As rebellious as possible, under the circumstances

In 1775 Britain's 14 colonies were in open revolt. The following year 13 had formed their own nation, but Britain managed to suppress the uprising in the 14th colony, Nova Scotia.

Forget the over-hyped War of 1812. This was the hour that Canada came a few whiskers away from being snuffed out long before it even existed.

It's one of the most crucial moments in our history, but almost no Canadians know about it today. Governments will never celebrate the event because it's not exactly glorious. Yet more people should know this story because it gives us insight into our psyche; our weird, conflicted psyche.

In Halifax: Warden of the North, Thomas Raddall sums up the time in one stark, eye-opening paragraph (emphasis his):

Nova Scotia, the fourteenth colony, then comprised the whole of the Maritime Provinces. The Province of Quebec was almost utterly French, conquered only 16 years before and held in submission by the British garrison in Quebec citadel. There was nothing west of Montreal but a wilderness inhabited by Indians and a scatter of trappers and traders. Thus Nova Scotia was the key to all Canada; its ports commanded the approach to the St. Lawrence all the way from Cape Breton to Gaspé and it was the only English-speaking part of the whole country. Had the Nova Scotians thrown in their lot with their fellow Americans in 1776 the war must have ended with the complete disappearance of the British Flag from North America. [p73]

Leading up to the American Revolution, Halifax was in many ways an extension of New England. The census of the towns 3,000 or so residents in 1767 lists 52 Scots, 200 Acadians, 264 "Germans and other foreigners," 302 English, 853 Irish, and a whopping 1,351 "Americans," most of whom were from New England. [p66]

So when rebellion boiled over in the south, there was no surprise to see it spread up to Halifax. The colony was ruled by a small group of elites made up of the governor and his friends, as well as a few of the richer merchants. There was basically no middle class.

When the Stamp Act hit North America, requiring all publications to used taxed "stamped" paper, Canada's first newspaper was in on the outrage. The Halifax Gazette "declared the disgust of the town and province," writes Raddal.

Provincial secretary Bulkely was nominally the editor of the Gazette and demanded an explanation from Anthony Henry, the printer who actually ran the paper. Henry brushed the treasonous content off as a prank by his young New Englander apprentice Isaiah Thomas.

But soon another incendiary paragraph appeared in the Gazette. Then it printed an anti-Britain call-to-arms in the Pennsylvania Journal under the guise of reporting on the Journal. Henry finally pushed his newsman badassery to the breaking point when he cut the stamps out of the Gazette's pages in direct violation of the Stamp Act. Henry lost the Gazette printing contract, while Thomas was banished from Halifax.

Meanwhile, Haligonians burned an effigy of the local stamp master on Citadel Hill, while the man himself had to be put under armed guard. But Halifax was unique in that it had spent much of its history as a military base in the war with France. Its civilian population was helplessly outnumbered by the military presence.

Still, by fall of 1776, much of Nova Scotia was in open revolt. At the head of the Bay of Fundy a militia of Nova Scotians besieged Fort Cumberland, the only garrisoned outpost outside of Halifax in Nova Scotia. The rebels nearly succeeded, but lacked ammunition and fell to British reinforcements  Their cause was so popular the captured ringleaders were allowed to "escape" rather than face a politically incendiary execution.

A Nova Scotia delegation travelled to Machias to meet with their American cousins and plot the removal of the British Crown from all of North America. The young congress promised troops and arms, but the American army general nixed the agreement in a letter that would change the course of history:

Camp at Cambridge, Aug. 11, 1775.

Gentlemen,
     I have considered the papers you left with me yesterday. As to the expedition proposed against Nova Scotia by the inhabitants of Machias, I cannot but applaud their spirit and zeal, but I apprehend such an enterprise to be inconsistent with the principle on which the Colonies have proceeded. That province has not acceded, it is true, to the measures of the Congress, but it has not commenced hostilities against them nor are any to be apprehended. To attack it therefore is a measure of conquest rather than defence, and may be attended with very dangerous consequences. It might be easy with the force proposed to make an incursion into the province and over-awe those of the inhabitants who are inimical to our cause, but to produce any lasting effect the same force must continue. And our situation as to ammunition absolutely forbids our sending a single ounce of it out of the camp at present.

I am, Gentlemen, &c.,
George Washington

As Raddall points out, the rub is in the last line. For want of ammunition, the Nova Scotia rebellion was doomed and Canada was saved.

It's hardly a Hollywood story. Our rebellion was crushed while the rest of the rebels left us behind to create their own country. We were basically the kid who didn't get picked at gym class on Independence Day.

But glimpsed in a certain light, Canada's origin story is noble in its own way. Having a long, bloody history has been done. What country hasn't been forged in battle? Even prissy-sounding nations like Luxembourg and Malta have seen dramatic conflicts. But a nation that didn't seize its independence so much as apply for it in triplicate, now that's rare.

Personally, I like having a culture that's defined by ambivalence, introspection, politeness and mild linguistic tension I like that when CBC Radio held a contest to find the Canadian counterpart to "as American as apple pie" the winning entry was "as Canadian as possible, under the circumstances."

And I like that we're generally embarrassed about the imperialistic notes of our history, such as the expulsion of the Acadians or annexation of aboriginal lands. I guess it keeps us modest.

So cheers to Canada and I guess Australia and I dunno, maybe New Zealand. We gained our independence by virtue of no one else wanting us that badly, and that builds character. And sure enough, now all the cool countries are broke.