Born and raised in Toronto. Went to Michael Power HS and U of Guelph - graduated in 1980. Worked for Quaker Oats for 13 years in Toronto, Vancouver, Peterborough, Halifax, and back to Toronto. VP of BestFoods Canada. Left to help start up Ironman North America in Lake Placid, NY in 1999. Moved to Boulder, CO in 2004, and started my own company - CEO Challenges in 2005 in Boulder - now the world leader in sport competitions for CEOs.

Met my wife at U of Guelph, we have been married for 28 years. Daughter, 24, works full time for CEO Challenges. Another daughter, 21, goes to Colo State U (Fashion Merchandising), and son, 18, is traveling before going to University in the Fall (maybe U Vic).

Ted K., Boulder CO
January 12, 2010
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I came to the U.S. about 5 years ago for a sales position with a company based in South Dakota. Since then I have changed sales jobs and now work for a Biotech company which is based in San Diego, CA. This company specializes in enzymes and I sell enzymes specifically to ethanol plants. I still live in South Dakota, but my sales territory is 3 1/2 states. I am lucky in the fact that I can still drive home, it takes me about 8 hours to drive to my family's farm in Manitoba. I enjoy being apart of the biotech industry and am watching with interest the ethanol industry's developments in Canada.

Tamila F., Brookings SD, Manitoba
January 12, 2010
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I was born and raised throughout Ontario. My father worked for the MNR so we moved often but always within the province. After marrying very young and having 3 wonderful boys, the marriage deteriorated. I travelled quite a bit for my job with many International and US contacts. I eventually was introduced to a beautiful Coloradan through one of my contacts. We dated long distance for 4 years and I eventually decided to make the move here in mid 2008. We are married now and I am a permanent resident here in Colorado. I love it here, but I miss home a lot. A paperwork error prevented me from leaving the country until my 485 was approved and I will be going home for Christmas this year!

Dan T., Westminster CO
January 12, 2010
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I am a proud Canadian Citizen. As a Torontonian, I absolutely love and miss my country, particularly Toronto. I moved to Chicago one month after 9/11, and it took me some time adjusting with American culture. I enjoyed living in Chicago but I met my husband who is an American Citizen who has lived in Lexington KY for over 30 years, and I moved to Lexington KY shortly after. I like Kentucky. It is a pretty state, but it is not Canada. I miss the crisp breeze, smell of Tim Horton coffee, TTC, Bike trails, mixed vibrant crowd, Canadian crafts, hip restaurants, and wealth of cultural exposure and events. I hope that one day I can go back and live in my beautiful Canada.

Fariba T., Lexington KY
January 12, 2010
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My wife and I are dual citizens, my dad was from Winnipeg and my wife's dad was born in Toronto. We were born in Los Angeles, California, a long way from the great white north !. I was employed by the charter division of Canadian Airlines and worked at Palm Springs Airport. We have been lucky enough to travel through Canada from Vancouver to the Maritimes.

We have met some really great people and always feel "at home" in Canada. We are in the process of obtaining our Canadian citizenship certificates and plan to relocate to Vancouver in the next few years. My employer has branches in Canada and my wife is in the medical field. We have a 13 year old daughter and want her to grow up in a more realistic atmosphere.

Stewart R., Las Vegas NV
January 12, 2010
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I was born in Ottawa, but was moved to Los Angeles when I was 9 years old. Both my parents were Canadians but during the immigration process it was discovered that my maternal grandfather was from northern Michigan.

We moved back to Ottawa where I went to college, married and moved to Saskatoon. Then moved to Ontario - London, Caledon and Alton.

I came back to the US in 1990 and lived in New Jersey, St. Louis and now Florida. I am a real estate broker and have been able to help many fellow Canadians purchase their piece of paradise.

Louise S., Boca Raton FL, Ontario
December 4, 2009
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Originally from Toronto, I moved to Virginia in 2005 when my American husband and I decided to get married. I love the weather here, and I like that Spring starts early; but I will always miss my Canada. I go up to Toronto about once a year and while I'm there I make sure to get my fill of all things Canadian ... Ketchup potato chips, Smarties, a weekend at the cottage, Roots, Tim Horton's, CBC, CityTV, and the list goes on ...

Carole H., Sterling VA, Ontario
December 4, 2009
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I'm originally from Ottawa, moved down to Southern California almost 8 years ago. My favorite hockey team is The Senators. I had the Stanley Cup experience of a lifetime: June 6th, 2007 Game 5 - I think I am the only person (not players) from Ottawa holding the Stanley Cup that night. I sent this photo back to my family & friends in Ottawa that night, they were amazed but still depressed over the loss.

Phil G., Newport Coast CA, Ontario
December 4, 2009
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Last night I attended the a reception in Los Angeles to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the National Film Board. Although I've been living here, working as a producer and writer for 25 years, I'd always thought of myself as a Canadian by origin, adventurer immigrant to the U.S. by identity.

Recently, some important milestones in my life solidified my standing as a person with feet firmly in two countries. In 2010 my novel, ¿House of Northern Lights¿, which takes place in British Columbia, will be published and the process of writing it reawakened a connection to my homeland. It helped me to understand the deeper meaning of my place in the world as a Canadian, and how this perspective differs from the American one.

When I came to the NFB event last night, I met many other ex-pats who were in the entertainment industry. Hearing their stories (and the familiar cultural markers of being a Canadian), I realized that, except for regular visits home to visit family, I'd taken my roots for granted. It was an emotional moment for me, a realization that I really did want to keep my connection to Canadian culture, history, politics, and the arts, as current and vibrant as I could. I met our Counsel General, David Fransen, at the reception, who encouraged me to join ¿Canadians Abroad¿. This I did, today.

In a significant way, it was an acceptance that I had come to California to stay, and that I wasn't going back to Toronto to work, marry and raise a family, as I once thought. I've done all this here, and my family is bi-cultural because of my immigrant status, something I must keep alive for my daughter. There are so many important differences between Canadian and U.S. culture, and it's time for me to explore and embody them more actively, to step out of the invisible plane of cultural anonymity, into a place where I can champion and embrace all that it is to be Canadian.

Valen W., San Pedro CA, Ontario
December 3, 2009
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My name is Amanda, and I live in Boston, Massachusetts. I was born in California and moved to Nova Scotia with my American parents when I was a wee little one - four-years-old. We lived on a farm in the wilds of Nova Scotia without electricity for years. Eventually we modernized the farm little by little. My father still lives there - in the same house I was raised in - in what I still consider to be my home.

I left Nova Scotia for the first time to attend two years of high school in the 1980's. After high school I returned to Canada to attend McGill. In 1993 I graduated from McGill and moved to New England to find work.

I've been living here in the US since 1993. In many ways the US has been good to me. I've always had work, I earned a graduate degree in Library and Information Studies at Simmons College in Boston. I've advanced in my career, and I am now managing a law firm library at a large, international law firm in Boston. But in my heart I am, and always will be, a girl from Pictou County, Nova Scotia.

In my heart I will always be a Canadian. I miss the sense of community I grew up with. I visit my brother and his children in Montreal whenever I can. Last summer I went there on summer vacation, and I just walked and walked in the city for hours and hours each day ... drinking in the arts everywhere - in music, in fashion, in murals on the walls of buildings, gardens, public spaces. I miss my home very much, but I know that I will return within the next few years.

Amanda M., South Boston MA, Nova Scotia
December 3, 2009
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