Originally posted by: Firsttime
We're part of the Commonwealth just like Austrailia, we are 100% independent and under no obligation to Great Britan what so-ever as represented in our absence from Iraq. However we didn't really achive this state of whatever you want to call it till the 70's.
technically, our head of state is the Queen and her representative in canada the governor general, however, that's something which is a hold-over from commonwealth days and any legislation is simply rubber-stamped by the GG (who has the power, technically, to overturn it)
from the outside it does look like we hold rather strong commonwealth roots but truly canadians are rather split on whether the monarchy is a positive or negative factor in canadian politics. There are definately perks to being a commonwealth country - parliamentary system, common law, shared ties with other commonwealth nations; it really all adds up to a rather complete picture of where canada came from; not where it is heading.
it's nice to be an independant nation; just as the united states is. Think of canada as the older brother who still talks to its parents after recieving an education while the little brother US ran away at 16 and never calls home - both are from the same origins, just one prefers to have a modified identity than its parents rather than rebel and start a radically different one.
why does the US use an Imperial system (like the UK) while Canada is metric? answer me that!
