Like daughter, like dad: a Canadian blog story.

MY DAD, LOSE ON THE INTERNET.

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My dad is an opinionated man. He taught me everything I know about debating, arguing, and pontificating. He listens to talk radio, he’s always up on the latest politics, and generally he seems to have a working knowledge of just about anything you might want to discuss. My dad is the original Google.

So why it’s taken him this long to start up a blog, I do not know; but his subject matter is fitting, and so far, he’s off to a great start. The Canadian Defined is a blog about, well, just that: defining what ‘Canadian’ means. If you, yourself, are a Canadian, maybe you gave a little snort of laughter just now, as if to say, “What do you mean, define ‘Canadian’? It’s so obvious what Canadian is,” but I defy you to give a clear definition.

As a born-and-bred Canadian, my dad (Bill) has over 50 years of lived experience as a Canadian citizen. He’s worked as a photographer, a bicycle mechanic, a copper mine worker, and a business owner (of several businesses, actually). He was married to my mom at the same church his own parents were married, and three decades later, he and Mom are still very much in love. He’s experienced many Canadian things, from back bacon to social health care, and he’s lived everywhere from the nation’s capital to the backwoods of BC. And this man came up with the very poignant question: What is Canadian?

 THE BLOG, DEFINED

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The blog is quite new, with a handful of posts ranging from topics like poutine, to politicians. Bill sees this blog as being most valuable if it generates discussion, so he encourages you all to visit the blog regularly and comment on the posts. And then come back again, and comment on the comments. Together, we may actually succeed in sketching out a rough definition of what it means to be Canadian.

You non-Canadians are also welcome to partake; an outside perspective would likely help quite a bit.

I’m writing about The Canadian, Defined today partly because I’m just so darned proud of my dad and his new endeavour, but also because it’s been a time of reflection for me. Brian and I are frequently asked by people to help them get their social media/blog going, but there’s something really special about helping my own dad. It’s fun to share blogging wisdom with him, to show him the ropes and keep him out of trouble in the big scary world of the internet. Maybe it’s just a bit mindblowing that, for once (and only once) in my life, there’s something I know more about than he does.

Me and my dad.
And a really good pina colada.