The cross-country travelogue which is the basis of this film was made in the 1940s. Sponsored by the Canadian government, it is pitched towards an American understanding, unfolding the blank geography of its northern neighbour as a playground for the leisure class, its untamed wilds held in check by the relentless survey of the Mounties. Rocky Mountain ski runs, Niagara Falls, rivers teeming with gold dust, and plains of buffalo reassure an American audience that geography is destiny.