As it is told in the media today, the story of Canada's resilience in the face of the 2007-2009 financial crisis and its aftermath is one of smart regulation in the context of a liberalised financial sector. But this good news story obscures a more complicated narrative - one shaped by geography, history, regulatory strengths and weaknesses, institutional structure, and happenstance; the country's portrayal as a free market exemplar with smart regulation gives a false picture of successful financial sector policy for other states to emulate. This presentation will provide a more complex picture of the factors behind the relatively mild impact of the global financial crisis on Canada, showing how Canada was partly smart, partly lucky.