O Canada: A Tribute to the True North Proud and Free

My thoughts are turning northward today: It is 150 years since the British North America Act took effect on July 1, 1867, by which Canada became a self-governing dominion of Britain.  It is recognized as Canada Day, the national holiday of the United States's northern neighbor.

I've had a fascination with Canada throughout my life.  The first time I went there with my family was when I was very young and thus I have no memories of taking a short day trip across the border to Sault Saint Marie in Ontario while we were on vacation in northern Michigan in the summer of 1994 (please see picture below).

You can see me in the center of this picture, wearing a red sweater, on my first time in Canada, in Sault Saint Marie, ON, which was also my first time outside the United States.

My first memories of Canada go back to the summer of 1999 on a family vacation to Niagara Falls.  We drove from Oak Park to Detroit, where we crossed the border entering at Windsor, Ontario.  Then we drove to London, where we spent the night, before resuming our drive the next day, with some sightseeing stops, until we reached our destination at Niagara Falls, Ontario, staying at a Hampton Inn across the Niagara River from the United States.

I guess I could say I am offering a salute to Canada, with the Canadian flag in hand.  As best as I can surmise, this picture was taken at a scenic overlook near Hamilton, ON, with the sign behind me telling about Thomas Baker McQueesten.

Over the course of a few days, we bounced back and forth across the border seeing various sites in that area.

Here I am, to the right, at the Great Gorge Adventure along the Niagara River in Niagara Falls, ON.  To the left, across the Niagara River, is Niagara Falls, NY, USA.

At one point, we drove to a town called Niagara-on-the-Lake on the shore Lake Ontario for a visit.  On our way back, we stopped for a short stay in Port Clinton, OH, and we went to see Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial.  (I also have a memory of eating at a Mexican restaurant, which was interesting to do two borders north, which may have also been on that trip on our way to Niagara Falls.  At the restaurant, I was intrigued as Dad explained to me that the credit card company would charge his card for US dollars for our dinner, even though it was Canadian prices at the restaurant.)

The following summer, we went on a family vacation to Maine.  We made our way up US Federal Route 1, staying in both Old Orchard Beach and Bar Harbor for an extended amount of time before coming to stay at a small town called Lubec, where the Atlantic Coast of Maine meets the border with Canada.  We crossed over to spend some time in New Brunswick, which included a visit to Roosevelt Campobello International Park, the Roosevelts' summer cottage, where FDR contracted polio.

A fellow tourist got this picture of our foursome on the uncovered ocean floor at Campobello Island, New Brunswick, during low tide. I am to the left.

Here I am, to the right, with my brother Eric, to the left, on the Deer Island Ferry.  All the above photos were from family photo albums and were most likely taken by Mom or Dad unless otherwise noted.

In the years after that visit to New Brunswick, my fascination with Canada grew.  I regarded Canada like a neighbor who lived down the street who I saw occasionally, and who I heard lots of interesting stories about, which made me eager to know more.  My yearnings intensified in 2010 when the Winter Olympic Games were held in Vancouver, British Columbia.  I was impressed by the display of Canada's history, geography, and culture during the Opening Ceremony.  And I was totally floored by Nikki Yanofsky's performance of the bilingual version of "O Canada", the national anthem.

That performance inspired me to actually memorize the English version of the lyrics.  Having done so makes me honestly feel that the Canadian national anthem is a better national anthem than that of the United States, as the lyrics of "O Canada" espouse a strong sense of patriotic pride for the Canadians, speaking to what Canada is, rather than being so fixated on a battle scene--although it would help if the 4th verse of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was performed more often--but that's just a digression.  The French lyrics of "O Canada" are equally rich as well, evoking a sense of the onus and glory of nationhood.  (This webpage has an English translation of the French lyrics.)

Then 2017 arrived, and I felt that it was a good time to go visit Canada once again, especially its being the year of the 150th anniversary.  As I started planning a trip to visit my friend Roy in Oregon, I decided to tie in a visit to Vancouver, since it was in the same general region.

And so, on May 18, I took a day trip from Seattle up to Vancouver to spend a few hours there, my first trip to Canada in 17 years, and my first trip to western Canada.  I guess I can now say I've visited three major regions of Canada: the Maritime Provinces, Ontario/central Canada, and Western Canada.  (By the way, I'm still working to complete on my blog an account of my recent Pacific Northwest trip back in May, so please stay tuned when it goes up, at which point it can be accessed via a link in the comments section below this post, and you can read more about all of it.)  It was quite a different world on this most recent visit, as I had to bring special documentation with me, i.e., my passport.  On my previous visits, when my family pulled up to the customs gate in our vehicle, my Dad handed over our birth certificates, and that was enough to get us across the border.  Anticipating my trip to Canada this year, I had decided to get my passport back in February, so I could specifically be ready to visit Canada, though at that time, I wasn't entirely sure how it would happen, while also feeling it was a good time in my life to get my first ever passport.

The landscape of British Columbia was generally similar to Washington, with lots of green, as well as wide open agricultural fields, like in the picture below I took from onboard the BoltBus, a little bit past the US-Canada border crossing.

And Vancouver had a similar feel to Seattle, both being Pacific Northwest cities, with the commercial activity, the general hustle and bustle of people, and the skyscrapers.

I got this picture of Cathedral Square, across Dunsmuir Street from the Cathedral of the Holy Rosary.

It was easy to get around Vancouver on foot and by public transit, both light rail and buses.  There was also a strong Asian presence in Vancouver, which a friend told me is in part due to when Britain gave Hong Kong back to China and many fled Hong Kong to Vancouver.  The one spectacular aspect of Vancouver is looking out across Vancouver Harbour and seeing the gorgeous mountains on the other side, like in the picture below.

I posed for this picture, taken by a fellow visitor, at the top of the hill where Bloedel Conservatory is in Queen Elizabeth Park.  Looking behind me in the picture, toward the north, you can see Vancouver, and then the mountains beyond.

While there, I also got to experience consuming something from Tim Horton's for the first time, which I found out is like the Canadian version of Dunkin' Donuts, and that makes sense given the similar menu offerings.

On my way to and from the Pacific Northwest, I rode the Amtrak Empire Builder route.  It follows the path of the former Great Northern Railway, often referred to as the Hi-Line, because it travels so far north in the United States, with the route through Montana coming within about 30-40 miles of the US-Canada border at certain points.  In fact, in Havre, there was a monument in the Hands Across the Border Park right by the Amtrak station.

The figure on the left represents the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the iconically-dressed law enforcement officials known as the "Mounties", who patrol rural areas.  The figure on the right represents the United States Border Patrol.  The sign on the far left says "Canada Hands Across the Border Park".  Below are flags at that park--from left to right are Canada, Montana, and United States.  Their poles can be seen in the picture above.  I took the pictures above and below.

Seeing the two figures and the two national flags evoked a true sense of friendship in the relationship between the United States and Canada.  It's like what President Kennedy talked about when he addressed the Canadian Parliament, evoking a similar history in European settlement, and how both countries, as friends, could work together for common goals of promoting freedom in the world.

Many people claim that Canada is not that different from the United States, which makes sense in accordance with a statistic I encountered that said the vast majority of Canada's population lives within 100 miles of the United States-Canada border.  That demonstrates that anyone who lives in the vast expanse of Canada far up north, like in the three territories, is truly a hardy soul.

And I'm aware of what makes Canada so distinct.  It is more steeped in a sense of being connected with Britain as a Commonwealth state with the British monarch as the Head of State, represented by the Governor-General, and references to royalty abound everywhere, like in place names and on Canadian money.  (As an aside, I was very intrigued to learn that Canadian bills are made of plastic, which explains a strange transparent kind of feature on the bills.)  Canada also has a Parliamentary form of government, which is very much like Britain and other European countries where the head of government is determined by which political party has the most legislative seats.  I feel this sense of British culture in Canada gives the country a sense of class.

And then there's the whole French factor in Canada.  I strongly sensed I was in Canada on a couple of occasions during my visit to Vancouver when I heard groups of people speak among themselves in French--that made it seem more real than simply looking at the French side of the customs form.

I wasn't totally surprised to see measurements in metric, as I crunched numbers in my head whenever I saw a speed limit sign on the side of the road to determine, just for fun, what the American measurement was.  But when measurements mattered more to me, I felt a little jolt in my brain as I adjusted numbers in my head, like when I got to Stanley Park and looked at a map of the park marking out the distances, and had to convert the kilometers to miles so I could determine how long it would take me to get to where I wanted to go.

In general, I can figure out measurements with some intuition, especially in the case when I looked at information online about the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith, which covers 1.5 million square kilometers in the northern territories of Canada.  Suffice it to say, that's a huge area.  In fact, Canada is a huge country, the largest in North America and the 2nd largest in the world, covering a wide swath of North America, with those three northern territories being vast in and of themselves, with extensive stretches of wilderness.

I couldn't help but think about that when I was in Vancouver experiencing the Flyover Canada ride, which displayed images of the amazing places in Canada, many of them nature areas.  The ride's visual effects enhanced the views of them in a stunning way.

Indeed, Canada is an incredible country, and I look forward to going back for future visits to soak in more of it.  It is a fine neighbor with whom we share much, but with so many idiosyncrasies that make me admire Canada.

And so here's a salute to Canada on this special day in this prominent year.

This was at Canada Place, housing the convention center in Vancouver, where I asked a person walking around to get this picture of me by the Canada 150 banners.