This blog is about being a Canadian American.

On the surface that may sound kind of redundant, seeing that the differences culturally can often blur. But for anyone who is both a Canadian and an American, there is a very real and distinct difference.

It becomes most apparent in the irony that when I am in Canada I am thought of by friends and family as being an American, while home in America I am the authority of all things Canadian. It can make for a strange kind of identity crisis that has even managed to migrate to my born in America (but still a registered Canadian) son.

I have to admit though that the ignorance levels are not altogether equal though (sadly). Frankly, the majority of Americans seem to be blissfully unaware of even the most simple facts about Canada (though I have also met many well informed Americans who would make the average Canadian look like a buffoon when it comes to world politics). That's not to say that Canadians are superior to Americans in any way. The reality is that Canadians are raised in the shadow of America and everything that goes along with that. "The Americans are our best friends whether we like it or not." said Social Credit Party member Robert Thompson during the early 1960s.

What it means is that Canadians have to pay a lot more attention to the giant who lives next door, for obvious reasons. Americans on the other hand almost seem to think that Canada is of little consequence -- which in reality is so far from the truth that it should send an Arctic chill up the average American spine.

You see I've been doing a little bit of research. And when you start to look at the numbers it becomes extremely apparent that there is no other country in the world that is more important to America than Canada. In fact, if America stopped doing trade with everybody except Canada, we would likely do okay. Take Canada out of the picture and you would have some pretty serious problems trade wise.

According to the CIA Factbook Canada accounted for 21.4% of all exports and 15.7% of all imports. The U.S. Census Bureau has a page that goes back month-by-month showing international trade information going back to 1998. I took a quick look at the trade totals going back through the 2009 until first part of 2007 and Canada was responsible for over half of all of the trade the U.S. does on a consistent basis. That's a lot of trade folks.

Oh, and nobody does oil with America like Canada does. Last year Canada accounted for almost 17% of oil and 18% of natural gas imports.

And according to the U.S. State Department, The United States and Canada share the largest energy trading relationship in the world.

So I think you can see my point about the importance of the Canadian/American experience.

Oh, and then there's the culture thing ...

Enough for now. I'll be back with some more stuff later.