Who'd have thought a country with a national dish composed of French fries covered in cheese curd and gravy -- they call it poutine -- could ever become so popular. Thats even before you consider its long winters or Celine Dion.

And yet, there it is. Suddenly everyone wants to know about Canada. Specifically about Canadian government finances during the 1990s. U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is only the latest in a line of treasury ministers wondering how he might be able to reproduce the Canadian economic...