canadian identity

Hockey has long held a central place in Canada, and the National Hockey League is the flagship arena for the sport. Professional hockey has long stood out for the aggressive style of play, which has largely been accepted as just a part of the game.

The first rule of fight club was don’t talk about fight club. The first rule of Canadian hockey seems to be never stop talking about it.

After 41 years of Progressive Conservative government, Albertans appear to be in the midst of a political shakeup. The polls show a more competitive election than most would have expected even a few months ago.

Canada’s history is one of successive waves of people arriving on its shores, each having to find their place among those who preceded them.

The Canadian media have been almost obsessed with hockey these past couple of weeks. Although global events have occupied some of our attention, domestic matters (namely Sidney Crosby's concussion and Max Pacioretty's fractured vertebra) have forced reputedly peaceful Canadians to meditate on violence in our unofficial national sport.

Anniversaries such as Canada Day are a good time to take stock of long-term changes in the lifestyles, attitudes and values that characterize our society. Incremental changes can seem matter of fact as they unfold in daily life, but their cumulative effects can be remarkable.

If someone asked you to describe all the important relationships in your life - to people, places, even to organizations and institutions - where would the federal government rank?

I grew up during a time when it was said that everything that happened in the United States would eventually come to Canada. For me, the most evocative annual illustration of this was the auto show at Toronto's Exhibition Place, where Detroit's latest contributions to mobility and status were put on display for aspirational Ontarians to drool over.

Like many people around the world, Canadians have been suffering for several months with a nagging chronic condition. The affliction is likely to flare up painfully in the coming weeks. The condition is Obama-envy, and the flare-up will be induced by the visit of the new President on Feb. 19.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his team have expressed the desire to move Canada in an incrementally more conservative direction through successive Conservative governments.