Oh, Canada, if only we’d known.
All these years, we’ve been nursing our national inferiority complex, constantly overshadowed by our larger, older, more outgoing sibling to the south.
In the way of smaller siblings everywhere, we’ve struggled to make the world see that we’re a fully fledged grown-up country, too.
For a while there, we seemed to be making some headway, carving out a reputation for ourselves as one of the world’s most livable, forward-thinking and compassionate nations: small in population, vast in geography and vaster still in heart.
Then along came a government that, bit by bit, began to erode that reputation, and we trembled. Without our international image as quiet leaders on issues such as climate change and peacekeeping, what did we have left? Who could we be? Would we never find a way to make everyone take notice of us, way up here north of the 49th parallel?
Turned out it wasn’t that hard to get the world’s attention after all.
All we had to do was elect a new prime minister. Preferably one with shiny, flowing hair and a penchant for posing shirtless.
Yup. Justin Trudeau has burst onto the world scene with unprecedented fanfare, as headlines all over the world spell out their fascination with the 43-year-old prime minister designate.
“The votes are in and Canada has come out of its election with a super hot new leader,” proclaimed the Australian news site news.com.au. Or how about Mashable, trumpeting the ever-so-subtle message: “Canada’s hot new prime minister has the Internet sweating maple syrup.”
What’s that you say? Everybody’s talking about his looks and nobody’s talking about what he stands for?
Well, duh. In this social media-driven world of ours, we really couldn’t have expected anything less.
But we’re choosing to take the stance that all attention is good attention.
Sure, maybe today Twitter only cares about the fact that our new PM bears a somewhat uncanny resemblance to Prince Eric of Disney’s Little Mermaid.
But the fact is, Trudeau has the world’s attention.
If only for a brief and shining moment, he’s managed to steal the spotlight away from Barack Obama and turn the world’s eyes to us – yes, quiet, unassuming little Canada, up here just minding our own business and secretly gloating that we just became the cool kid on the playground.
Now it’s up to Trudeau to use our new-found power for good.
Go for it, Mr. Trudeau. We’re with you all the way.
