Does Canada Exist?

One of the original proposed names for Monty Python’s Flying Circus was supposedly “Whither Canada?” This once comical question is now being asked sincerely and with increasing urgency — and not just by Canadians. For the declining fortunes of the United States’ northern neighbor have reached the point that they have generated unprecedented attention. After a long post-Cold War period of steady growth, Canada’s economy has flatlined, with median earnings falling below the poorest U.S. states. Things have gotten so bad that even The Economist has noticed.