Yesterday I was in Barns and Noble about to leave the when the cover of this week's Economist leapt out at me. Canada's Wintery Election + a 14 page special report. I leapt at the opportunity to read 14 well written articulate pages about my country of origin. I got an 'identity refill.' They got all the nuances of internal Canadian politics just right. The issue of "Canadian Identity" was covered well - (If you are still trying to understand what that might mean it is worth the read). They also included coverage of the national slogan - Peace, Order and Good Government - saying that the governmental state of affairs was somewhat rocky.

I also learned that the new governor general (the queen's representative in Canada - our head of state) is Michaëlle Jean an immigrant woman from Hati. Yes a black woman is our head of state (before that it was Adrienne Clarkson an immigrant woman from Hong Kong). Part of our identity is to really 'BE' an immigrant nation.