I'd be wary of writing this country off. There are some scary and ugly things about it, but it remains a turbulently, explosively innovative place.

Politics isn't a reality show or a gong show. It's not show business for ugly people. It's the arena where we define our common life in a rough and ready contest that has winners and losers.

Canadians want a country. They don't want a community of communities. I'm committed to the national unity of the country.

I can't think of this country without Quebec. Je parle francais. And when I think about being a Canadian, speaking French is part of it.

Patriotism is strong nationalistic feeling for a country whose borders and whose legitimacy and whose ethnic composition is taken for granted.

Commerce has changed the ethics of citizenship and the incentives for national service. America now buys private contractors - we used to call them mercenaries - to do the country's fighting.