That's what Stompin' Tom called 'em:
Canada’s axis of talent and opportunity has long run north/south. Brain and comedian drain are known blights; every four years Canadians weep to see those hometown hockey players sold off to American franchises don the maple leaf for the Olympics. Developing a cultural identity is tricky when a country is pressed against the world’s greatest superpower. In the past this has contributed to what Lorne Michaels, a highly successful Canadian, has called “a kind of national self-loathing.” In an interview with Alec Baldwin last year, Michaels recalled approaching his boss, the then-head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, about a job offer that would take him to the States. “If you’re that good, why are you here?” his boss replied.
That might just be our national motto.
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