Canada, My Canada Essay Example for Free

Canada, My Canada Essay three summers back, a friend and I were being hurtled by bus through the nerve of Australia, the desert unionbeat pink and red before our disbelieving eyes. It seemed never to end, this desert, so flat, so dry. The bolt downscape was very contrary ours scrub growth with some exotic cacti, no lakes, no rivers, just sand and rock forever. Beautiful, haunting flush what the surface of the moon must look like, I thought as I sit down in the dusk in that some empty bus. I turned to look out the front man of the bus and was suddenly taken completely by surprise. Screaming out at me in smashing black lettering were the words CANADA NO. 1 COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. My eyes lit up, my heart gave a heave, and I felt a pang of homesickness so acute I actually almost hurt. It was all I could do to keep myself from leaping out of my seat and grabbing the newspaper from its owner. As I learned within minutes (I did indeed beg to borrow the paper), the pronouncem ent was based on knowledge collected by the United Nations from studies comparing standards of living for 174 nations of the world. Some people may agree doubted the finding, still I didnt, not for an instant.Where else in the world can you travel by bus, automobile, or train (and the left over(p) ferry) for ten, 12, or 14 days straight and see a landscape that changes so spectacularly the Newfoundland sailplaning with its white foam and roar the red sand beaches of Prince Edward Island the graceful curves and slopes of Cape Bretons Cabot Trail the cast dairy land of south-shore Quebec the maple-bordered lakes of Ontario the haunting north shore of Lake Superior the wheat fields of Manitoba and Saskatchewan the ranch land of Alberta the mountain ranges and lush rain forests of the West Coast. The list couldgo on for pages and still cover whole the southern section of the country, a sliver of land compared with the North, the immensity of which is almost unimaginable. For six years in a row now the United Nations has designated Canada the no. 1 country in which to live.We are so fortunate. We are water wealthy and forest rich. Minerals, fertile land, wild animals, plant life, the rhythm of four distinct, incontestable seasons we have it all.Of course, Canada has its problems. Wed like to lower the crime rate, but ours is a relatively safe country. We clamber with our healthcare system, trying to find a balance between universality and affordability, but no soul in this country is denied medical care for lack of money. Yes, we have concerns, but in the global strategy of things we are well off.Think of our history. For the greater part, the pain and violence, tragedy, horror, and evil that have scarred forever the history of too many countries are largely absent from our past. Theres no denying weve had our trials, but they pallid by comparison with events that have shaped many other nations.Our cities are gems. Take Toronto, where I have chosen to live. My adopted city never fails to thrill me with its racial, linguistic, and cultural diversity. On any ordinary day on the citys streets and subway, in stores and restaurants, I can hear the muted ebb and pass of 20 different tongues. I can feast on food from different continents, from Greek souvlaki to Thai mango salad, from Italian prosciutto to Jamaican jerk chicken, from Indian lamb curry to Chinese lobster.And do all these people get along? Well, they all enjoy a life of relative harmony, cooperation and peace. They for sure arent terrorizing, torturing, and massacring one another. Theyre not igniting pubs, cars, and schools with explosives that blind, cripple, and maim. And theyre not killing children with machetes, cleavers and axes. Dislike rancour, even may exist here and there, but not, I believe, hatred of the blistering intensity we see elsewhere.Is Canada a successful experiment in racial harmony and peaceful co-existence? Yes, I would say so and proudly.When I, as an aboriginal citizen of this country, find myself thinking about all the people weve received into this beautiful homeland of mine, when I think of the millions to whom weve given safe haven, following agony, terror, hunger, and great sadness in their home countries, well, my little Cree heart just puffs up with pride. And I walk the streets of Canada, the streets of my home, feeling tall as a maple.