Canada has a weird promotional system going. Be it music, television or books, there is no release of a Canadian work that doesn't seem to have a Made In Canada stamp on it somewhere. Maybe this is because of the Canadian Content regulations in television and radio, but I think it's the same for books as well

See, I have very clear memories of knowing exactly when I was reading a Canadian novel. I think my first introduction to a Canadian author came at a young age. He wrote children's books. A series that turned popular. He still writes now, but he ended up doing the thing that most successful Canadians end up doing. That writer was Gordon Korman, and he eventually made the leap to the States. I think he ended up moving to NYC, if I'm not mistaken.

Let's face it, we Canadians are faced with an onslaught of Americanism. American TV, American music, American everything. What Canadian doesn't know more about American celebrities than Canadian celebrities? Are there even any Canadian celebrities? I don't think so, because once they get famous enough, they usually end up living in the very country that made them famous in the first place, The U.S.

Maybe I'm being a little too hard on our Canadian entertainers. I mean, The Barenaked Ladies are still residing here in Ontario, the last that I heard. So is Corey Hart. Again, the last that I heard.
But everyone else seems to have headed south, once their careers started taking off. Do I blame them? Hell no. Because, for the very famous of Canadians, like Jim Carrey, Wayne Gretzky, Celine Dion, etc., etc., they made the most of their career because of the support of all you lovely Americans. Don't get me wrong. I think it's a hard thing to do, to be talented, successful, and have star power, and maybe they've had to work twice as hard to succeed because of where they came from.

I guess, I just feel a little downhearted thinking that I'd have more of a chance in running into some American celebrity who is filming up here, or at the Toronto Film Festival or even up at Whistler, than meeting one of our very own, nowadays. Sometimes it feels as if I would have to go to the States to do just that.