Of late, I have taken to administering a Canada quiz in an attempt to find out how much the students and professors know. “I don’t think they call it Canada,” one student said. “I think the right name is Canadian. That’s where the word Canadian comes from.” The head of one of the liberal-arts departments, when asked by me to name three of Canada’s ten provinces, replied “The only one I know for certain is Vancouver.”

The desire, even the intention to “go to Canada someday,” is widespread on campus.

“Which part of Canada do you plan to visit?” I ask. This invariably elicits a blank or quizzical or even disappointed look, as if it was the absolute homogeneity of the nebulous vastness known as Canada that in the first place made it seem worth visiting.

“We have provinces,” I say. “Each one of them is different.”

“You mean like we have different states?” is the dubious, I-think-my-leg-is-being-pulled reply.

“Yes,” I say.

I’m glad I decided to keep my house in Toronto and use my generous travel allowance to commute to it on weekends.