Just Looking ...

I've been thinking about the whole concept about Canada not having a "culture" and how people are more prone to saying where they are from internationally while there are those that will state that they are "Canadian" instead of rattling off their countries of origin. It seems like a double edge sword because when people say where they are from as opposed to just saying Canada it seems that they are denouncing the importance of being Canadian, yet when someone says that they are just "Canadian" it seems that they are being ignorant to what their backgrounds are. With Canada being relatively young, especially in terms of immigration, those that say where they are from originally can do so because they still have ties with the old countries. As time goes on and people become more and more mixed they cannot identify with one single place so they truly do become "Canadian". For example, my father was born in Holland and my mom is French and Hungarian. I have a very close connection with being Dutch because that is where my fathers entire side still lives. When people ask me what I am I say I'm mostly Dutch and then say French and Hungarian, but I do not feel any affinity to them. Then there is my sister who just got married and her husband has a background with 4-5 nationalities. With my sisters 3 and her husbands 4 their child may not feel a tie with one over another, and even more so with their own children. So after that ramble, I think that Canada is at a time of a divide and I agree with Najat's historical interpretation- Once a few hundred years go by and affinities with other places become so minimal (that is a big IF considering immigration is depended on so heavily for our population) there is the chance that Canada will become a point of reference like the other countries that have been established for hundreds, if not thousands of years.