The Polite Revolution

Ibbitson hits the nail on the head. Canada has transformed itself over the last few years to become something that the rest of the Western world (let alone the rest of the wolrd in general) can only dream of.

A cosmopolitan, polyglot country that gets more things right than wrong.

Money quote:

"Some time, not too long ago, while no one was watching, Canada became the world's most successful country. Canada works. In fact, it works better than any place else.

Partly by intent, mostly by luck, we find ourselves at the forefront of a social revolution.
While hand-wringing commentators have been lamenting our lack of a national identity — and trying to construct one, as if such a thing were possible — millions of new arrivals have landed at our docks and our airports, transforming us.

We are fashioning the world's first truly cosmopolitan society. After laying a solid foundation of liberal democracy — based on the best of the British and French traditions in governance and law — we have imported millions of new arrivals, first from eastern and southern Europe, then from eastern and southern Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.

The result is nothing less than a miracle. Certain cities in Canada have reached escape velocity. They are becoming the first places where no one race is dominant, where women can live in real equality with men, where it's okay to be gay, where people pick up after their dogs. This has never happened anywhere before. Not like this."

Ibbitson calls this the 'Polite Revolution' - and I admit to liking the sobriquet quite a bit.

Living in Vancouver (one of the cities he talks about that has reached 'escape velocity') I see the world he talks about everyday. It's like Bladerunner with a liberal dose of Prozac - the people are a non-homogenous ethnic blend, the new is built on top of the old, it's always dark and always raining, and even androids are people too.

Take a bow Canucks - we rule.