The True A-Hole of Canada

When I was 18, I lived in Jasper, Alberta. It was very easy to be intoxicated by the mountains – they had such an obvious beauty and presence that was beyond what I had experienced growing up in Ontario. As things go at that age, I had an on-again off-again, barely existent yet emotional relationship with a guy from British Columbia. We had a conversation that I remember to this day, when he told me that he could not see a future with me as I was from Ontario, “the a-hole of Canada”. His words, not mine. He refused to have any part of my province and that was that. Being young and impressionable and loving the west at that time, I took what he said to be fair, even true. Many, many, years later, this conversation still comes to mind when I am hiking the Bruce Trail, riding my bike in Simcoe County, paddling in the Kawarthas, visiting friends in Muskoka, exploring the infinite beaches and lakes and quirky towns that exist here … the list goes on. Ontario is a beautiful, magical, year-round province that I am proud to call home. It is full of infinite gems, breathtaking scenery, calming geography, and more adventure than you know what to do with. I wish I could have told my 18 year-old-self to tell this guy who the real “a-hole of Canada” was.