No posts of my mine receive fewer clicks than ones about Canada. I suspect you have long either taken our northern neighbor for granted or perhaps find the world’s second-largest nation (geographically) north of our 5,525-mile border quaint if not dull.

Consider our respective nations’ unofficial mottos. We have long enshrined “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” from our Declaration of Independence. In Canada, it’s “peace, order, and good government.” Our national emblem is the soaring, sharp-eyed bird of prey, the bald eagle; in Canada, it’s the noble, industrious beaver. Since our war for independence, Canada – whose head of state remains the British sovereign – works hard to be different than Americans, despite common heritage, values, and proximity. Really hard.