In 1904 Canadian Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier made this prediction: “The 19th century was the century of the United States. I think we can claim that it is Canada that shall fill the 20th century.”

Maybe Laurier was just a man 100 years before his time. As the world assembles in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, the 21st century is shaping up great for Canada.

For starters, Canada has avoided many of the problems that currently bedevil the U.S.—mountains of public debt, a banking system in crisis, the housing debacle and a weakened currency.

Canada’s banking system, essentially made up of the Royal Bank of Canada and four other big banks, remained strong during the global credit crisis. With no bailouts, it is the soundest system in the world, marked by a steady and responsible continuation of lending and profits. “Canada has shown itself to be a pretty good manager of the financial system,” U.S. President Barack Obama said amid the financial crisis. Was that a touch of envy in his voice?

And it is not just banks that have remained solvent. Canada, with its relatively small population of 34 million, has the lowest debt burden of any G8 country and less than half the per capita debt burden of the U.S.

Bill Gross, who runs Pimco, one of the world’s biggest bond managers, recently said that he thinks Canada is the best bet for investment among developed nations. “It moved toward and stayed closer to fiscal balance than any other country,” said Gross.

The world is taking note. Canada just hosted the G7 finance meeting way up north in Nunavut and will host both the G8 and G20 conferences later this year. Most important, Canada has welcomed the world to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and is showing off its accomplishments. Laurier would be thrilled. But not surprised.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today got a primer from Canadian troops on what they’re doing in earthquake-shattered Haiti.

What he saw in the small city of 40,000, on the south coast of the country, was an area largely stabilized by the work of Canadian soldiers and medics.

Harper, wearing khakis and a long-sleeve shirt, appeared hot in the sweltering Haitian sun as he toured a medical clinic set up by Canada’s Disaster Assistance Response Team at Jacmel’s small port.

Walking from tent to tent, he met one older Haitian patient and two young Haitian girls wearing dresses.

The clinic no longer tends to patients with serious fractures and wounds stemming from the quake. Now local residents are coming for all sorts of medical ills.

However, improbable cases have emerged. One medical team doctor, Capt. Rob Ennis, described how a 1-month-old baby was pulled from rubble 17 days after the quake; her parents and siblings all died. Ennis said it was possible for a baby with lots of baby fat to survive that long.

The medical team revived the severely dehydrated baby. “It’s the worst case I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Ennis, an emergency physician from Bishop’s Falls, Nfld.

Harper also toured a DART water purification facility. After tasting a sample of the water, he said, “It’s very good—I approve.”

Jacmel, unlike cities north of here, was not as hard hit by the Jan. 12 quake that killed 217,000 and wounded 300,000 others. While about 20 per cent of buildings were damaged or destroyed in Jacmel, up to 90 per cent were in Léogâne.

Harper will also be visiting Léogâne during the course of the day where he’ll tour a quake-demolished school and see a Canadian Forces field hospital.

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Canadians in much of the country are enjoying a day off today and streets that are normally bustling are quiet.

It’s Family Day in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan while it’s Louis Riel Day in Manitoba and Islander Day in Prince Edward Island.

It’s the second straight year for the holiday in Ontario, where schools, grocery stores, public libraries, liquor and beer stores, the Toronto Stock Exchange and provincial offices have all shut their doors.

Federal government employees however don’t have the day off, meaning passport offices and Canada Post are still in operation.

In Ontario, public transit in many cities is on a holiday schedule, but tourist attractions including some malls such as the Eaton Centre in Toronto are open.

The Ontario government is encouraging people to use this mid-winter break to take in local attractions like Winterlude in Ottawa, or Kingston’s Fort Henry Cardboard Sled Derby.

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The federal government will hold June’s G20 summit on the edge of Toronto’s financial district, a decision that will close a large swath of downtown — and sideline baseball fans — as the city kicks off gay pride week.

An official announcement is not expected for a few weeks, but sources tell The Canadian Press that the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, next to the CN Tower, has been selected over locations outside downtown.

Canada has already hosted a G8 summit and other international meetings in the building. Plus, it gives the government a chance to put the spotlight on its stable financial district — safe and quiet within a security perimeter — at a time when G20 leaders are looking for role models.

“The whole point is to showcase Canada as an attractive place to do business and the way we regulate our banking sector,” said Andrew MacDougall, a spokesman for the prime minister.

“We have a good story and we want it told well,” he said, without confirming the location.

The June 26-27 summit is expected to involve tens of thousands of people from delegations all over the world, along with media, support staff and hospitality crews. It’s also sure to attract thousands of protesters, as well as non-governmental organizations and trade unions hoping to make their points known to world leaders.

The G20 groups the world’s richest countries as well as important emerging markets and has become the primary decision-making body for global economic affairs. It also includes the European Union, as well as representatives from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In the past, its meetings have invited other key leaders and organizations.

Ottawa has issued a contract to print up 47,700 laminated accreditation badges, for both the G20 summit and for the G8 summit in Huntsville, Ont., being held just before.

But the G20 summit will displace far more people than it draws in.

The Toronto Blue Jays are scheduled to play against the Philadelphia Phillies on both June 26 and June 27, in Toronto. The Rogers Centre, where the games are normally held, is virtually next door to the Convention Centre, and will almost certainly be encompassed in the security zone that is always set up to protect world leaders at summits. So discussions are underway to move at least one of the games, sources said.

The Gay Pride Parade, which usually draws over a million visitors from around the world, has already been pushed back a week.

Normally, the parade is held on the last weekend in June, after a week of festivities. The parade is meant to commemorate New York City’s Stonewall Riots of June 28, 1969.

Organizers have postponed everything by a week in anticipation of summit activities. Still, gay pride activities will start just before the summit, on June 25, and build up to a parade a week after the summit, on July 4.

As for the media, Ottawa had initially booked the Toronto Congress Centre near Toronto’s international airport, but then had a change of heart and decided to put the media centre downtown.

Ottawa is spending up to $2.6 million to set up a host broadcasting system that will pipe news conferences and photo-ops into the media centres for both the G8 and the G20, documents show.

The G20 planning lags behind arrangements being made for the G8 summit in Ontario’s cottage country, north of Toronto.

There, officials have been working on logistics for a year and a half. They’re building new structures and investing millions of dollars in upgrades and beautification efforts. They’re well-advanced in setting up a security perimeter and making arrangements for protesters.

By contrast, G20 planning got off to a late start. Ottawa was not able to confirm until last September that it would host the summit. And a host city was not formally announced until December.

Still, officials say some of the preparatory work for the G20 was already done for the G8, and there should be no problem getting ready by June, especially since Toronto is well equipped to handle large crowds.

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