ABSTRACT
Proponents of an ‘ever closer union’ of European states like to look towards the United States of America-perhaps dreaming of something like a ‘United States of Europe’. Canada, on the other hand, receives relatively little attention. This is unfortunate because the Canadian Confederation has much more in common with the EU than the US. While it is not always clear how well the idea of a ‘melting pot’ describes reality in the US, there are clearly no strong cultural and linguistic differences within the US that run along state borders and, in particular, English is the only official language of the nation. Canada, however, has a dominantly French-speaking province that is in many ways distinct from the rest of Canada. These differences go back to the time when Europeans settled Canada. So, Canada, just like Europe, has to cope with the integration of existing cultures. In the US, cultural diversity is based much more on immigration.1 This poses much less of a problem because immigrants are usually more prepared to accept the existing language and culture. Thus, when exploring blueprints for economic, monetary and possibly political union, I believe Europeans should look towards Canada rather than the US.
