"And There's A Canadian Connection!"

I can sense from a mile away when that phrase is about to be used. And I say "mile" because it's the American part of me that does the sensing; Canadians don't seem to have a clue because the connection, whatever it is, genuinely matters to them.

What am I talking about? Why everything and anything, as long at it's something that shows Canada and/or Canadians matter in America, have influence, contribute, etc. The most recent example is the Canadian media mentioning the dress Michelle Obama is wearing on the cover of the current Vogue. "There's a Canadian connection," they say. Get this: the designer of the dress once lived in British Columbia for five years! In Canada, that's a kind of news.

This sort of thing is a regular Canadian practice. The Space Shuttle goes up and there's sure to be something about the "Canadarm" on it: "and the astronauts used the Canadarm, made right here in Canada, to fix the problem." Then, of course, there's always at least one Oscar-nominated movie that will elicit "...and there's a Canadian connection! Yes, the Assistant Gaffer went to summer camp in Kenora, Ontario, which he said was a crucial formative experience." I hardly exaggerate.

Canadians are compelled to look for their connections to those things that are hot/trendy/ successful in the States. I squirm whenever I encounter another example of Canada using the U.S. as its barometer of worthiness. "We're not worthy!" repeats Mike Myers character in his Wayne's World movies. The irony is that Myers, a Canadian comic who has made it big in the U.S. film industry and is therefore lionized up here, could only have created that refrain by drawing on his Canadian soul. "We're not worthy!" says Canada....but, well, if there's something happening in America with a Canadian connection, then just maybe we are worthy. Maybe. Then again, maybe not.