Check out some hilarious photography from the 2010 Olympics Figure Skating competition.

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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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