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What Canada's founders thought of the United States

Tristin Hopper: Canada’s creators admired and respected their southern neighbour, and sought their own country in part because they thought they could build a better version

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In a landmark 1864 speech, Sir John A. Macdonald, the future first prime minister of Canada, admonished listeners who might be inclined to see the neighbouring United States as a “failure.”

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“On the contrary, I consider it a marvellous exhibition of human wisdom,” said Macdonald. “It was as perfect as human wisdom could make it.”

What Canada's founders thought of the United States Back to video

Macdonald would of course come to be the central figure in the creation of Canada, a country whose entire purpose was to prevent the top half of North America from becoming the United States.

Despite this, there’s little if any America hate to be found in the various speeches, letters and debates that led to Canada’s founding. On the contrary, Canada’s creators admired and respected their southern neighbour, and sought their own country in part because they thought they could build a better version.

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