Canada, America's neighbor to the north, has long had a culture that paralleled
the United States'. In Autoduelling, things are no different. Canadians
discovered autoduelling shortly after the sport swept America, and now there is a
strong duelling following north of the border, too.
Today, the governments of Canada and Quebec are back in control of most of the country, though some remote areas remain free from government control - not to mention government services and law enforcement. The economy is weak but stable, propped up considerably by remaining oil reserves in Alberta and the Northwest Provinces. Life is much like that in the United States, but with a slightly different flavour that is unmistakably Canadian.
Paradoxically, Canadians are less likely to get into road duels with complete strangers than their American counterparts. Minor traffic violations, such as passing on the wrong side, blocking the fast lane, or cutting off another driver - any of which would precipitate a deadly combat in the US - are often tolerated north of the border.
Movement between Canada and the US is fairly simple: Most major highways have stops at the border to check for contraband items, but traffic moves through quickly as most vehicles are only given a cursory inspection. Vehicles selected at random and those deemed suspicious are examined more thoroughly. The Free Trade Agreement prohibits only a few items, and most of them can still cross the border with the proper permits or tax stamps. The most frequently smuggled items include cigarettes, liquor, pharmaceuticals, certain "entertainment" magazines, weapons and ammunition (armament for personal use of course, is allowed), and various recreational drugs. The penalties for smuggling are rather severe, usually confiscation of contraband, vehicle, and legitimate cargo travelling with illegal merchandise, and a hefty fine and/or jail term for anyone involved.
All the major cities mentioned above have complete charging, repair, and salvage facilities, In addition, the Canadian government owns and maintains numerous truck stops along Canada One. These are spaced approximately 150 miles apart on the long stretches between cities, and also serve as bases for the Mounties who patrol the road.
Gold Cross is not as well-established in Canada as it is in the United States - this may be why the Canadian driver is less trigger happy than his American counterpart. Currently, only four cities have Gold Cross facilities: Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal. Hospitals in other cities are willing to freeze a body to prepare it for Gold Cross, but transporting the body to a Gold Cross facility is the responsibility of those who want the body cloned.
The strongest local chapters are, not surprisingly, located where the major Canadian duelling arenas are - Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa/Hull and Montreal. Winnipeg also has a strong chapter despite the fact there is no duelling arena within hundreds of miles. Most Canadian duellists have the red maple leaf of Canada somewhere on their vehicle - the maple leaf is less prevalent, of course, in Quebec.
Canada also has its share of cycle gangs. Two are powerful enough to merit discussion here. The Libetines base themselves in western Quebec, and number 750 and 1000 members, with nearly 600 cycles. The Libertines are very well organised, and are particularly hard to combat because they are rarely all in the same place at the same time. The Libertines fought a very effective guerrilla war against Canadian troops in Quebec's war for independence, and they continue to enjoy folk hero status among the general populace. This has made them particularly difficult to eradicate. The Libertines colours are blue and gold.
The Jets, based somewhere in Southwest Manitoba, are harassed by the local authorities only when they strike a Canadian target. As a result, the 400-member gang frequently crosses the border into Minnesota and North Dakota to waylay motorists, truck stops, and the occasional small town. The Manitoba Provincial Police's reluctance to deal with the Jets is a sore point with the state police forces south of the border, and American vigilante groups (sometimes aided by state police) have crossed the border on punitive expeditions. The Jets fly a variety of colours, but they all feature the picture of a biker riding a rocket ship, cowboy style.
There are a number of different local and provincial police forces, ranging from the non-confrontational Manitoba Provincial Police to the no-nonsense Ottawa City Guard, a close-knit group with one of the highest "Suspect Killed" rates in modern law enforcement. Visiting duellists, however, are most likely to encounter the largest non-military armed force in the Western Hemisphere: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The RCMP still like to be called "Mounties" and still wear the traditional red overcoat and brown ranger hat. Today's Mounties, however, ride high-powered vehicles armed with the latest technology.
The RCMP has bases in every major city in Canada, provincial headquarters in every provincial capital, and a national headquarters in Edmonton. The RCMP is "on call" to aid any provincial or municipal investigations beyond the capabilities of local authorities. The Mounties' major duty, though, is to keep the highways of Canada safe and passable. Toward that end, the Mounties operate a number of outposts along Canada One and 401, evenly spaced every 100 or 150 miles. Each outpost is staffed by approximately 40 Mounties with 15 well-equipped cars, 2 helicopters and 10 trikes for off-road pursuit. The Mounties choice in armament leans towards Vulcans and recoilless rifles. Each outpost also has a government run truck stop, complete with repair facilities, charging stations, restaurant, and rooms to rent for the night. RCMP vehicles are black-and-whites, with the maple leaf on each door.
The Quebec National Police serve the same function in the Republic of Quebec that the RCMP does in the rest of Canada. The QNP is not quite as well-equipped as the Mounties, but they are otherwise very similar. QNP vehicles are black on gold, and they have an elite corps of motorcycle officers that ride gold coloured cycles.
Arenas can be found throughout Canada, with the exception of the two provinces that have banned the sport and the strange case of Winnipeg. For a variety of reasons, six previous efforts to build an autoduelling arena - two of them backed by the municipal government - have collapsed financially. Plans were recently announced to try again, but even if all goes well this time, the arena will not be completed until 2038.
The Canadian Autoduel Circuit (CAC) runs events year-round, each season culminating with the CAC Golden Bullet Championship held each September. Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal are also stops on the AADA circuit, and occasionally one night's card will include events sanctioned by both organisations. Some Canadian arenas are domed for protection from the weather - like the ones in Toronto and Edmonton - but most are set up to let nature take its course. The result is many wild duels on the ice, with the combatants slipping and sliding all over the arena floor. Only the most severe of blizzards will cancel a duel, and even then the safety of the participants is not the reason - if the snow is too heavy, the TV cameras cannot get a good picture of the action.
Off-road duelling is also popular in Canada. Of particular interest to those seeking some novelty are the many snowmobile duels and races held in the Northwest Provinces. Until further data is obtained, snowmobile duelling remains unsanctioned by the AADA.