“Canada is the only country in the world that has never had a national identity.”
–Marshall McLuhan
–“Historically, a Canadian is an American who rejects the Revolution.”
–Northrop Frye, Letters in Canada, 1952
“We have often been told of our necessary dullness because we had no Revolutionary War, no French Revolution, no War between the States.”
–Milton Wilson, Other Canadians and After, 1958
“Canadians ask themselves whether they have become free of Britain’s colonial influence only to fall under the spell of the United States’ economic imperialism.”
–Walter Gordon, A Choice for Canada
“No one can deny that Quebec is, culturally and sociologically, a distinct society. So is Newfoundland.”
–Eugene Forsey, 1990
“Nobody understands one damn thing except that he’s better than everyone else.”
–Hugh MacLennan, Two Solitudes, 1945
“There isn’t any one Canada, any average Canadian, any average place, type.”
–Miriam Chapin, They Outgrew Bohemia, 1960
“Canada is not really a place where you are encouraged to have large spiritual adventures.”
–Robertson Davies, “The Master’s Voice”, Maclean’s , 1972
“Boy Meets Girl in Winnipeg and Who Cares?”
–Hugh MacLennan, Scotchman’s Return and Other Essays, 1960
“A Canadian is someone who knows how to make love in a canoe.”
–Pierre Berton