I think I've definitely come to the conclusion that if you haven't grown up within the Maritimes of Canada, you don't see what I've always seen.
Go Canada GO!
You've always been a country to be proud of, if you haven't been a flag waver before now? I didn't see it. My Aunts and Uncles had Canadian Flags at their cottages all my childhood. My Grandma had red and white stones along her driveway, painted beach rocks leading the path to her door and her driveway. I guess one could argue it was a colour scheme that just happened, but why?why was it red and white? When I came back to Canada for a visit after living in the USA for 2yrs, my parents pulled out a flag. They hung it in front of my then 8month old son, so that he would know what a Canadian Flag looked like. They did worry we wouldn't teach him anything about Canada while we lived in the big USA. They sang Oh Canada to him while they rocked him. I guess some of that sunk in because I came back to Canada before my oldest started going to School. We felt the pull to come back to Canada. Maybe we came for the family or maybe we came for that deep down pride that's still within us to BE Canadian, Live Canadian and Bring up little Canadians. Sure there were days that I call the older two sons my little Americans but it's a dig for my family. My boys know they are Canadian, their citizenship cards say so! My youngest was born here.
The Schools here in New Brunswick are definitely full of Canadian Pride, you can see it when you walk in the doors, and you hear it when the kids sing their Oh Canada. My kids know the words, and it brings me back to my elementary School years when everyday in Nova Scotia started with Oh Canada. We live in a beautiful country, and I always have and always will be proud of my country, with or without Olympic Games in my very very very far off back yard.