The plug is out. The oven is off.
This is how relationships end, more or less. The good old days, in and around a relationship, have retired into the history books. Naturally some wistfulness remains. After all, the ties had become downright friendly. And that’s probably the best outcome in a network of obligations. There was an exchange, mutual help, always being there for one another, and both sides tending a respectful and fruitful relationship.
The beginning and the end of a wonderful friendship are both sweet and bitter.
The relationship between Canada and the US no longer seems sweet. It only seems bitter now.
So what happened here, that this strong North American alliance with Canada is taking its leave from the world stage? As a fresh face to Canadian citizenship, I’m childishly curious, and I want to get to the bottom of things — and perhaps get on a few nerves along the way. Well, that’s the price of curiosity.
The main reason for the quarrel is almost certainly that one side of the relationship is questioning the other country’s borders. Canada and Canadians see a military and economic colossus that wants to swallow up the second-largest country on Earth by land area. Canada is supposed to become the name of the 51st state of the United States of America.
This must be how Switzerland felt over ninety years ago, when Germany turned from a good neighbour into a threatening fascist monster. Not a pleasant thought. Out of that threat came the idea of Switzerland as the spiny, well-armed hedgehog. Or, put another way, the island in Europe’s ocean.
We Canadians are the nice Americans. That, at least, was the word across the continent of unlimited possibilities. The kindness — the friendliness of the Canadian way of life — is beyond dispute. I experience it nearly every day. But I’ve also watched a few hockey games. And I’ve been astonished, watching likeable friends in action on the ice. Not a trace of niceness or courtesy left. Just icy cold and fighting spirit, with hockey sticks and elbows.
Never provoke a Canadian.
Canada is with the US on the ice.
We Canadians are pulling a lot of plugs. The outlets all have one thing in common: Made in America.
Canadians are turning back to their own strengths and possibilities for connecting with the rest of the world. Finding new outlets, so to speak, and becoming the Maple Leaf plug themselves. Prime Minister Mark Carney has been plugged into the world for decades. As former Governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, that came with the job.
Canadians no longer find the American outlets trustworthy.
Tod Maffin is a former CBC Radio host and a sharp, inventive, funny man. With his wife Jocelyn, he keeps launching inventive projects.
The two of them published “Unplug America” — a free, categorized directory of Canadian services that can replace the big American ones. From email to maps to online shopping. For every entry: who actually owns the company, since when, and just how Canadian it really is.
Then came the rush. And the server buckled.
I find that rather touching. Elsewhere, debates like this burn flags. Here, someone builds a list — carefully researched, free, with sources cited — and half a country clicks on it at once.
Clicking away is also a stance. You just have to try it once.
The Maffins invested months finding Canadian alternatives and breaking free of the dominance of the giant Silicon Valley octopi. At https://unplug.todmaffin.com you’ll find a huge list of providers and their Canadian alternatives. Wait a minute — this isn’t just a listing, it’s a lovingly maintained information site. Every entry shows what connections and what background the company has. The Canadian flag alone isn’t enough. Anyone who parks their data in the cloud, for instance, wants to know which country it’s actually sitting in.
The project’s motto puts it bluntly: “Canadian alternatives to bring your data back home across the border.” The plug is out. The new outlet: Made in Canada.
