Western and Eastern Canada

     Canada is large and diverse, covering over nine million square kilometers of land. It is the world’s second largest country and is larger than all of Europe! Thirty-four million people are spread across this massive country; approximately ten and a half million live in Western Canada, including me. Western Canada is a culture of it’s own, and because we are so far away from “Central” and Eastern Canada, we often feel disconnected from the rest of the country. There are many differences between Western and Eastern Canada, but there are also many unifying similarities. Note: I will refer to all provinces east of Manitoba as Eastern Canada. 
     Western and Eastern Canada differ politically, historically and geographically, but one of the most notable differences is the amount of French language, history and culture. Eastern Canada had many French explorers and large Francophone communities, and even experienced French rule. This French culture is still strong in Eastern Canada, especially with Canada’s growing bilingualism. The amount of French influence in Western Canada is smaller and more isolated, historically because the western provinces were established after England came into power, and modernly because of the geographic distance from the Francophone communities in Eastern Canada (i.e. Quebec). Western Canada is more influenced by other cultures, and we have different types of diversity. For example, in British Columbia, our most western province, many more people speak Chinese than French, and the Chinese culture is more influential than the small Francophone culture there. Another example is my Albertan town, which is largely Ukrainian. Where I live, to be bilingual usually means being able to speak English and Ukrainian.
     Western and Eastern Canada are very similar as well. We share a common language – English. Even in Quebec almost half of the population speaks English. Both Western and Eastern Canada love the same sports, in particular hockey. All of the non-coastal regions of Canada suffer through cold winters, whether east or west. All regions of Canada are also united under a strong government. Canadian values are much the same - we value freedom, peace, and fairness, and like to help others. When you get to meet people from all over Canada, like I did in Ottawa at the youth program Encounters With Canada, you realize how much all Canadians have in common, and how superficial our differences are. We often tend to believe stereotypes about people from different provinces, but there are Liberals from Alberta, cool people from Saskatchewan, tolerant Francophones, and really nice people from Toronto.
     The differences between Western and Eastern Canada make our country more interesting and diverse. The western provinces have the Rocky Mountains and prairies, the eastern provinces have the Great Lakes and large Francophone communities, and the northern territories have the unique tundra. I think that Canadians from all regions could better appreciate what the other regions of Canada have to offer. Everything from sea to sea to sea shapes our country, making it the true north strong and free!