MetaChat - What is your perception of Canada and Canadians?

My mother grew up in Vermont, not too far from the Quebec border, and many of her schoolmates were canuckleheads, so I grew up with the "Huckles Berri," stereotype of Canadians (French ones at least) as a Napoleonic variation on Hillbillies. The rest of the country I imagined being something like Bob & Doug MacKenzie saying "Take Off, you hoser," and watching hockey all the time.

My one visit to Canada was a trip to Quebec City when I was 17, and all I remember is this: they'll serve anybody liquor, the women all look gorgeous and they like motorcycles and Heavy Metal. That last one I learned because I was in some rock and roll dive with a video screen and they played all the usual suspects (AC/DC, Zep, Kiss) and everybody bobbed their heads politely until Triumph's "Magic Power" came on and the place went bananas. A Canadian born MeFite buddy of mine has verified that our neighbors to the north do take care of their mullet rockers better than us Americans.

posted by jonmc 25 November | 20:33

Speaking as a Canadian, there are many different types and kinds of Canadians as there are many different British, Sri Lankans, Malaysians, &c.

In general, though, Canada is more of a mosaic than the USian melting pot. Immigrants tend to keep their traditions rather than feeling like they have to convert to BBQs and light beer. These do get watered down in subsequent generations.

Having spent 4 years in rural Iowa, my trips to rural parts of Canada are not dissimilar. Instead of ~~wrassling~~ greco-roman wrestling and football, small town kids are into hockey or soccer. Big town kids are less into sports as there are other things to do. Rugby tends to be more common than football... but I digress.

I feel that a greater percentage of Canadians think about the world in general compared to Americans, but that could be an artifact of elementary/secondary education and media.

Also, there's less of an income gap (less very wealthy people, less very poor people) which has very positive influences on decreasing crime and socialized medicine, I think, really affects the social outlook of the populace (for the better - if we're already looking out for each other via tax dollars, it's already a habit so helping each other out when we see someone in need is just a reflex; but I'm sure you'll find people disagreeing on this point).

/rambling, long week, brain fuzzy

posted by porpoise 25 November | 20:34

has very positive influences on decreasing crime

according to Yves Lavigne, the author of several books on the subject, the Quebec Hells Angels were the most vicious chapter the club ever produced. Not sure how that squares with teh decreased crime thing, but that's what the man said.

posted by jonmc 25 November | 20:38

I take all my impressions of Canadians from Guy Maddin movies. You people got a lot of father issues.

posted by PinkStainlessTail 25 November | 20:51

The Angels were organized crime (and profited mostly from narcotics prohibition - the police chief of Vanocuver recently made a statement that if marijuana was legalized [not decriminalized - fully legalized, regulated, and taxed] that the recent rash of violent crime would be severely curtailed) - I'm thinking more along the lines of street thugs, petty gangs, &c.

Not to be confrontational or anything but I'd like to bring up the homicide rate in Canada and compare that to the homicide rate in the United States, not to mention the incarceration rate (although I'll concede that is inflated by the fanatic enforcement of prohibition) and the demographics of the incarcerated.

posted by porpoise 25 November | 20:53

I agree, porpoise, especially since Michael Moore pointed out that Canadians enjoy rifles and hunting as much as any human beings possibly could and still have less gun deaths than Americans (this has more to do with differences in mentality than any political differences, IMHO, but that's for better minds than mine).

A relation of mine used to be a lawyer for the Angels and I've known a few hangarounds. My home city (in the US) has a big chapter with a tough reputation, but even among the toughest bike club on earth, the rural Quebecois bikers have a reputation for badassery. I'm just curious as to why that cam eto be.

posted by jonmc 25 November | 21:01

That you're friendly. Like Benny from Due South (I loved that show). A nicer version of the United States (wrt culture, religion, sexuality blah blah blah).

I want to move to Canada. The chavs are wearing me down. Not to mention our celebrity obsessed anti-intellectual culture (UK).

posted by flopsy 25 November | 21:07

I have a home in Canada and a home in the U.S. I find Americans in general are more open, friendly, and trusting than Canadians. I just picked up some dried firewood. No one was home but the sign in the yard says just leave the cash in the mailbox.

I find that sort of thing a lot in the U.S. but not so much in Canada. Canadians are polite and nice but they don't trust you. Americans tend to trust you unless you give them reason not to. I think that's why they sue so much. It's a personal hurt.

I find Canadians in general to be more knowledgeable about the outside world with access to more news information.

I find Americans often have a blind spot and just can’t see that everyone in the world does not want to be just like them and I find Canadians tend to overestimate Canada’s influence and importance in the world.

It does not seem to be as bad as it was but Canadians still tend to hate success in their own people. Being successful in Canada is nothing. You need to be successful outside Canada but when you do find success outside you are a sellout.

posted by arse_hat 25 November | 21:26

One of my favorite writers tends to use discouse on what it means to be Canadian as one of his main themes.

posted by jonmc 25 November | 21:29

I've only been to Toronto and Montreal (i love Montreal)--i find anglo-Canadians to be nicer than us, a little more boring than us, and definitely quieter than us about everything.

posted by amberglow 25 November | 22:00

; >

posted by Cryptical Envelopment 25 November | 22:07

a little more boring than us,

thats the key, my friend. Americans, even when we're completely insane, are rarely boring, God bless us..

posted by jonmc 25 November | 22:08

nicer than us...definitely quieter than us

SCREW YOU DILLHOLE!!!!!

posted by arse_hat 25 November | 22:11

Did you mean Dingwall?

posted by Cryptical Envelopment 25 November | 22:26

I love Canadians so much, I'm marrying one! One thing I've noticed is service in stores and restaurants is much better in the US. It didn't really dawn on me until my fiancee pointed it out to me. I believe it is something related to arse_hat points out. I've spent quite some time in Toronto the last couple of years, and while I find things different there, it's different in a good way for the most part. Canada seems to have national pride without all the flag waving and screaming like we do in the States. Maybe they're just more practical, I don't know. I do think Canada is trying to maintain it's own identity so as to not be seen simply as the 51st state of the United States. Canada certainly is more interesting than the USA.

posted by eekacat 25 November | 22:42

Did you mean Dingwall?

I'm not THAT rude.

posted by arse_hat 25 November | 23:11

Well part of me thinks that Canadians are just like Yoopers who drink Labbatt Blue... sort of the Red Green Canadian :) I've also heard repeatedly that Canadians are insanely nice and polite and follow the rules. Like, even crosswalk lights. Amazing.

posted by euchrecthulhu 26 November | 00:04

They are a pasty people. And they think about how much they hate Americans a lot. Further, they do not seem to understand that being an American does not automatically make you a Republican moron. Like Southerners, they pretend to be polite, but in reality, they are not actually nice.

On the plus side, they are a progressive people. And some make very good friends.

My data comes from having a Canadian best friend for years and living in Montreal for three months. I have visited a lot, too.

posted by dame 26 November | 00:25

Oh, I forgot: they make good comedy. And the French ones are always suprised you can speak French, if you are me. Which of course you aren't.

posted by dame 26 November | 00:27

Another difference:
About two years ago I was at dinner in LA with two Canadian friends and three American friends. Our server was a comely young lass of about 19-20. Upon delivering the first course she innocently asked “gentlemen would you like me to toss you salad?”. We Canadians almost burst keeping in the laughter while our American friends seemed not to react.

posted by arse_hat 26 November | 00:32

I hate em!

posted by joelf 26 November | 00:40

They also make realy good bacon. and beer.

posted by jonmc 26 November | 00:44

Um, that was just the Americans you were with, arse. I promise you my friends would have been close to laughter combustion.

posted by dame 26 November | 00:44

dame, I like your american friends better.

posted by arse_hat 26 November | 00:48

Too bad they're imaginary.

posted by dame 26 November | 00:49

I am not imaginary!

posted by jonmc 26 November | 00:50

at leaast I don't think I am...only the most diseased mind could imagine jonmc..

*poof*

posted by jonmc 26 November | 00:50

See, look how fucked up my life is: my imaginary friends taunt me, pointing out only a diseased mind could think of them! When will the disaster end?!?!

posted by dame 26 November | 00:54

It's OK, dame. I'm just your id personified. the superego should be along anytime to restrain me.

posted by jonmc 26 November | 00:56

I hate you.

posted by dame 26 November | 00:57

So I'm reading the thread from a few days ago about the Canadian elections on MeFi, and it occurs me: You realize that when we want your resources we're just going to come in and take them, right? I mean, I know it's wrong and all, but . . .

I really should go back to readin Anna Karenina now, shouldn't I?

posted by dame 26 November | 01:07

You realize that when we want your resources we're just going to come in and take them, right? I mean, I know it's wrong and all, but . . .

Of course you realize that we look and sound so much like you (as long as we keep aboot, eh, please and thank-you, in check) that we will infiltrate and destroy you? Iraq will be a cakewalk. We already hold key positions in finance, TV, movies and literature. You are doomed by the fifth column, eh?.

posted by arse_hat 26 November | 01:19

I hate you.

You worship me. You want to have 9 million of my hairy pimply babies and you know it.

posted by jonmc 26 November | 01:20

Ewwww!!! I am a shallow hipster. I will not copulate with a man in Queens!!!!!

Besides, I love arse_hat now.

posted by dame 26 November | 01:22

Except arese_hat, I am not pasty. I saw pictures of this Harper man. And I once fucked an MP's son. And both were totally pasty.

posted by dame 26 November | 01:23

yeah, yeah, whatever.

*primps sideburns, checks breath for signs of booze, eats garlic to cover it*

posted by jonmc 26 November | 01:24

Nope. My only loves are Canadians and Speedo-clad swimmer boys.

posted by dame 26 November | 01:27

And both were totally pasty.

Raised Irish Catolic, but I was born Métis. I am NOT pasty.

posted by arse_hat 26 November | 01:29

Okay, I had no idea who the Métis were (I mean, I kinda guessed from the word), but then I checked out the Métis site and—awesome! But now I must admit defeat. For the vaguely brownish can fit in anywhere.

I must now sleep and await the day when my pimply children will die in the great Canadian Resources War.

posted by dame 26 November | 01:36

*wrings out speedos into water bottle, mixes with gin*

posted by jonmc 26 November | 01:54

*Goes looking for Boogie*

posted by Cryptical Envelopment 26 November | 05:42

CANADA! I have friends in Vancouver, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary and Ottawa and many points between...I've criss-crossed this country on trains, planes, cars and busses... I've dipped my foot in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in a salute to Terry Fox... I've eaten gourmet meals in Montreal and gone ice fishing in Canmore, Alberta in minus 30 (c) weather... I've rampaged through the nightclubs of downtown Toronto and I've sat quietly on docks in cottage country, watching the sunset shimmering pink & purple on the lake... I've imbibed 8,000,000 beers and been thrown out of bars in Halifax... I've smoked the infamous 'B.C. Bud' in Vancouver, British Columbia... I've driven through the Autumnal splendor of Eastern Ontario and I've flown over the snow-capped Canadian rockies and I felt so happy, so damn happy watching my adopted country stretching on below me, the lights of the mountain towns winking up from the darkness. The day I became a Canadian Citizen was one of the happiest & proudest days of my life: in a room with thirty other people from 24 different countries, all jubilant, all come to Canada for a better life. Everywhere I've gone in this country the people have been not gregarious or boisterous but friendly, warm and genuine. This country is a comfortable place to live. I love this country and its people more than I could ever say. Canada has taken me in, welcomed me with open arms and made me feel accepted, wanted and loved. I plan to live here forever. Canada is Home.

posted by Fuzzy Monster 26 November | 09:51

CANADA.

posted by Fuzzy Monster 26 November | 10:20

Wow, awesome picture, Fuzzy Monster.

I really like Canada and Canadians, though there's a conversational humor that goes on up there that's based mostly on cutting down your interlocutor and being a smartass which, while a pastime I engage in and enjoy, I aslo find tiring in the long run. It's not shrillness, exactly, but it's easily interpreted that way.

And it's hard for all of us to get over the America thing. Americans are called "Americans" because the word "America" is featured prominently in the name of our country. And we're the only country in North America to do so.

If Canada was the UPA, then I'd understand the argument. As is, I think it's just a superficial dig with its roots in some other stereotype.

All that said, I love Canadians as much as I love folks from anywhere (and about as often; bwaaaaa!), and the country is beautiful up there.

posted by Hugh Janus 26 November | 10:38

Yeah, that is a great photo, isn't it?

Those are two of my best friends in the world and their baby, standing near the Bow River in Calgary. I did not take that photo... although I wish I had.

I hear where you're coming from re: America. Too many Canadians have a negative self-definition: i.e.: "We're not Americans." And there are plenty of anti-American stereotypes. Many Canadians seem to forget that The U.S. is a huge, huge country full of all kinds of people doing all kinds of things: it's not just the horrorshow the media vomits up on a daily basis.

When I first moved up here I went through this dialog again and again:

Them: "Oh, you're from The States? You must've thought we all lived in Igloos and skied all the time!"

Me: "Uh... no, actually, in The South we don't think about you AT ALL."

Them: "What part of the South are you from?"

Me: "Texas."

Them: "Oh, you're from Texas? Did you live on a ranch? Do you have a horse?"

Stereotypes, eh?

posted by Fuzzy Monster 26 November | 11:15

*Goes looking for Boogie*

pack some brisket.

*tips hat*

posted by jonmc 26 November | 11:19

One of my favorite writers tends to use discouse on what it means to be Canadian as one of his main themes.

Tended. He is dead.

posted by srboisvert 26 November | 11:27

That's right. I forgot. He sure could write though. Funny bastard, too.

posted by jonmc 26 November | 11:38

(this has more to do with differences in mentality than any political differences, IMHO, but that's for better minds than mine)

I think the differences in mentality DRIVE the political differences. But that's just me. (A yankee who grew up 5 miles from Canada, living in Texas.)

posted by Doohickie 26 November | 11:55

i live in texas. i was born in london. i've been all over this place (lived in a brownstone, lived in a ghetto, etc, etc).
candians? what do we think about them?
mostly, we don't.

i actually like canadians a lot. i like their politics and i like what their country looks like -- never been there but i'd sure like to go. but i hate the way that some hipster fucks here in america look to you guys as the saving grace from all that is redneck and low class and cheap and FUCKING AWESOME about the u.s. of a.
seriously. my state just made it illegal for gay people to get married but forever and ever amen. why? that pisses me the hell off. why shouldn't gay people get married? and then you guys up in the north seem to have such a good handle on shit like this (or healthcare, or not starting stupid wars... the list goes on), that lots of people here admire you. which is great.
but then they start hating their own people, just because those small town folks never travelled around the world or read all those books or had all thsoe conversations -- mostly because they were too busy trying to bang out an honest buck.

so what do i think about nucks? i like 'em. but when i start thinking about them, i start thinking more about us.

Them: "What part of the South are you from?"

Me: "Texas."

Them: "Oh, you're from Texas? Did you live on a ranch? Do you have a horse?"

Stereotypes, eh?
posted by Fuzzy Monster 26 November | 11:15

i live in texas. i ride horses. i want to buy a ranch. of course, i'm not genuine texas, so this is really just another stereotype infecting my brain and causing me to act certain way.

posted by sam 26 November | 16:39

25 November 2005