I think there are quite a few vital reasons for Canadian interest in US politics, economics foremost among them. Some of those reasons are shared with the rest of the world (see above) but for Canada, it's never been a matter of choice. It's more a matter of geography.

There are MANY things that have happened in the US that I'm very grateful did not happen here 10 years later! However, Canada is affected in some way or another by major US events, be they positive or negative. For example, one of the oldest historic buildings in my area is a tiny wooden church built by runaway slaves who'd fled to Canada via the "underground railway" after the Civil War.

Come to think of it, who were the first permanent white settlers in Ontario (or "Upper Canada" as it was called before Confederation)? None other than the *United Empire Loyalists* - the English who'd escaped north after the American revolution! ANd that's just how "connected" we really are.

daylia