I am Canadian, and I love my country!
Canada Day is quickly approaching, and I'm looking forward to celebrating Canada! Why do I love living in Canada so much? Here are a few reasons ...
We're nice people. It's true - when you accidentally bump into someone, they apologize. But then so does the person doing the accidental bumping. We all want to make sure everyone's happy!
Health care is awesome. Yes, we complain about emergency room wait times and the cost of medication, but guess how much money we had to save up to give birth to each of our babies, in a hospital? None. Yep, it was covered by the province. Yes, it was paid for by our taxes, but the truth remains that we didn't need to save up thousands of dollars, or get special insurance to cover the cost of giving birth.
The weather. This winter the temperature got down to -40C (-40F) where we live, and this summer with the humidity, it'll likely feel like 40C (104F) some days. You'll never get bored with the weather in Canada.
Tim Hortons. That probably should have been first on my list. With a medium double double, I can take on the world!
The history. Yes, there are some icky parts, but there are a lot of things we've done right and can be very proud of too! We have a rich history and so many contributions to science, the arts, and medicine.
The natural beauty. From the red cliffs of PEI, to Algonquin Park, to the big sky of the Prairies, to the Badlands, to the Rockies, and from the Great Lakes to the Tundra wildlife, to the icy fjords, Canada has a little bit of everything within it's borders. We've got rain forest and desert, grasslands and mountains. And we've got tons of space to get away from the city and enjoy it all.
The celebrities. Okay, most of our talent heads south of the border to get more exposure but we've got some amazing natural-born talent here in Canada.
The accents. Growing up in Ontario means I don't feel like I have an accent (unless you prefer "milk" and "pillow" not to be pronounced "melk" and "pellow"), but you sure can tell which friends are from Newfoundland ("Where my shoes to?"), Quebec or Alberta ("How ya doin', hey?"). And you can tell how close a person lives to the city by how they pronouce it: is it Toronto or Tronno? (Side note - there are far more cities in Canada than just Toronto, but here it's the only one called "The City" ... or "The Center of the Universe" depending on where you live).
Our money. It's pretty, and much easier to tell bills apart when they're different colours!
Our sense of humour. Sarcastic, self-deprecating, slap-sticky - it's hilarious. We're not afraid to make fun of anything, including politicians, religion, the weather, small town life, snobby cities, and especially Americans. Mostly Americans.
Our Prime Ministers. Our politicians are far (far) from perfect. But they are accessible. Assassination attempts just don't happen all that often, and when they do, our Prime Ministers fend for themselves, brandishing bits of Canadian art as weapons. They are real people with real families, that occasionally appear in wildly popular prime time television shows in character.
Our natural resources. We've got oil and diamonds and lumber and fish and nickel and fresh water. Lots of fresh water!
Our culture. Canadian culture really is a misnomer. We've got hockey and lacrosse and poutine and maple syrup and snow mobiles, but all of those things come from cultures that wouldn't necessarily be classified as "Canadian". Lacrosse and maple syrup have Aboriginal origins, hockey was apparently invented in Britain, poutine is Quebecois, and snow mobiles were invented by an American. But that's what's so great about Canadian culture - it's a mosaic of all of the amazing people that make up this country, bringing with them their own unique aspects to the whole.
This July 1st, whether you are Canadian or not, have a Happy Canada Day!
Canada Day is quickly approaching, and I'm looking forward to celebrating Canada! Why do I love living in Canada so much? Here are a few reasons ...
We're nice people. It's true - when you accidentally bump into someone, they apologize. But then so does the person doing the accidental bumping. We all want to make sure everyone's happy!
Health care is awesome. Yes, we complain about emergency room wait times and the cost of medication, but guess how much money we had to save up to give birth to each of our babies, in a hospital? None. Yep, it was covered by the province. Yes, it was paid for by our taxes, but the truth remains that we didn't need to save up thousands of dollars, or get special insurance to cover the cost of giving birth.
The weather. This winter the temperature got down to -40C (-40F) where we live, and this summer with the humidity, it'll likely feel like 40C (104F) some days. You'll never get bored with the weather in Canada.
Tim Hortons. That probably should have been first on my list. With a medium double double, I can take on the world!
The history. Yes, there are some icky parts, but there are a lot of things we've done right and can be very proud of too! We have a rich history and so many contributions to science, the arts, and medicine.
The natural beauty. From the red cliffs of PEI, to Algonquin Park, to the big sky of the Prairies, to the Badlands, to the Rockies, and from the Great Lakes to the Tundra wildlife, to the icy fjords, Canada has a little bit of everything within it's borders. We've got rain forest and desert, grasslands and mountains. And we've got tons of space to get away from the city and enjoy it all.
The celebrities. Okay, most of our talent heads south of the border to get more exposure but we've got some amazing natural-born talent here in Canada.
The accents. Growing up in Ontario means I don't feel like I have an accent (unless you prefer "milk" and "pillow" not to be pronounced "melk" and "pellow"), but you sure can tell which friends are from Newfoundland ("Where my shoes to?"), Quebec or Alberta ("How ya doin', hey?"). And you can tell how close a person lives to the city by how they pronouce it: is it Toronto or Tronno? (Side note - there are far more cities in Canada than just Toronto, but here it's the only one called "The City" ... or "The Center of the Universe" depending on where you live).
Our money. It's pretty, and much easier to tell bills apart when they're different colours!
Our sense of humour. Sarcastic, self-deprecating, slap-sticky - it's hilarious. We're not afraid to make fun of anything, including politicians, religion, the weather, small town life, snobby cities, and especially Americans. Mostly Americans.
Our Prime Ministers. Our politicians are far (far) from perfect. But they are accessible. Assassination attempts just don't happen all that often, and when they do, our Prime Ministers fend for themselves, brandishing bits of Canadian art as weapons. They are real people with real families, that occasionally appear in wildly popular prime time television shows in character.
Our natural resources. We've got oil and diamonds and lumber and fish and nickel and fresh water. Lots of fresh water!
Our culture. Canadian culture really is a misnomer. We've got hockey and lacrosse and poutine and maple syrup and snow mobiles, but all of those things come from cultures that wouldn't necessarily be classified as "Canadian". Lacrosse and maple syrup have Aboriginal origins, hockey was apparently invented in Britain, poutine is Quebecois, and snow mobiles were invented by an American. But that's what's so great about Canadian culture - it's a mosaic of all of the amazing people that make up this country, bringing with them their own unique aspects to the whole.
This July 1st, whether you are Canadian or not, have a Happy Canada Day!
Posts
I love Canada too but I don't get to visit very often. These are great reasons to love being Canadian!
ReplyDeleteI have heard a lot of great things about Canada. I heard that crime rates are very low as well.
ReplyDeleteBeing in Washington state we see a lot of Canadians here! I Think its great to hear why others love their country, you have great reasons!
ReplyDeleteI vaguely remember visiting Canada when I was younger with my Mom and some friends. I would love to go back there as an adult--but in the spring or summer time!!
ReplyDeleteHaha - thanks for sharing! Some of our best friends are Canadian and we always love visiting.
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky to have been born in the good ol U.S.A, but I've looked a lot at Canada lately and you guys truly have it together and know how to treat your citizens, the free health care is enough for me to become and Expat and move across the border! :) Happy Canada Day!
ReplyDeleteI'm not Canadian, but I do love all Canadian because I have a few Canadian friends and they are really kind and very supportive.
ReplyDeleteI have spent a ton of time in Canada!!! It really is a great country. Glad I live less than an hour away so I can visit often!
ReplyDeleteI'm not Canadian and I love your country. Anything has to be better than the U.S. right now. It's so messed up. I wish they would elect a new president already & get it over with... Your country is very lovely too. I'd love to visit it some time.
ReplyDeleteOh Canada is one of the countries which I would like to visit! I do hope I can visit it one of these days.
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