 LONDON
LOVES LEAFS
by Michael Bryson
To be a Canadian tourist abroad is to
confront a common question: "Are you American?"
Recently, I was in Oxford, England, and
a homeless person asked me this.
I had just given him the two pounds ($5
CDN) he said he needed for a bed for a night at the local shelter.
I said, "No. Canadian."
"Right," he said.
"Cheers then."
It had been twelve years since my last
trip to the United Kingdom. On that trip, the only mention of Canada in
the newspapers had been a story about a British tourist mauled by a
grizzly bear in Banff National Park.
On my recent trip, Canadian wildlife
was again in the headlines.
HARVEST OF BLOOD was the headline in
the Daily Mail, referring to the Ottawa-sanctioned killing of
350,000 seal pups in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence.
That article ended by recommending
Britons hit "the Canadians where it hurts – economically, by
banning seal products or boycotting their country."
British tourism is worth about $2.5
billion, the article said. Profits from the seal slaughter were expected
to be about $25 million.
At Paul Martin’s coronation last
fall, Bono proclaimed, "The world needs more Canada."
The Irish rock star may feel that way.
One must question, however, what the average Briton thinks of our
country when the headline writers obviously can’t see beyond the
stereotype of Canada as a massive nature reserve.
Thank goodness, therefore, for Canadian
artists.
Doing a quick survey of an Oxford
bookstore, I found titles prominently displayed by Margaret Atwood, Guy
Vanderhague, Jane Urquart, Austin Clarke, Rohinston Mistry, and Yann
Martel. Actress Neve Campbell graced the cover of the Sunday Times
Culture magazine.
A Times feature on actress
Isabella Rossellini highlighted her recent role in an avant-garde film
by Winnipeg’s Guy Maddin.
Another article highlighted Vancouver’s
jazz crooner Diana Krall.
Bono spoke about Canada as a beacon of
light in the world. Spearheading the fight for cheap AIDS drugs in
Africa. Leading the fight against landmines and helping debt-ridden
countries find financial stability.
These roles do not garner Canada
international headlines. A quiet, effective, internationalist approach
to public policy is difficult to "sex up."
Canadians are famously proud of their
hockey and slow to define their national identity.
No, we are not Americans.
Yes, we are a country with vast
wilderness and abundant wild nature (except for the species we’ve
wiped out, or nearly extinguished).
Before an evening at the theatre in
London’s west end, I saw a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey for sale in the
window of a shop near Covent Garden.
"The world is getting more
Canada," I thought. Leaf Nation is expanding.
Michael Bryson is the
editor of The Danforth Review.
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