{"id":7702,"date":"2026-05-01T08:31:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T13:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/?p=7702"},"modified":"2026-05-01T08:31:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T13:31:29","slug":"turns-out-i-am-canadian-who-knew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/turns-out-i-am-canadian-who-knew\/","title":{"rendered":"Turns Out I Am Canadian. Who Knew?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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O Canada!<\/em>
\nOur home and native land!
\nTrue patriot love in all of us command.
\nWith glowing hearts we see thee rise,
\nThe True North strong and free!
\nFrom far and wide,
\nO Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
\nGod keep our land glorious and free!
\nO Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
\nO Canada, we stand on guard for thee.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One of my earliest childhood memories is visiting the Eastern Township of Quebec, where my great-grandmother, a tiny woman we called M\u00e9M\u00e9, lived near Sherbrooke. M\u00e9M\u00e9 spoke only French. Among the visiting cousins, the theory was that she knew English but refused to acknowledge it. This made communication difficult, since my French was limited to a few choice curse words one of my cousins taught me, like putain <\/em>and merde<\/em>. (You will have to look these up on your own.)<\/p>\n

But we got by.<\/p>\n

I recall visiting a relative\u2019s small pig farm near Sherbrooke and gazing at pigs and milk cows. My brother Scott caused great amusement by accidentally touching a hot wire on a fence. I also met a great-uncle who is now called a little person. Uncle Alex ran a bike shop, mainly repairing used bicycles. I come from a long line of short people.<\/p>\n

My maternal grandparents emigrated from Quebec in the 1920s, first to the Boston area and then to New Hampshire. Joseph Armand Ad\u00e9lard Bourque and Marie Catherine Hedwidge Provost had six children together. My mother was the second child and was born in Boston in 1930. By the time I arrived in 1955, both Grandpa and Grammy spoke fluent English with distinct French-Canadian accents, especially Grammy.<\/p>\n

I am attach\"\"<\/a>ed to my French-Canadian heritage with a dash or so of Mi\u2019kmaq (or Micmac) Indian heritage. That helps explain my short, stocky stature and dark (for a white guy) skin. My Beautiful Mystery Companion and I visited the Eastern Township four years ago and took a one-day tour of many of the sites featured in the books of famed murder mystery writer Louis Penny throughout the area. It was a lovely visit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I am very fond of Canada for many reasons and look forward to returning soon. Prime Minister Mark Carney is one of my favorite elected officials for standing up to President Orange Skin\u2019s outrageous and absurd claims that Canada should be the 51st<\/sup> state, by force if necessary. It would be helpful for POS to stop picking unnecessary fights, going to war, raising the price of just about everything in America, and spending billions of dollars \u2014 while obsessing over his gilded ballroom. Like many of us watching the nightmare of the past two POS terms, I have often found moving to Canada tempting, if unlikely.<\/p>\n

My interest was piqued when Scott texted my little brother Gregg and me a link and an explanation. Last Dec. 15, the Canadian government passed Bill C-3,\"\"<\/a> removing the so-called \u201cfirst-generation\u201d limit. Under that law, my late mother was also considered a Canadian citizen, even though she was born in Boston. But Canadian citizenship stopped with her. Now the law has changed. My brothers and I are now considered Canadian citizens from birth. O Canada!<\/em><\/p>\n

There is a catch, of course. We must apply for a Citizenship Certificate to formalize this status. To do so, we must obtain one of our Canadian grandparents\u2019 birth certificate or baptismal record, our mother\u2019s birth certificate, and our own. There will be red tape involved. I am on the case.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, I\u00a0can\u2019t even find my own<\/em> birth certificate. I downloaded the form from the N.H. Secretary of State\u2019s office. That one will come by snail mail. As for my mother\u2019s and my grandparents\u2019 records, I am doing considerable online sleuthing. My mother was born 92 years ago; my grandparents, in 1905 and 1907. (Yes, I\u2019m old.) I have been burning up the email circuit, sending out inquiries, querying AI apps, trying to figure it out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Finally, I signed up for a free trial subscription to Ancestry.com\u2019s worldwide edition, which I plan to cancel before the two-week period ends. Within a few minutes, I found the digitized baptismal records for both of our maternal grandparents. Grammy Bourque was baptized on June 29, 1907, at the St-Magloire church in Bellechase, Quebec. Grampa Bourque was baptized at the Sr-Stanislas-Kostka church in Ascot Corner, Quebec, on Aug. 22, 1905. Ascot Corner is a few miles northeast of Sherbrooke. (Side note: My birthday is the next day. Daughter Kasey\u2019s is the day after that.)<\/p>\n

We do not plan to move to Canada, but it would be nice to be able to stay for extended visits, especially during the Texas summer. It is comforting to know that, depending on the bureaucracy and our health, we may have an option if things really deteriorate down here. I don\u2019t expect that to happen, but it is wearying to wake up each morning wondering what fresh hell awaits us.<\/p>\n

O, Canada!<\/em><\/p>\n

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