At this special time of year in the United States, and by that I mean Thanksgiving and not “The End of Nascar Season”, I thought it might be appropriate to answer the question that I get every year, being the resident British Canadian on staff, and that is “Why does Canada celebrate Thanksgiving in October?” Well let me respond…it’s because we don’t celebrate the same thing at Thanksgiving. You are celebrating the Pilgrims first winter in the New World, and we are celebrating the end of the harvest. England also holds Thanksgiving on a Sunday in October.
Here are a few other things I have been asked over the years.
How many people live in Canada? There are about 32 million of us and we mostly live within 50 miles of the border.
Are there Christians in Canada? Yes lots
Do you have Christmas on the same day as the US? Strangely,….Yes
Is it really cold in Canada? Yes, and it is really hot in the summer
Do Canadians really live in igloos? That’s a secret; you’ll just have to visit to find out
Did you also know that in the oil sands north of Edmonton in the Province of Alberta there are 3 trillion barrels of oil just waiting to be extracted? Actually they use a steam extraction process which only becomes economical when oil hits $50 a barrel. Fort McMurray is the last stop on the long trip up to the tar sands and it’s very much the pioneer town with more bars and casinos than actual residents.
Canada also plays an important part in helping the US wage the war on terror. They tend to do it very quietly though. In Afghanistan Canada has a large contingent of troops and have been taking many casualties lately. My friend’s son lost both of his legs in a roadside bombing incident in Kandahar Province earlier in the year. He is finally at home after many surgeries and is learning to stand up on his new legs. He has to wait until next year to get his super hi-tech legs which are made in the U.S. Unfortunately one of the wages of war is that technology is able to produce legs with joints that act like our natural ones. He is a very brave man and we are all pulling for him to make a full recovery.
Canada is also a great place to visit…..from the fantastically modern city of Vancouver with it’s mountains and oceans, to the majestic Rocky Mountains, across the plains to the vibrant city of Winnipeg, through the forests of Northwestern Ontario, through Toronto and Ottawa and into Quebec to Montreal where the French culture surrounds you; to historical Quebec City with its wonderful restaurants and artists quarter, and on to the east coast where the Atlantic Ocean pounds the quaint little fishing villages on the shores of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and New Brunswick.
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I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. I wish you all a wonderful Christmas Season and remember only 82 days until Daytona!!!!!
Sheila Smith
Yaffe Bureau of Canadian Affairs
Ok this is all well and good. But can you tell us why every Canadian spoken sentence ends in the word “Heh”.