So our history is not uniformly noble. But it is that gritty lack of nobility that has given Canada one of its peculiar strengths. While other nationalities get caught up in self-delusion, Canadians are more likely to retain a sense of distance. Has 22 Minutes and The Royal Canadian Air Farce. The problem with this charming diffidence lies in its fragility.
Canadian nationalism is like a butterfly's wing - graceful, effective, but easily crushed.
Perhaps the most remarkable achievement of Canada is that it survived at all. But it did. And over the 20th century, it gradually defined itself. The way it did so was by creating social institutions. Some on the right mock this idea.