A short essay for a contest I won in grade nine.

In the home of Smarties, Crispy Crunch, Coffee Crisp, baseball, lacrosse, basketball, Mr. Dressup, Poutine, toques, Tim Horton’s, Superman, The Hudson’s Bay Company, ski-doos, jet-skis, Velcro, zippers, insulin, penicillin, zambonis, the telephone, short wave radios, loonies, toonies, pop, The West Edmonton Mall, eh, and Hockey, it’s little wonder why Canadians are so patriotic. We’ve got freedom, health care, a flag with a leaf on it, cultural diversity, and a great country.

Okay stereotypes over. We’re not just a bunch of hockey-loving French-Canadians who say ‘eh?’ all the time (though there’s nothing wrong with all the people that are, since I can probably qualify in that area myself), this nation has Sri Lankans, Macedonians, Bulgarians, Ethiopians, Guyanese, Jamaicans, Italians, Indians, Argentineans, Vietnamese, Koreans, Laotians, Native Americans and many more! Every culture contributes to the vast, many-layered montage that is Canada.

My favorite part of Canadian media is the ‘A Part of our Heritage’ Commercials, I can quote almost every one; The Saguenay Fire is one of my favorites, as well as “Doctor Penfield, I smell burnt toast!”. I love being out of country and reciting them with fellow Canadians. I even have the site book-marked under favorites. (.ca/minutes)

If you want beauty take a stroll on Parliament Hill, the library was just on the News a few nights ago. Or walk the streets of Old Montreal, take a train through the Canadian Rockies and make sure to stop in Jasper, go to the Qu’Appel Valley, go to the red beaches on ‘The Gentle Island’, listen to the many artists across our land, go to the top of the CN tower, take a breath of fresh air, and don’t skip out on the Northern lights!

I have to admit that one simple essay cannot possibly hope to sum up the entirety of Canada. There is no possible way of capturing the diversity of our beautiful, safe, collection of Provinces and Territories (not States!). There’s too much to say about all of our heroes and individuals, each one has contributed to this country. The True North, Strong and Free!