This Canadian says" "Chretien does not speak for Canada"

Thank you for your post. Having been married to a Canadian and having spent much time in Canada amongst Canadians I know the truth. The average Canadian has a close bond to the U.S. and I know we can count on Canadians when the chips are down. My ex-inlaws were every bit as Conservative as I am. My ex is a graduate of The University of Toronto. A very Leftist environment. She took a lot of guff from her Dad and was able to keep her head on straight.

Having said all of this, U.S.(Canadians hate it when we refer to ourselves as Americans)citizens need to understand the terrific inferiority complex many Canadians live with. The vast majority of Canadians live within 100 miles of the U.S. border. They are inundated with U.S. products and culture. They perceive there is little which is truly Canadian. Thus, they push Canadian products and accomplishments to the max. Many Canadians defensively think of themselves as more civilized and "sensitive" than we Americans. They believe their small population possesses superior worldliness and sensitivity than the U.S. Therefore, many maybe most Canadians see their nation as a more tolerant and caring nation. Therefore, the push for Socialism and welfare state politics. This also accounts for this strain of anti-U.S sentiment. Many Canadians believe they are for more understanding World Citizens. They think of Canada as more advanced in the quest for World government and feelgood nonsense like that. There vanishing military is used in nation building for the most part. The UN is seen as their Pentagon. The Leftist media feeds this nonsensical view,

While we were rebelling from Mother England, Canada remained a loyal outpost. That shapes our fundamental worldviews. Canadians have a great deal more trust in government than we do. We stress individual freedom and the spirit of rebellion. The average Canadian sees government as a necessary force for social stability and harmony.

Canadians pay a big price for all of this government. In my view, the Canadian economy lags behind our because of this reliance on the welfare State. Canada lags behind because of the incredible "take" of the government. Think about it. A nation with a tenth of the U.S. population. A nation that endures little of the social pressure (this is changing)our diversity brings us in the States. Little inner- City grief. By in large, a homogenous population. Add to this an incredible abundance of natural resources. Huge room for expansion and a well educated population and you should have an economic powerhouse. But the Canadian insistence on Socialism keeps this from becoming reality.

If you want to sum it all up think of it as something as simple as this. An American pedestrian comes to a traffic light, It says "Don't Walk". He looks both ways and walks. A Canadian pedestrian comes to the light looks both ways and stands there.

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