I’ve lived in a small town in the Saskatchewan prairies for my entire life and no matter where the future takes me, I’m sure that the lush Qu’Appelle Valley and the endless farmland fields will always feel like home. But while I may have always lived in the same small town (and even in the same house), I’ve had the opportunity to see so much more of Canada over the years. I’ll always be a Saskatchewan woman at heart, but being Canadian means so much more to me.

In fact, since I was a child, I’ve loved the mountains and forests of British Columbia almost as much as I love the fields of Saskatchewan. My mother was raised in B.C. and most of her family still calls the province home. As a youngster, road trips to visit my aunts, uncles and cousins were a must every summer. And while connecting with family was fabulous, the landscape was just as wonderful to me. On every trip we used to spend at least a few days camping on the private family beach. Waking up to go for a swim in the crystal clear lake and then wandering the forest picking wild blackberries is one of my fondest memories.

As I grew older, I had the chance to see a different side of Canada as well: the urban side! Saskatchewan is very much a rural province and I remember how shocked I was to learn that the population of the city of Toronto was 2.5 times bigger than my entire home province! While the number of people in the city overwhelmed me at first, I soon fell in love with the art and culture of the city. The diversity of Toronto is like a living testament to the diversity of Canada itself! [Read more…]