Youthful Canada en vogue

Canada's political scene is proving fruitful ground for study by academics. Canadian studies shows signs of being a major growth area for research.

There are 328 Canadian studies centres worldwide with about 7,000 academics. Thirty professors at a recent week of lectures put on by the Institute of Canadian Studies (ICS) at the University of Ottawa were enthusiastic at prospects for the discipline.

Some simply appreciate studying a country that is only 132 years old. "I suppose I was tired of Greece and all that old stuff," said classicist Massimo Rubboli, who heads a Canadian sttudies centre at Genoa University.

ICS director Chad Gaffield says Canada's changing identity makes it a ripe subject for study. Many of Canada's former defining features are fading: few British ties remain; its social programmes have been nudging towards a two tier system; and its federal-provincial power split is constantly under debate.

Dr Gaffield says academics are "interested in how we deal with ethnic diversity, healthcare and aboriginal issues."

A variety of academics was present, including a Romanian lecturer travelling across the country to learn more about the life of Leonard Cohen.