When it comes to career paths, it seems Canadian acts tend to have two choices.

They can enjoy massive success in their home country (think Blue Rodeo or The Tragically Hip) but be ignored virtually everywhere else. Or they can hit the big time south of the 49th parallel (hello Alanis and Barenaked Ladies!), but fall victim to an instant backlash north of the border.

There are exceptions to the rule, but they tend to be either women (Sarah, Shania & Celine) or The Guess Who. That's why it's doubly impressive that radio-rockers Three Days Grace have pulled off that rarest of feats: scoring massive fan bases both at home and in the U.S.

"I think it's just because we've really worked it, as hard as we can," says 3DG guitarist Barry Stock, when asked to explain the band's border-straddling appeal. "It's actually kind of a drag, because we're not up here as often as we'd like. But especially with our first record, we just toured endlessly to work it as hard as we could."

The strategy clearly paid off. Since releasing their self-titled debut back in 2003, the Ontario act has enjoyed a healthy level of success, scoring No. 1 hits with singles like I Hate (Everything About You), Animal I Have Become and Never Too Late.

They've even weathered a few personal dramas, like the descent into drug addiction that forced frontman Adam Gontier into rehab, just as the band was about to start work on their last album One-X in 2005.

Gontier has since sobered up (he even spent part of the next year touring treatment centres, shelters and group homes as a way of saying thanks), and Stock says the band hopes to get started on One-X's followup as soon as their current tour ends this spring.

"Things are excellent -- Adam's really healthy, he cleaned himself right up," says Gontier. "The whole thing made us a closer band, having to go through those times and figure out a way out of them."

Gontier wasn't the only one who had trouble dealing with his newfound fame. In the wake of their initial success (and particularly when they were on the road), all four bandmates experienced "urban isolation," where they were constantly surrounded by people, but still felt completely alone.

"It's all a living thing for us," Stock says, when asked if he's grown more comfortable with the touring process. "When you're first thrust into it, you're always meeting people, and everyone loves you, but they don't really know who you are, and you don't know them. It breaks you down, always thinking, 'Are any of these people my friends?' But after a while, you learn to deal with it, and it all starts to make sense."

Stock and the 3DG crew have had plenty of time to grow more accustomed to the grind, given they've been touring behind One-X (which just went double-platinum in Canada) since its release in spring 2006.

The tour that brings them to MTS Centre this weekend sees them paired with South African rockers Seether (whose frontman Shaun Morgan also wrapped a recent stint in rehab), and reunited electro-rockers Econoline Crush, fronted by Winnipeg resident Trevor Hurst.

"We've actually known Trevor for a long time," says Stock. "As soon as we heard they wanted to get out there again, we were happy to help them out."

Given the amount of road time they've logged, surely the band has noticed some subtle differences between crowds in Canada and the U.S.?

According to Stock, our American neighbours have a penchant for overstepping their boundaries just a bit.

"They're very similar, but Canadians are a little more polite," he laughs. "I find the crowds in the States can be a little crazier. Like in the States, there's always way more people that manage to make it up onto the stage. I'm all for people having a great time, but that still makes me a little nervous."