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Canada Thriving as New Leader Steps In
Published on: Wed, 08 Feb 2006 20:30:30 GMT
The conservative Canadian government to be sworn in Monday will take the reins of a country that is economically flush, newly confident and ready to reap the benefits of one of the largest supplies of oil in the world. Stephen Harper, 46, will become prime minister of the thriving country as it shows signs of continuing success and follows a path determinedly different from that of its southern neighbor.
Struck on New Canadian Government
The Washington Post's Doug Struck discusses new Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's swearing-in ceremony on Monday.
"It's a great country. It has a lot to offer," said Jon Paton, 46, listing Canada's attributes as he took a smoking break from his work as a bartender in an Ottawa hotel. "Besides the natural beauty. We are at peace. The economy is strong."
One of Canada's most striking features is its diverse immigrant community. Philosopher John Ralston Saul calls Canada "on the cutting edge, the most experimental country in the world on immigration and citizenship" for its open-door policy on immigration. Mostly, the experiment is working.
"It's a welcoming country," said David Frederick, 51, who emigrated from Trinidad with his parents 30 years ago and works for the federal government. "I've never been exposed to racism, at least not directly."
For four decades, Canadians have been concerned about a separatist movement in the French-speaking province of Quebec. The threat still exists, but Harper's Conservative Party made an unprecedented incursion into the strength of the secessionist Bloc Quebecois in last month's elections. Many Canadians view the secessionist issue as having helped shape their national identity.
"I think all of the stuff that we went through about Quebec has made us think about the unthinkable, about what it would be like not to be Canadian," said William Warrender, 62, a federal civil servant who was inspecting hydraulic systems on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa.
Canadians see the United States as consumed with war, weighed down with massive and growing national debt and divided by intolerance. Recent polls have shown deep antipathy among Canadians toward the Bush administration and general anti-Americanism.
"Canadians have looked more closely at the differences between Canada and the United States and have become more confident in ourselves," said Mel Hurtig, founder of the Canadian Encyclopedia and a noted nationalist.
They are buoyed by their economy. In 1997, Canada made a determined effort to break a traditional pattern of overspending by the government -- and succeeded. The country has had a surplus for the last eight years.
According to Canada's Finance Department, the country's unemployment rate, which is 6.5 percent, and corporate profits are "at their best levels in 30 years." The economy is growing annually at about 3 percent. The Canadian dollar, worth only 62 U.S. cents four years ago, is now at 87 cents.
Rising oil prices have opened the door to a vast source of revenue, with oil companies tapping into deposits that are believed to be the second-largest in the world. The oil-rich province of Alberta netted a multibillion-dollar surplus and mailed a check for $400 (about $350 U.S.) to every resident
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