It was primarily Canadian politics, economics secondarily, that prompted me to leave Canada for the US back in the 80′s. I love Canada; its people are generally thoughtful and level-headed. I am grateful for the classically liberal education I got in the 60′s and early 70′s, when such an education was still available. In the era when I was growing up there was a general feeling of optimism and inclusiveness, especially around the centennial. Things started to go sour after 1968, especially in Quebec.
Today, Canada is not the place I remember. It still has a big inferiority complex (everyone resents America, even though it owes most of its prosperity to the elephant next door). Canada chose to adopt the Euro model of multiculturalism, if only to differentiate itself from the US. The results of that choice are now becoming clear and I fear for Canada’s future as a liberal democracy.
