I am Canadian. Being Canadian, I am polite.

Canada is the second largest country in the world. (The largest one is Russia). Canada is one of three countries in North America, but being part of North America does not make us American. The country called “America”, or the USA, is that big one below us, in the middle of the continent, drawing a lot of attention to itself while we Canadians sit quietly and watch.

In Canada we have two official languages, English and French. In the USA, the official language is English. The USA has 50 states, we have ten provinces. Both countries touch three oceans: Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic.

Historically, the British and French were important in exploring and settling both countries. Other nations including the Spanish and Portuguese sent out a lot of explorers to the New World back in the 1500s and later. Their role in Canada was minimal whereas the Spanish influence is still obvious in California.

When the USA was formed, it was through a war (the War of Independence) against Britain. France (Britain’s ancient enemy) supported the colonists, who gained independence and became Americans.

In Canada, the British and French fought against each other. Our country was formed, not by colonists wanting independence, but initally by negotiation between two sovereign powers over which colonies should belong to which country. Eventually in 1867, we Canadians formed our own government, but it was not until 1982 that we finally adopted our own constitution. Before that, we were still technically under the rule of England. In practice, though, we Canadians had been our own nation since 1867.

The Queen of England is still our head of state. To most Canadians, that means we see her picture on our money and postage stamps. She doesn’t come here very often and very few of us have met her.

Some of the things we Canadians value, and which we feel set us apart from the USA, are universal, public health care insurance for everyone, gun control, and no history of slavery. We like to visit the USA, particularly in winter, when the southern states are sunny during our blizzards.

If you walked into a Canadian city or town without knowing where you were, you could think you were in the USA and vice versa. After a while you would notice the differences, but at first glance we look very similar, particularly if you compare places just across the border from each other.

Overall, both countries are multi-cultural, energetic, and accepting of the differences in others. We Canadians joke about why we are different from Americans, but it is meant in a friendly way. We are peacekeepers and we value our long and stable relationship with the USA.