One of the most interesting effects of a Canadian election is that in the weeks leading up to the big vote, there is an abundance of American commentary on our country. Most of the time it feels like we’re ignored by the American media, at least as far as politics are concerned, and The Economist admits as much in it’s latest print issue cover story (reg req’d):

Enormous though it is, Canada is all too easily overlooked. It may be the world’s second-biggest country by area, one of its dozen largest economies and a founding member of the G7 club of rich countries. But much of its vast land is frozen waste. Nearly all of its 32.2m people cling to a narrow belt along its border with the United States. Since it is a peaceful, prosperous-dare one say provincial?-sort of place, it rarely makes much of a splash in the world.

Doesn’t that sound like a place you’d want to live? I suppose it’s true however, much of our land really is frozen – not so sure about it being a waste though. The article goes on to outline two reasons that the United States and the rest of the world should pay more attention to Canada:

1. “Canada, and especially its west, is one of the great storehouses of the commodities that the world needs in ever greater quantities-something China has recently noticed. New techniques mean that the tar sands of Alberta can be turned into oil at an ever-falling cost. That in turn means that Canada now claims the world’s second-largest oil reserves (behind only Saudi Arabia), in addition to a cornucopia of minerals and ten times more fresh water per head than the United States.”
2. “The second reason to watch Canada, as The Economist has argued before, is that it is a healthy rival to the American way. To the “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” of the American Declaration of Independence, Canada replied with “peace, order and good government” in its founding charter.”

I don’t think I could have come up with a reason any more American than those. The threat of oil, and another country with something comparable to “the American dream.” Sounds like something straight out of the Whitehouse. The article then spends a few paragraphs discussing adscam and our political parties, before concluding:

For all of Canada’s abiding strengths, more of the same politics may not be good enough. The booming west—Alberta especially—feels ignored in Ottawa. Another independence vote in Quebec may be no more than a couple of years away. Keeping Canada cool, calm and collected is starting to look a lot harder than it did only a couple of years ago.

I can’t really argue with that, things are indeed starting to get interesting. The latest issue of the Economist, entitled “Canada’s wintry election,” includes at least five other articles on Canada and our upcoming election, so if you’re into reading all of the analysis (I’m starting to…) you might want to pick it up. You can also buy a PDF of the Survey of Canada.

Read: The Economist