Oh Canada!

I was thinking I was going to write a post debunking all those stereotypical Canadian cliches, you know the ones we all roll our eyes at when those silly Americans espouse them. But then I had an epiphany of sorts. I realized that I am a walking Canadian stereotype….and I’m oddly proud of it.

I’ve taught my children that the alphabet ends in zed, not zee. I apologize to inanimate objects when I bump into them and practically offer up my first born if it’s a person. I will walk around for hours with garbage in my hand looking for a garbage can. I obsess over maple syrup. So much so that we tap our own maple trees and bottle our own syrup in the spring. I love my toques. I think Sorels are hot, as in they’ll keep you’re feet nice and toasty in the winter. My parka goes well with an evening gown. Practicality over fashion.

I believe that poutine and beavertails deserve special status in the food pyramid. I hate when spell check tells me I’ve spelled colour wrong. I have Strange Brew on DVD and I think Roll Up the Rim is like one big national party. It’s also slightly embarrassing how much I use “eh”.

When a soldier is taken down the Highway of Heroes I cry. I’m not a huge hockey fan but when the Canadians won the gold at the Olympics, I cried. When our dollar soars above the American dollar, I jump for joy.

I do not say aboot.

The one thing I’m not typically Canadian about though is my unabashed patriotism. I think Canada is the best country on earth, and I love that we are finally starting to shed some of the humbleness we’ve wrapped ourselves in for years. Ever since the Olympics in Vancouver you might say we’ve even got a little cocky. We got swagger and I’m liking it.

I encourage all Canadians to get out there today and to declare loudly, like that famous beer commercial encourages us to, ” I AM CANADIAN”. We live in the GREATEST country on earth. Happy Canada Day! I’m sorry, was that too much? Oh look, there I go being so stereotypically Canadian again, eh?