Canada

As today is Canada Day, I thought I'd pay homage to the Great White North with some facts on what Canada means to me...and the world.

With 35 million people, Canada is not the world's most populous country, but it is the second largest land mass, which means lots of open space and plenty of opportunity to see a moose without getting too close.

Canada's national sport is hockey...I mean lacrosse...and we love to play outdoors until all our extremities freeze (which usually takes only a few minutes).

We have two official languages in Canada; French, and English, eh? The French we speak will get our butts kicked in France, and the English we speak will get us laughed at in the U.S. Perhaps that's why Canadian television programming is kept pretty much in-country.

Canadian entertainers can have very successful careers (provided they relocate to the States). From Jim Carey to Pamela Anderson to Mike Myers to William Shatner, they all are proudly Canadian (while on tour in Toronto). And our singers make us proud. Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Justin Bieber, and Shania Twain will belt out 'O Canada' with the rest of us, provided their fully stocked jet is gassed up and ready to take them back to Nashville or LA as soon as they're done.

The weather in Canada is very diverse. We get all four seasons. However, they're not always equally distributed. I've always said that Summer in Canada is two of the nicest weeks of the year! Winter lasts from October until May, but that just means you get your money's worth from the chains on your snow tires.

But Canadians are a special people. We live our lives with huge inferiority complexes, which only serves to keep us humble. When I travel the world, I am quick to tell people where I'm from, as it really does make me less of a threat, and usually gets me the direct taxi ride to my hotel, rather than the 'grand tour' other foreigners get. The Dutch absolutely LOVE us, and show it with their special gift of tulips every Spring. The Australians treat us like mates...and the Americans think we're actually one of them, just from the Northern state.

I like being Canadian. We don't win all the medals in the Olympics, but we do pretty well at important sports like curling, so it's okay. I like the wide open spaces and low crime rate. I like the mix of cultures. I like the humble, friendly attitude. I don't mind getting up at 6am for hockey. It's got all the benefits of a world leader, without all the stress. And best of all, it just feels like home to me. Thanks Canada!

Happy Canada Day!

Don