Oh Canada

I thought I was going to break my neck walking the dogs this morning. Montreal is notorious for its suidically icy sidewalks come Wintertime - one glance outside is all one needs to confirm that it is Winter. Indeed there is no Fall in Montreal, besides the ones I'll inevitably take trying to navigate the ice rink that is this city. Thankfully the sun is shining, taking away some of the bite in the air. It is -7 degrees centigrade out there, which is equivalent to a toasty 19 fahrenheit for my neighbors down south.

This will be my first official Winter in Montreal in five years. Granted, the last four were spent a mere 6 hours west in Toronto but it really is milder in T.O - because of its proximity to the Great Lakes? Winter 2000 was spent basking in the sun and sand of the French Riviera where I had gone to "study". When we stepped out of the airport into what can only be described as a balmy day in January we giddily threw off our coats and pranced around the parking lot. The locals looked at us like we were crazy as they pulled their jackets tighter around them. Wimps!

My friend Andrew called to let me know he and his girlfriend, Nat, were going to be here for three weeks in December. They moved out to Vancouver, BC, about two years ago where he's doing his doctorate. I've never been to BC but it's a well known fact that it's gorgeous out west. And no, it does not rain all the time. Our snowy season (November to...practically May) is their rainy season, and to be honest I'd rather deal with a bit of rain. My only fear in visiting the province is that I'll love it so much that I'll want to move there. Unfortunately, my family and friends are all staunch Montreal loyalists so I'd have to leave them all behind again, which I don't want to do. Here's a link to blogger's brief description of her trip to Vancouver accompanied by a great slideshow.

Don't get me wrong, I love my city as do millions of other adoring fans. We are Mad About Montreal. Most Montrealers are proud supporters of the city. Many have never left and don't plan on ever leaving. In fact, people from around the world flock to take up permanent residence here every year. Apparently we boast a community of something like 100,000 French (from France) emigrants, which now includes my friend Matt. I grew up (and still live) in (what is currently considered) a trendy area of the city, with Greek, Portugese, Spanish and Indian people. (I had the cutest Greek accent as a kid.) It's totally normal for residents to speak four languages interchangeably. It's a Canadian city unlike any other.

It's great being Canadian. I know I can make a lot more money if I moved to the States but at a very hefty price, especially given the current political situation. From East coast to West, there's no country quite like Canada and the people who occupy it. I came across a fantastic article called: It's great up north - The US should look to Canada to find out how to balance both its budget and its life.

Canada is democratic to its marrow, relatively enlightened on environment, health and welfare issues and its political discourse, unlike America's, is recognisably connected to the rest of the free world. That is almost certainly because the centre ground of politics, the place where you find a nation's core values and its character, is some distance to the left of the centre ground in the US.

Watch Molson's Canadian beer commercial, also known as The Canadian Rant and other fun spoofs such as: I Ham Not Ha Canadian, I Is A Newfoundlander, I am Torontonian, here (Quicktime required). Sing it loud and sing it proud. I am Canadian, eh!