by L.A. Mood Comics and Games

By Dan Brown

The United States of America doesn’t need Canada.

That might be true.

But in these tense times, a gentle reminder may be in order.

Such a reminder could help to repair the fractured relations between our two nations by listing all the ways Canada (through individual Canadians) has enriched American culture over the decades.

You can probably come up with your own list, so consider this one a starting point. 

It’s in no particular order.

*Mary Pickford: America’s Sweetheart was born in Toronto.

Hollywood’s first millionaire, she was one of the co-founders of the United Artists film studio, which was designed to be a haven for creative types where they didn’t have to answer to the studio bosses.

She also helped found the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which lives on to this day in the form of the Oscars. James Cameron, to name just one example, is a Canadian who followed in Pickford’s footsteps, becoming a modern-day titan in Tinseltown.

Imagine how many American jobs Canadians have created in Los Angeles!

*The SCTV gang: John Candy, Catherine O’Hara, Rick Moranis, and others.

They reflected a slightly skewed version of smalltown America – Melonville – back at American viewers, making them laugh and think about their own lives and institutions.

*Dan Aykroyd, the Kingston funnyman who was on a mission from God to save the blues.

The 1980 comedy the Blues Brothers came at a crucial time in the history of the blues, one of America’s truly original art forms. It helped to reignite interest in rhythm and blues music at a time when disco ruled. Aykroyd and his American partner John Belushi famously returned the royalties from their cover songs to the original artists, who had not been treated kindly by the record companies.

If not for Akyroyd and Belushi, who knows how music history would have turned out.

*James Naismith was born before Confederation and went on to be a McGill University educator before inventing basketball.

Arguably the second-most popular spectator sport in the United States, basketball has generated billions of dollars in revenues for U.S. individuals and companies – where would Nike be without hoops? 

Professional basketball has now grown into a business with a global presence, inspiring leagues around the world. 

*Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Tommy Chong, and others.

They all make America laugh, which is no small feat.

*Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. 

Yes, the Americans claim him, as do the Scottish, but let’s go ahead and lay claim to him anyway.

The cellphone – evolving through the decades off of Bell’s origins designs – is arguably the most-used, most important invention on the planet today. Canada had at least something to do with its inception.

*Justin Bieber was born in London and raised in Stratford, and went on to conquer the world of popular music at the beginning of this century!

And he’s still at it!

*Filmmaker Norman Jewison directed a long list of movies, becoming one of the most influential figures in 1970s America.

If you zero in on just one of those films, In the Heat of the Night, you can see how he helped bridge the racial divide in the United States at a time of high tension between black and white Americans. 

For that movie alone, he is surely owed some props. 

*Lorne Michaels is one of the most powerful people in show biz.

He took his idea for a late-night variety show to the TV powers-that be in the United States and turned it into an American cultural institution that has launched the careers of countless actors, writers and producers.

I would love for a business-type person to try to calculate the economic impact of more than 50 years of Saturday Night Live, including the movie spinoffs the series has spawned. 

Honorary mentions: Neil Young (ally to one side or the other of the political spectrum), Margaret Atwood (warned against a theocratic future America), Marshall McLuhan (visionary media thinker who came up with the term “global village.”), Celine Dion (what would Las Vegas be without her?).

When you look at a list like this, it’s hard not to conclude that Canada has had a bigger impact on the United States than any other country. Remember, the above are just a few examples. 

But who would you add? Leave your candidates in the comments!

Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 34 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly Graphic-Novel Group book club.