These awful Canadians spirited the 1960s into the 21st Century

The 1960s get a bum rap, here in 21st-century Canada. All those awful Boomers who came of age back then have destroyed the economy, the housing market, job prospects, let’s just say the whole shebang. But just imagine where we might be if the international “counter-culture” that emerged in the Sixties had never happened. With…

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Five Canada Day lessons: Sometimes you have to lie to your mother

With Canada Day looming, I’ve been revisiting my book 50 Canadians Who Changed the World.  A cursory inspection reminds me that these outstanding individuals have a lot to teach the rest of us.  1. Don’t be afraid to wade in a swamp.  Because, as a boy, he felt like an outsider, David Suzuki took refuge in nature: “My…

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Departure Day: Ocean-to-Ocean with 50 Canadians

Later today, Sheena and I embark on a VIA-Rail journey that will extend from ocean to ocean, Pacific to Atlantic, Toronto to Vancouver to Halifax. The above photo, shot a couple of weeks back, finds us on the east coast of Orkney with the North Sea behind us. But the North Sea adjoins the Atlantic,…

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