The Washington post is surprised at all the recent changes in Canada. The article is full of crap, preconseptions and stereotypes but at least one quote is a good theory on what’s happening.
“What emerges,” writes Toronto-based author and pollster Michael Adams, “is a portrait of two nations evolving in unexpected directions: The once shy and deferential Canadians, who used to wait to be told by their betters what to do and how to think, have become more skeptical of traditional authority and more confident about their own personal decisions and informal arrangements. Americans, by contrast, seeking a little of the ‘peace and order’ that Canadians hoped ‘good government’ would provide, seem inclined to latch on to traditional institutional practices, beliefs, and norms as anchors in a national environment that is more intensely competitive, chaotic, and even violent.”
(via montreal weblog)