Canadians love Obama.

During the 2008 Canadian election, there were Obama for Prime Minister t-shirts and Canadians took to the frozen streets in celebration when Obama won the election. and it’s not that Canadians are just so interested in politics that they watch elections in other nations either. Canadians don’t care about their own politics; only 59.1% of Canadians turned out to vote in the country’s last election. It was the lowest voter turnout in history. But that Canadian apathy did not spread into US politics. Nope, Canadians held parties to celebrate the US election.

But why?

Could it be that Obama’s message of hope and his ability to inspire people stretched across the border and into the Great White North? Could it be that the influence of American culture has caused Canadians to identify more with their neighbours to the south than their own people? Or could it be the fact that the US only has one election every four years, while Canada has had three in the same four-year period?

Whatever the reason, a good way to get a Canadian talking about politics is to mention something about Obama. It doesn’t even have to be his policies. Just mention the words “Yes We Can” and a Canadian is interested. From there you are likely to hear about how inspiring Obama is and how there isn’t anyone in Canadians politics like him. Then you’ll almost inevitably hear that fateful phrase, “I wish I could have voted for Obama” and you’ll know that you’ve found a Canadian.

All Obama needs to do to win the next election is to convince some of those Canadians to head south. Canadians don’t even have to move very far. There are states on the Canadian-American border that could use some additional Obama supporters. States like North Dakota, Montana and Idaho were won by John McCain in 2008, but they could belong to Obama in 2012 if enough Canadians settle there. Liberals don’t stand a chance in the Canadian west anyway, so why not shift those votes south and support Obama? Then it would become even easier to spot a Canadian. Just look for the guy in the Obama shirt in Lemhi County, Idaho (where 76.6% of people voted for John McCain) and he’ll be a Canadian.