farm, in some small towns, in one village, and in three of the largest cities in the country. And I even went away, twice, to see what life was like away from Canada.

In 2004 I visited PEI, my ninth province. I've now got my sights set on the final—Newfoundland &Labrador. And of course I want to see all of the territories.

In all, I think my experience of the country is pretty broad. And I've decided that it's a great place to live. Canada, I think, is doing two things right that I haven't found in other places. And these are fundamentally important aspects to life.

it's free

In Canada, we are, within reason, free to:

live, work, and travel with the expectation of safety and 'in friendship'
say and write what we like without fear of reprisal
pursue our interests
marry, work, and associate with whomever we please

These things are often taken for granted. But it wasn't always the case in this country (and certainly isn't the case elsewhere, today). Religious and 'racial' intolerance in this country exist, but they aren't the all-pervasive things that once prevented, for instance, a Protestant Anglophone Christian from marrying a Catholic Anglophone Christian. In the late 90's I stayed with just such a couple in Northern Ireland and they told me that they'd be killed if they attempted to wed.

On a less vicious scale, the US has been—since 2001—embarking on a systematic restriction of rights. I can't name anything similar that's happened in Canada that didn't start with the US (e.g. requiring a passport to visit that country).

I'm proud of Canada for affording freedoms to its people.

it's egalitarian

First, some caveats:

I know from having worked with and otherwise associated with immigrants that Canada is a tough place in which to get established. Canadians have a bizarre reluctance to value foreign experience, meaning that people who turn up with foreign experience find that it doesn't count for much in Canada.
And statistics abound showing that women don't generally earn what their male counterparts earn, for the same work. And that some crimes against women are still serious problems.
And I realize all too well that the First Nations population lives, for the most part, in poverty and exclusion.

This said, Canada is one of the only countries where these things are genuinely considered issues by a large part of the population. We've come along way in a surprisingly short time. After all, it wasn't really all that long ago that the British were trading out small-pox infected blankets to decimate the First Nations populations, and that women were excluded from the workforce (and voting, and owning businesses or land) all-together. Canada works on its inequalities (well, most of them), and does so without the spasms of violence that seem to wrack so many nations as their societies develop.

Counterexamples abound. I was in Fiji just before the 2000 coup. Even though the coup was by historical dimensions fairly bloodless, the tension between the ethnic groups in that country was palpable. Believe me, there are worse ways of addressing things than Canada's way. Japan, for instance, seems to treat its women as a necessary evil: women in the workplace enjoy none of the advances that their Canadian counterparts currently see as insufficient. Fewer women in Japan are encouraged to take advantage of workplace maternity leave, for instance, than are men in Scandanavia.

Another indicator of Canada's success comes in its integrated ethnic populations. A trip to even small rural towns in the United States reveals the extent of ethnic segregation in that country, and the inequalities that go hand in hand with such segregation. Segregation is rare in Canada—I've only encountered it in Halifax. What makes integration a marker of success? It's the ultimate demonstration that one's life can be dictated by one's efforts. Yup, immigrants start at the bottom and tend to stay there, sometimes. But it's possible to become a citizen in this country and to ensure that your children can grow up as Canadians. Try that in Japan.

life in Canada

Life in Canada is pretty good. Not to hear the locals, obsessed with costs and taxes (Anglophone Canada was founded by Scots, after all) tell it, but it's true. This is a place of possibility, especially of the "upwardly mobile" kind that's increasingly restricted in the US and UK. It's also a place where you can find livable cities with decent services and much variety. It's true that it's not the best place to make a buck, with salaries being much lower than practically everywhere, but it's also a place where you can find people who care about the spaces they live in, and know when to knock off work for that matter.

leaving Canada

One thing that helped me learn what I know about Canada, and its reputation abroad was actually living abroad. It isn't until you need to call the police at 2 AM in a foreign land (and get no response) that you learn a thing or two about what you're taking for granted back home. Or until you've seen and heard the blatant racism or sexism that Canadians no longer espouse (publicly, at least). Seeing fascists in their vans try to end a peace rally similarly tends to catch your attention when living in a foreign land.

When I returned to Canada (the first time) after nearly a year and a half away, I discovered that Canada had developed more sense of national pride. People had Canadian flags hanging off of their balconies. People celebrated Canada Day, even in Toronto (where they usually celebrate that long weekend the way they celebrate everything; by leaving town). It was great to see.

Coming back from beleagured Japan (shortly before the 2011 earthquake) I saw that things had changed again. Canada's immigration policy, as practiced in the context of the "Family Class" program, is a sniping and squirelly thing. So, too, has our foreign policy become a slavish one seemingly aimed at furthering American imperial aims. Far too infrequently do I hear any hint of national ambition in Canada's actions.

travel in Canada

I enjoy Canadian travel quite a bit. I have travelled a fair bit from one end of the country to the other, and vacationed in almost every province. My next intended travel destinations include the Canadian arctic and Newfoundland, which will fill some of the gaps in my Canadian experience. In the mean time, I've got some photos from my canadian travels online. Enjoy.

the origin of 'Canuck'

Thanks to Harry, a reader of this website in the 90's, I started to look into the origin of the word 'Canuck'. It turns out that "no one knows" the origins! That said, I found some good stuff online, and decided to slap it together in its own page.

I am Canadian

life in Canada

leaving Canada

travel in Canada

the origin of 'Canuck'

origins of 'Canuck'

taxing expat Canadians

obtaining pr status for your spouse in Canada

don't buy a St. Moritz made-in-Canada watch

things strangers have told me in Toronto