Back to Canada

I flew back to Canada from Newfoundland today.

Sound like an odd thing to say? One of the guys I worked with this week refers to "Canada" as if it was a foreign country, not associated with Newfoundland. I asked him what he might do on his next vacation. "Go shooting (photographing) somewhere, or maybe go to Canada for a few days," he said.

I've spent two work weeks out of the past month in Newfoundland. Five days each in St. John's and Corner Brook. Just got back from Corner Brook today. I've learned some interesting things about Newfoundlanders in that time. I love Newfoundland and Newfoundlanders, but some of the stuff I've learned has made me feel a little better about my decision not to go and work there.

I'd always thought of Newfoundlanders as a very hardy, down-to-earth kind of people who don't concern themselves overmuch with what other people think of them. Admirable people. Proud to be Newfoundlanders...and rightly so, I've always thought. But recently I've encountered a different kind of Newfoundlander. Newfoundlanders who resent being referred to as "Newfies" or "Newfs" and who consider themselves very much separate from the rest of this country (despite the physical reality of being an island).

The "Newfie" issue I can almost understand...reluctantly. I've always used the term in an affectionate, admiring way. I'd had no idea till recently that some Newfoundlanders (damn that's a long word!) dislike it, and was extremely surprised when I found out. And I found out the hard way - by using the word around someone who dislikes it. Got scolded for it and have never used it since. Just this past week, I encountered another person who dislikes it. He dislikes it so much that he at first said that, to him, the term is comparable to "n*gger."

Picture my mouth dropping open and my eyes popping out when I heard that!

Okay -- he amended his comment to say it's more like people calling French people "frogs." Even so...that's a pretty strong sentiment.

And the same fellow is the one who seems to consider Newfoundland not part of Canada. That's the thing that made me feel I made the right choice not to go live there. As much as I love the place and its people, I don't want to live somewhere in this country where they don't like to to think of themselves as Canadians.

This is so, so sad to me.

In my opinion, Newfoundland is the best part of this country. The most beautiful, the most culturally interesting and unique, with the best BEST people you'll find anywhere in Canada. The men are absolutely delicious -- real men, not "sensitive new-age guys". The women are tough and have both feet on the ground. I can't express how proud I am to be able to say I'm part Newfoundlander.

Am I naive to think that when people imitate Newfoundland accents, they're laughing WITH Newfoundlanders and not AT them? Am I naive to think that Newfoundlanders should be proud to be Canadians (even if they think of themselves as Newfoundlanders first)? Am I naive to think Newfoundland is better off as part of Canada than they would have been as a far-flung part of the British empire?

I guess I'm a little hurt. I'm a Canadian first, above all things. I don't consider myself an Ontarian, or an Ottawan (or whatever place I might be living at the time). I. Am. Canadian. Proudly so. I'm more hurt to learn of this Newfoundland betrayal than I ever would be by Quebec's desire to leave. Let Quebec go if they dislike us so much. See ya. Sayanara baby.

But Newfoundland? No! They're part of us. Somehow they're more Canadian than anyone else in this coutry, even though they've only been part of us for 60 years. We love them. And it hurts to find out that some of them don't love us back.