I agree with your first sentence, it's true, and it's why USA will clean Canada's clock.  And laugher's probably a public sector guy, has no idea that wealth needs to be created by people.  But your 2nd last sentence is typically Canadian: the opposite of "ask what you can do for your country", it's all about what can I get out of my country.  The Americans I meet have a deep love for their country and a sense that they are building something together, that it's ok (for example) to work for wages Canadians would sneer at because it's all part of making a country together that's the best humans have ever seen.