Villamere

This quirky ode to a quirky land is a humorous nostalgia trip and a fun Canadian history lesson couched in a hipster quiz book.

If you’ve ever wondered

• Why is the inuksuk more revered than Wheelchair Jimmy?
• Does the iconic beaver really represent us better than The Littlest Hobo?
• Is everyone going canoeing without me or is canoeing way less of a thing than it’s made out to be?

then this book is for you.

Is Canada even real? It’s a question that’s being asked more and more, thanks to our waterproof, see-through, supposedly maple-scented currency and our improbably hot prime minister’s assertion that Santa lives here.

In the age of Google Maps and #factcheck, how could the existence of Canada be questioned? And yet how could a nation that’s the home of toboggans, Drake, and KD exist in the same realm as, say, Belgium or Niger?

Is Canada Even Real? examines the cultural factors behind the twenty-first-century monolithic myth of Canada, a nation that is lovable and real — if only in your imagination.