I am proud to be a Canadian...but you'll notice I've used U.S. spelling throughout this seminar. Why? Because the majority of science fiction & fantasy markets are in the U.S. and you may as well reconcile yourself to that.
It's not that U.S. editors will immediately torch your manuscript if they see Canadian spellings. A lot don't even care...but some do. If your story is an utter masterpiece, editors will buy it no matter what your spelling is like...but if it's on the borderline, you don't want the tiniest negative factor to tip the balance.
There's also a matter of respect. You're the one who's asking for the editor's time and effort in reading your story; it's an insult if you don't make an effort to be accommodating. Furthermore, if your story does get accepted for publication in a U.S. market, the spelling will be changed anyway...so you may as well do it first, as a professional courtesy to the editor and as a small but possibly significant effort to make your manuscript more acceptable.
If you're still feeling nationalistic, maybe an analogy will help. North American auto manufacturers who want to sell cars in Britain had damned well better put the steering wheel on the right hand side. It doesn't matter if the manufacturer thinks left-hand steering is "better" or "more natural" or cheaper to build: if manufacturers want their products to sell, they have to make the change. The situation isn't quite so drastic in the writing world—as I say, many editors don't care if you use Canadian spellings—but if you want to look professional, you'll suit your spelling to the market.
End of sermon.
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Copyright © 2001, James Alan Gardner