[quote=@Vilageidiotx]
I have heard stuff like that from other parts of the Commonwealth, and I admit it's something my Americaness makes impossible for me to wrap my head around. Like, the thing you are most proud of is another country's tourist attraction? And why would take pride in the fact you used to not even be a country? It's a little depressing. I mean, come on Canada, you can do stuff for yourself now. Put poutine on the Canadian dollar! That's yours. You made it. Take a little pride in yourselves. You won't be in the history books 1000 years down the line with an attitude like that.

[/quote]

I get where you're coming from. It might make more sense if you think of the Queen as being part of Canadian culture. Part of our national pride comes from being a subject of the British Crown. The Queen is to the average Canadian, what the hamburger is to the average American. Both come from a different country (Germany, in the case of the hamburger), but both are a distinct part of the nation's identity. Or what about Christopher Columbus? He was Italian, not American. Americans find their identity in being unlike the rest of the world. Canadians find their identity in exactly the opposite way, by having the culture of the world contained within our borders, and by believing that the strength of the British Empire is still behind us.

Plus, our laws kind of reinforce the practice. New immigrants still have to swear an oath of lifelong servitude to the Queen, before they're allowed into the country (lol, tell that to all those butthurt Democrats, threatening to move to Canada if Trump wins).

Also, it's hard to explain what a huge chip Canada has on its shoulder, about not being like America. Being American is almost a bad word up here, depending on who's using it. If the Queen makes us less like America, that's enough of a reason right there, for a lot of people. In fact, the whole notion of national pride, as Americans do it, is kind-of considered un-Canadian. If we had a politician come into the spotlight, shouting "Canada first. Make Canada great again", he'd be laughed off the stage. We don't do that up here. Being so in-your-face is too American to be Canadian, if you know what I mean.

Edit: Don't get me wrong, I wish we were a bit more American with our display of national pride, but we just aren't. We take pride in being modest about our national pride (unless it makes America look bad, then we love pointing it out).