"But what struck me at the end of the lectures is how Canadian Canadians actually are. They really do live in a culture that's in many ways different from that of the US. And the history of that country accounts for much of these differences."

Ya think?!? Hello there is a whole other country north of you with just as much history as the US. Bordered by Denmark, Russia, the USA and France.

You had to go to a Lecture to grasp this.

@1
You might want to brush up on your understanding of rhetorical devices.