You are well situated. Bottom line is that Canada and Australia have 30 million population each and are pro-extraction of natural resources. You can sell your oil, coal and minerals on world markets (China). This wealth gets spread around (one way or another) 30 million instead of 300 million what we have in America (USA)
_Plus your banking system is sound. No crazy mortgage/Wall Street rip-off machine like we had in America
It is a lot harder to govern 300 million, 10 times harder, in fact.
Do not discount the advantage of a conservative (common sense) government and leadership. PM Harper knows the Kyoto treaty is garbage. He knows that exploiting the tar sands means wealth and prosperity for Canada. He knows a good working relationship with our strongest ally is vital. He knows the "gun registry" won't stop a single crime.
The problem, on both sides of the border, is that the electorate occasionally lose their common sense and vote for the snake oil salesman who wants to use other people's money to buy votes. These are all conservative/common sense positions.