RE: That we are not a 51st State can be credited to 3 people
I think the grand-daddies of Canada remaining independent of the USA has to be Sir Isaac Brock and Tecumseh.
When the United States attacked Canada in the War of 1812, the British were very busy battling France in Europe and initially could not spare many troops to repell the American advance.
Sir Isaac Brock, through a combination of skilled diplomacy in getting Native Canadians, including Chief Tecumseh, to join his cause against the Americans, and brilliant military tactics that held off what would likely have been a rout of Upper Canada by the superior troop numbers and armaments of the Americans, saved Canada long enough before his heroic (though foolishly careless) death in battle to enable Britain to reinforce the Canadian struggle and ultimately defeat the American goal of annexing Canada to the USA.
Without Brock, there would have not been a Prime Minister John A MacDonald.
For those who want to get a sense of what true patriotism and heroism are all about, I highly recommend taking a look in depth at the life and times of Sir Isaac Brock. The War of 1812 documentary produced by Terrence McKenna and his brother for CBC a number of years back is an excellent look at the War of 1812, one of Canada's and Britain's finest performances.