Happy Birthday Canada, 157 today and one of the few countries on the Planet that nobody seems to have a bad word against.
Of all Great Britain's children, Canada is the one we boast about to other nations, the clean cut polite one of our offspring that everyone likes although as the second largest country with a great looking flag who dress their police force in a blindingly bright red uniform and share a Royal Family with us Brits and play ice-hockey, it's mostly known for not being very well known.
The election of the very engaging Justin Trudeau in 2015 improved the Canadian image abroad which was previously a bit safe and boring, the North American version of Belgium, but most of us over here think of the average Canadian as a slimmer, better looking American without the gun fetish but Canada is not a force in the affairs of the World as it's size suggests it should be.
While it is a good thing that Canadians don't turn on the TV to see an angry mob burning the Canadian flag and calling for the death of their Prime Minister but they do need to become more engaged in the World.
I even asked my Canadian former colleague once what, apart from Canadian teachers with terrible dress sense, does his country export to us and he scratched his head, mumbled something about Bryan Adams and faked a coughing fit.
According to UK Trade & Investment website, the UK is Canada's primary European trading partner but nobody i have asked can remember seeing anything stamped with 'made, built, product of, grown or manufactured in Canada'.
So just what is going on in Canada? You are a big country with a lot of snow, Mounties and apparently you say "eh" after every sentence but have you got nothing us Brits want?
Granted you have produced some fine comedians, actors and singers but come on Canada, unless there is a large secret market that we are all unaware of flourishing here, Britain seems very much a Canada free zone.
You need to pick up the pace and go back to doing what you do best. Whatever that is but then again if i was responsible for inflicting Celine Dion on the World, i would keep my head down also.
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