Canada is the best country in the world, Vancouver is the best city in Canada and Bowen Island is the best part of Metro Vancouver. It’s fun making statements like that because most people in any rapidly growing area have arrived there by choice. They want to believe that it’s the best possible place and they feel very reassured when somebody confirms it for them. (But in our case it just happens to be true.) I know what you’re thinking. You’re sure that I’ve just gotten sucked into the media generated hype about how proud Canadians have become and, to a certain extent you’re right. But there has to be more to this effusive patriotism that has gripped our country. So what’s put us in this mood?
Put in the simplest terms I think that it is because we feel ourselves emerging from under the shadow of the United States. When I was a child I was taught that our country was simply inferior to the U.S. Our standard of living was lower largely because our levels of education and productivity were lower. We were the workers employed in the branch plants of American companies. Then in the 1960’s things started to change. We got Medicare and they got Vietnam, we got Expo 67 and they got race riots. Our government started to spend more on education while the States started to spend less. In international affairs we developed a reputation as peacekeepers while they were perceived as imperialists. And then their banks collapsed while ours were touted as fiscally responsible. Today the life expectancy of Canadians ranks with the top ten countries in the world while the same study places the U.S. at fiftieth. So now when we Canadians compare our lot in life with our American neighbours we feel pretty good about ourselves.
This statement is not meant to take anything away from our American neighbours. We have more in common with the U.S. than any other country and our inferiority complex was not their problem. I have a number of American friends and I know that when Canadians succeed on the world stage they are genuinely happy for us. If it weren’t for the fact that we’re always saying we’re sorry, they wouldn’t know that we weren’t American. My bet is that our neighbours will get quite a kick out of how boisterous our public displays have become.
Anyway, having the Olympics in town is a great opportunity to wave our flag and sing our national anthem. It may be the most outrageously expensive party any of us will ever go to so thank goodness that we’re having a good time. One dark spot on the media circus side on our celebrations is the very poorly named “Own the Podium” campaign. The American who quipped that we could own it they just wanted to borrow it for a couple of weeks, had the right idea. An athlete wants to own the hill or the track or the rink. That’s where the magic happens; the podium is just where you hold ceremonies.
When the program was introduced five years ago it must have seemed like a good catchy phrase to explain why the government was spending over twenty million dollars per year to support elite athletes. Hopefully a little bit of rebranding will be done to keep the program going. At a cost of less than 1/100th of 1% of the annual federal budget the support it gives to Canada’s finest amateur athletes makes it well worthwhile. Each year, Canada exports almost half a trillion dollars in trade goods. It’s important that our customers’ feel good about purchasing from us and a strong presence in international amateur sport enhances our image. Why not just throw the cost into the advertising budget and be done with it? Besides, it’s a lot more fun watching the competition when a Canadian is competing.
As we look ahead to next week we realize that our holiday will be over and the world will once again plod along. What will the legacy of the games be? We will have lots of nifty new infrastructure and a huge debt to go with it. We may enjoy an economic lift brought about by all of the extra money that has changed hands or we may suffer through a hangover brought on by an end to the spending and a sharp decline in tourist dollars as the city empties out. In the longer term we should see heightened international interest in Vancouver as a place to invest and visit. And, hopefully we will see a heightened respect for Canada on the international stage.
So enjoy the next few days, they won’t come again.
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