Canadian proposal

With the bank collapse and revelations of 18 years of problematic government, Iceland is seriously considering a number of radical changes. 

This caught the attention of some people in Canada, according to the news here, such that some recent op. ed. pieces in a major Canadian newspaper were discussing whether or not Canada should make Iceland one of its provinces. This seemed to me like it might strike an emotional cord for Icelanders, since they feel a definite affinity for Canada. Both are similar countries in terms of their northern latitude and wide-open spaces, and there are historic ties, not only the Gimli settlement but also going back 1000 years to the Viking settlement on Newfoundland Island. Iceland, I think, likes Canada an awful lot, feels comfortable with Canada. So I was surprised that the immediate response here was "no way would we do the same thing Newfoundland did," when it chose to become a province of Canada in 1949-50. 

The wider context for this discussion is of course the looming, and ever growing, probability that Iceland will join the European Union. There are very good historic reasons for this too to make sense, since Iceland culturally has been part of Europe for almost a thousand years. But in another sense, Iceland is a very different type of country than other European countries: much less crowded, much less multicultural, much less industrial. Iceland will always be the northern fringe of Europe, a sign of the breadth of its embrace, and not the homogeneity of its members. 

In other words, Canada fits Iceland's identity of itself maybe a bit better than the EU does. So why is there no serious discussion of the Canadian proposal here in Iceland? Well, certainly it doesn't seem to be a very well-thought-out proposal, it has just been casually bantered about in the newspapers. And Icelanders probably also realize that identities are subject to constant change.

But it is in fact the nature of the relationship that makes it out of the question; clearly Iceland would loose any semblance of being an independent nation if they become a province of Canada, and they have the clear example of Newfoundland to prove that point. On the other hand, the EU is offering Iceland to retain its nation status, and moreover to give a very small country the same power as much larger countries. Iceland gains authority by joining the EU, it does not loose it. And I have a feeling Icelanders like that idea better.