Peter Keleghan has been acting in movies and TV shows for more than 20 years, and has appeared in projects including The Newsroom, The Red Green Show, Made in Canada, Seinfeld and Billable Hours.

I saved an article from a major Canadian newspaper with the headline: "Paris [Hilton] Dogged By Low Scores On Pet Skills Poll". There's a picture of her holding her Chihuahua with the caption: "Paris Hilton and Tinkerbell in happier times..." and a 120-word story.

I have it - I promise. Why would this respected paper think this a print-worthy story? Why would their editor print this rather than a story of, say, Brent Butt marrying his costar from Corner Gas, which happened around the same time? Why do Canadian newspapers tend to feature stories about American stars like Paris, Oprah and TomKat? They told me why once: they are in the business to sell papers. They are not in the business of patriotism.

But here's the thing: it's a little harder - a little more work, but we have to start thinking about its consequences.

Maclean's magazine published a poll in the Jan. 23, 2006 issue about Canadians and their nationalistic pride. The title read: "Nobody Loves Canada - Pride in the country has dropped significantly." Just 61% of Canadians felt "very proud" to be Canadian, down from 80% in the last poll of 1985. Author Paul Geddes said voters were "...increasingly detached from the common touchstones of national identity."

In 2006, ACTRA sent a few actors to Parliament Hill to try to get culture on the campaign agenda. While there, I argued that instilling a sense of nationalistic pride, a vision, would provide them with a self-propelled bandwagon. I reminded them of the "I Am Canadian" beer commercials and how the spot perfectly nailed down a collective idea that did more for Canadian spirit than Timbits - and also sold a lot of beer. Instead, culture, pride, and identity hardly, if ever, were on the campaign radar.

According to Geddes in the same pre-election Maclean's piece, "...if voters looked for a 'vision' they had a choice between the negative, the nebulous and the neglected."

I recently caught a National Film Board documentary about the Inuit who, when introduced to TV, quickly became addicted to it. Particularly named as culprit in this '70s documentary were shows like The Edge of Night and The Price Is Right.

The Inuit, their leader argued, were fast becoming marginalized because there, on their TVs, was a tantalizing and prosperous lifestyle, but never once did they see their own image involved among the glitter. Yet they remained transfixed to the spectacle as it was readily available, cheap and exciting.

Their leader feared they would lose their heritage because they were lured into being bystanders in a foreign culture instead of being given the opportunity to further their own words and tell their own stories. I suggest Canadians now parallel this course, mainly because of the lack of political leadership.