Random post about comedy and parliament in Canada

I found an amazing video from one of my favourite comedian's posted on my friend Groomsmen Greg's blog (a home improvement blog about his and his girl-friend, my maid of honour, Jocelyn's house).


Rick Mercer is an incredibly smart man who satirizes Canadians, Americans, politicians and anyone & everyone else. This video contains a very real lesson on the Canadian parliament. It's about a year and a half old (as you'll see with the reference to George Bush as the U.S. President). Canadian comedians enjoy much more intimacy with our politicians than our American neighbours do. For example, would this ever happen in ths U.S.:



(Yes, it really happened to our current prime minister.)

Want proof this is the norm? Here's our former prime minister (when he was prime minister) announcing his retirement at a news conference, when a cast member from the same show as above intervenes:

More recaps tonight ... or tomorrow at the latest ... I promise!

Okay, so I'm supposed to be working right now. (Shhh ... I'm not.) But I read Professional Bridesmaid's shout out to Canadian (or Commonwealth) bloggers and found an amazing video posted on A little birdie weds. I had to share it:


And while you're amazed by this video (I am!), go to Professional Bridesmaid's latest post and check her shout outs. These are some seriously amazing Canadian bloggers (Professional Bridesmaid included).

(Yeah, I know - so how did I make the list? :)

Canada Day Answers

Here are the answers:

1) Who was our first prime minister? Sir John A. MacDonald. He governed out of my hometown, because my hometown was Canada's first capital. It's now Ottawa, but it was here!

2) What does Canada Day commemorate? Canadian Confederation, when the Dominion of Canada was formed by the joining of PEI, Nova Scotia, Ontario (formerly Upper Canada up to this point) and Quebec (formerly Lower Canada up to this point)

3) What part of the Canadian Constitution protects our rights and freedoms? The Charter of Rights & Freedoms.

4) What is the slogan of our constituion?
(b) Peace, order and good government
(Note: From sea to sea ("A mari usque ad mare") is our "motto".)

5) In what year was Confederation? (Bonus if you can name where it occurred.) 1867 in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

6) Who is our CURRENT head of state? Queen Elizabeth II (although she doesn't do much, and we're really governed by our prime minister, she's officially our head.)

7) In what decade of the 20th century were Canadian women first given the right to vote? 1910s (I had to look this up.) We weren't the first (New Zealand was), but we also weren't by any means the last.

8) Which of the following chains is Canadian-owned?
(c) The Second Cup
*Until about two years ago, LaSenza was Canadian owned, but is now owned by Victoria's Secret. The Hudson's Bay Company, which is something like 400 years old, is no longer owned by a Canadian. Laura Secord, while a Canadian chocolatier, is no longer Canadian owned. Tim Hortons is owned by Wendy's, although there's speculation a Canadian may buy it back. As of Canada Day 2009, The Second Cup is the only Canadian company still owned by Canadians.

9) In what year did the most recent province join Canada? 1949, when Newfoundland joined us.

10) In what year did the most recent territory form in Canada? 1999 (I thought it was 1995, but it turns out that was when they decided they were going to form Nunavut, but it wasn't formed actually formed until 1999.)

Happy (slightly early) Independence Day to you Americans out there!

Happy Canada Day!

Today was a holiday for Canadians. I will repeat the quiz I put on her on Canada Day last year:

As a random trivia, can you answer these questions on Canada Day:

1) Who was our first prime minister?

2) What does Canada Day commemorate?

3) What part of the Canadian Constitution protects our rights and freedoms?

4) What is the slogan of our constituion?
(a) Liberty, equality, fraternity
(b) Peace, order and good government
(c) Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
(d) From sea to sea ("A mari usque ad mare")

5) In what year was Confederation? (Bonus if you can name where it occurred)

6) Who is our CURRENT head of state?

7) In what decade of the 20th century were Canadian women first given the right to vote?

8) Which of the following chains is Canadian-owned?
(a) The Hudson's Bay Company ("The Bay")
(b) Laura Secord
(c) The Second Cup
(d) Tim Hortons
*Note: up until about two years ago, LaSenza was Canadian owned, but is now owned by Victoria's Secret.

9) In what year did the most recent province join Canada?

10) In what year did the most recent territory form in Canada?

"A place stand, a place to grow, Ontario, ari, ari-o!"

All Ontarians can sing the above song. It's a requirement of living here.

Tonight, I was busy blog-stalking and watching tv (go Rick Mercer) in a hotel in Sault Ste Marie (about 950 km or nearly 600 mi from my hometown). Both cities are in Ontario, by the way. Ontario's a big province. I was thinking of how big it is, when that song got stuck in my head. Google "Ontario ari ario" and you can find the song on you-tube. Editorial note: I never said it's a good song, just a catchy one that gets stuck in your head.

So, I'm going to post some information on Ontario, and Canada.

Ontario is big. Over one million square kilometres big. 1,076,395 km2 or 415,598 sq mi, to be exact. That's bigger than your province. Unless you also live in Ontario. Or Québec. La Belle Province is bigger (1,542,056 km2 or 595,391 sq mi).

However, Ontario is bigger than some countries. Like France. Or Spain. France and Spain together is slightly bigger than Ontario. Go ahead, look up the areas on wikipedia. I'll be here.

Believe me? :) Ontario's that big.

Canada is the home of many great things, including Mike Meyers, The Guess Who, Martin Short, Avril Lavigne, Leslie Neilsen, Alanis Morisette, Donald Sutherland and his son Kiefer. Yep. That's just the short list*. I left out the really famous ones, like Blackberry cell phones and Winnie the Pooh.

Oh - you didn't know Winne the Pooh is Canadian? Well, we Canadians have a source of pride called the Heritage Minute. These Heritage Minutes are how the average Canadian is educated about our history, through commercials.

Click here for the story of Winnie the Pooh, famous Canadian bear.

*If you want more information on Canadian actors, just google Canadian actors. Or Canadian comedians. Or Canadian singers. Or Canadian bands. Yes, there's wikipedia articles on each of those topics. I'm sure it was written by Canadians. We're modest that way.