Member-only story
Why I’m Glad I live in Canada
It is not the land of milk and honey but its close as you can get.
I have lived in Canada since 1969. I moved here from New Zealand, a country that at the time was a socialist’s delight. There was compulsory unionism, heavily subsidized staples such as bread, milk, and butter and the country was fully reliant on Britain for its export market. Foreign currency was always in short supply and the only way for someone to buy a new car was by paying part of the cost in a common foreign currency such as US dollars or the British pound. Most of the cars on the road were British made. The exception was the Holden, a made in Australia vehicle manufactured through an agreement between the Australian government and GM.
When I decided to venture to North America my first choice was the US. When I was growing up, my family would receive copies of the US magazine Saturday Evening Post and I was fascinated by the advertisements for big cars with fins and chrome bumpers. Most British cars were small and very much utilitarian. American cars were luxury. There were adverts for television sets, blue jeans, leather jackets and cowboy boots, items in very short supply and very expensive in little old NZ.
