Canadians vs. Americans

47 Baiting The Left Baiting the Right 84 Comments

Forgive me for this being a rather personal post, but hopefully you’ll quickly understand why I’m making it. Twitter and Facebook have been on fire this past evening. As a Canadian, who spent most of my life living across Canada, but the last 11 years living across America, I think I have a rather fortuitous vantage point to observe, listen, and comment on viewpoints from a wide cross section of people. As this earlier post suggests, and posts from many Canadian friends confirms, it seems that almost all Canadian normies are only capable of first-stage thinking when it comes to anything related to Trump. While he is playing 4D chess, they’re playing checkers.

A Canadian woman married to an American was complaining in a Facebook post that her American in-laws were “making really mean comments about Canada”. I thought about this for awhile and then shared the following with her:

We each are the sum of our own experiences, right? I was born & raised in Vancouver, but lived 2 years in Northern Manitoba, 5 years in Northern Ontario (visiting Toronto often), and 16 months in Montréal. I’ve now lived 11 years in America, the first 6 in San Francisco and the last 4 across the country in all 48 contiguous states.

While in America, of course I get the usual jokes:

  • How come you don’t end every sentence in “eh”?
  • Why don’t you say “aboot” like other Canadians?
  • You said “restroom”.  Don’t you mean “bathroom”?! LOL

But, I’ve generally been well received by 99.9% of all Americans I’ve met (actually 100% but I’m leaving open the possibility of some idiot one day). If anything, there are more concerns about my California license plate and the arrogance that too frequently comes with that.

But throughout my life in Canada, and now upon my visits back there, wayyyy too many Canadians don’t hold back with THE NASTIEST, most passive-aggressive comments I’ve ever heard. I didn’t think the anti-American comments of Europeans could be topped but a whole lot of my fellow Canadians have done so without fail.

I fully accept and respect that the experiences of others may be different. I’m just sharing my truth.

Dear SDA commenters, what have been your experiences of Canadians talking about Americans and vice-versa?

84 Replies to “Canadians vs. Americans”

  1. My parents snowbird in Texas and absolutely hate Americans. They call them dumb, ignorant and all the rest. The irony is they’re downright stupid in my opinion.

    Anyway their opinions are pretty common among boomers.

    1. Yes, very common. Even amongst the boomers who spend half the year in America. Which makes them look like fools to intelligent people. Surely if they hate Americans so much they wouldn’t spend money to spend half the year surrounded by them, yet they do.

      1. `scf` put it perfectly. How can Canadians, or visitors from any other country, come to America and then act this way? Of course, they would never DARE publicly express such opinions, would they? But how does such passive-aggressive behaviour then make Canadians look like to Americans? Perhaps, somewhat like a$$holes?!?

      2. Had a lot of friends in Florida, not one of them was any dumber than any Canadian, in fact quite the opposite.
        Some of course were what I call insular, their interests were usually more local than national or international, but that in no way makes one stupid.

  2. I’m sad to say that when the subject of Americans/America come up, I find most Canadians unbearably smug and self-righteous. Born in Canada, lived here all my life.

    1. And arrogant. Don’t forget about arrogant Canadians thinking they’re so much better, smarter, and morally superior to their American cousins.
      My family included. You know… the ones that got triple-vaxed, and still came down with Covid… Those smarter Canadians… [sigh]

    2. Here’s a fun thing to do with individual Canadians or groups of them: Ask them to define what it means to be Canadian, but they can’t include “America”, “American”, or “Trump” in their answer. I can almost guarantee you they won’t be able to come up with any response that is legible and accurate/honest.

      1. My parents returned to Canada when I was 12. The dislike of Amercans is not hidden. While Canadian’s like to be viewed as “nice”, it is often not the reality. Just my experience, but Americans have been unfailingly kind and generous with my family.

    3. I find most anti American attitudes are an eastern Canadian thing,would take a midwest American over Ontario Quebec any day

  3. Yes.Yes. and yes. There is an undercurrent of anti-Americanism in Canada. Jordan Peterson mentions this in a recent essay. I am also noticing that in a desperate attempt to revive a sense of Canadian identity ( having looked the other way when national heros like Sir John A. are getting dumped on) the journos are coming up with variations on ” kinder, gentler, more- enlightened” etc. It’s bunk, but definitely an attempt to reassure ourselves about Canadian superiority to Americans. I have dual citizenship, having grown up in Ohio. The world is changing and Trump is protecting his country. I think Canadians do not have a realistic grasp on where we are headed. We are very foolish to make an enemy of the US.

    1. The boomer chickens coming home to roost. They elect a complete idiot with nice hair to relive their past and now we all pay. Typical boomers. I hope their savings are wiped out.

      1. I really doubt “BOOMERS” elected the a**hole but if you sleep better thinking that, well, have at ‘er.

    2. I will repeat what I said in another thread…
      Canadians are an ignorant, and politically illiterate people.
      They don’t realize that they’re sleepwalking into oblivion.
      I don’t think they’ll ever wake up in time.
      If the west wants to survive this, they must disassociate themselves from the east and central Canada.
      The easterners and especially Quebec and Ontario don’t give two figs about us in the west. All they care about is siphoning off Alberta’s wealth in “transfer payments.”
      For the life of me, I don’t know why Albertans didn’t tell Ontario, and Quebec to FOAD a long time ago.

    3. Linda, given your dual citizenship, then you likely have a similar outlook as me. Simply put, there are smart & dumb people in both countries. There are good & bad people in both countries. There are wise & ignorant people in both countries. I’ve always known this and accept it as a default whenever I meet someone anywhere.

      How on earth did so many Canadians get so smug and superior about themselves? It is not accurate, it is not becoming, and it is not kind. In fact, Canadians acting like this is not very “Canadian”!

      1. I would hazard a guess the only experience most Canadians have of Americans is what they’ve read on Social Media. (Wow, I wonder if Social Media has a point of view. And yes, sarcasm.)

        My personal experience of Canadians is that (and screw generalizations but sometimes they’re all you’ve got and you have to work with them, if progress is to be made) they are remarkably similar to the citizens of Kansas. Agreeable, optimistic, practical and productive; willing to forgive one’s mistakes if a coherent explanation of the reasons for those mistakes is provided. In short, I love and admire Canadians and their work ethic and creativity and I enjoyed every minute working with them. The amount and quality of technical innovation occurring in Alberta (primarily fossil-fuel-centric, go figure) is epic and worthy of recognition and reward. I can’t imagine a better crew with which to saddle up and go to work.

        There are occasional outliers, but everyone has them. For God’s sake, we’re burdened with Fauxcahontas/LIawatha Whining Warren, and that Islamist bitch from Minnesota, so on what basis would we criticize Coastal Canadian lunacy? The insane will always be with you.

        Regarding annexation/statehood, I have to believe a majority of sane Canadians would welcome the removal of the Socialist burden that are Ottawa and the Soxites, and the bestowal of the freedoms forthcoming under the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.
        “Here, you can have your gun back. Concealed carry varies by State, but in most places you can easily get a permit.”
        “If criminals break into your house and try to rob you and rape the women in your family feel free to defend yourself. Double OO buckshot works well for that although it can be a little hard on the drywall. You can post on Social Media without fear of criminal prosecution. You can honk your horn. (That’s a big one.) We’ll be clipping the wings of the hypocritical Flying Little Potato in a few minutes.”
        “Eat more cows, burn more wood, and coal if it comes to that.”

  4. I have never despised this country more than in the last few days. Lobotomized lemmings eagerly lining up behind Potato because “Canada first” when he laughs in their faces and puts them last, well behind his own and his junta’s political fortune.

    PM Baked Potato: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roNlgIY9QKw

    1. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell, isn’t it?
      Growing up in a xenophobic Quebec culture, I came to see Central Canada as a beacon of hope, liberty and freedom against Quebec’s oppression of the English language minority. I left Quebec to go and live in Ottawa, and for a while, I felt free.
      Then the turd 2.0 came along, and as a result, I’ve come to see the country as the same oppressive state imposing on my rights that I once saw in Quebec’s politics.
      Unfortunately, I couldn’t leave the country the way I was able to leave Quebec, so I did the only thing I could, and move out west.
      Now, with Trump threatening to absorb Canada as a 51st state, and seeing the state of Canada’s current economics and politics, I can only wish that Trump would follow through. It really is our only hope to survive this thing. I am not putting much faith in PP to get us out of this mess. IMHO, this country is beyond salvageable.

      1. I am afraid PP got his hand forced. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxXHc327cxs First there is sabotage by Dougie 3F with the pointless Ontario election designed to steal the wind from the sails of the federal party. Second are the tariffs. Trump has inadvertently boosted Potato. One and two combined spell a disaster for PP. Hope I am wrong because he is the last chance the country has. This is bad no matter how you look at it.

        1. I don’t think you’re wrong at all. I think you’ve outlined the turd’s strategy exactly. The canuckistans are buying the turd’s “rah-rah-Canada” strategy hook, line, and sinker (with emphasis on the “sinker.”)
          The turd can’t run against PP, but unfortunately, he can rally the troops (including dumb canuckistans) to run against Trump.
          Trump may be an exemplary leader in the US, but I am beginning to doubt if he truly understands Canuckistan politics.

  5. I lived in Alberta and Quebec from 2018 till we fled back to the states in 2022. The quebeckers treated us like gold. Wonderful people. Government there is pretty screwed up. In Alberta, the most ‘American’ province, it was hit or miss. During Covid, we saw what the Jews in Germany must have seen leading up to the holocaust. Ratting out neighbours, yelling at the unmasked…. Canada is the Saudi Arabia of water and toilet paper. Sure, plenty of nice folk, but unbelievable amount of nasty resentful proto na- is. A joke. Look at all the antisemites and foreigners. We should liberate it and not make it a state ( don’t need another California), but a protectorate. Make Quebec a country, though they’d have to build a real economy if they can’t siphon off AB, ON, and BC…

    1. David Freiheit (Viva Frei) would disagree with you about nice/sane Quebecois during Covid. As for the lesser half of the mixed bag in Alberta, this reminds me a whole lot of what I witnessed in San Francisco between March 17, 2020 and when I left in late February 2021. People became both paranoid and angry at the same time. Online they went insane. Kindness was replaced by vindictiveness. Given my extensive travels, I can accurately say that San Franciscans handled the Covid pandemic worse than any other Americans. Their behaviour was truly pathetic.

      1. I think part of the reason the Quebecois treated us well is because they knew we were Americans. Not sure. But even though we had a bad experience in Canada, I still love the people there and the country on the whole. Certainly, America has her faults. I think it’s sad that our countries get farther apart while the EU countries became borderless.

        1. OMG you reminded me of something. Many Americans ask me for advice about visiting Canada. When I learn that someone is going to Québec, I frequently say this: “You’re going to love it! Montréal and Québec City are so much more interesting than Toronto. And know that, as an American, you will be treated very well. It’s us Anglo-Canadians that they seem to hate so much, even though the taxes of hard-working Western Canadians funds the subsidized lifestyles of Quebeckers!”

          In saying this, I’m half-joking, but half-not!

    2. The PQ is leading in the polls and Quebec is due for an election. The PQ has promised yet another referendum on sovereignty if they become the government, but after I’ve voted “NO” in the previous two rounds, this time, I want Quebec to vote “Yes!”
      Once Quebec leaves, setting a precedent, Alberta should follow suit.
      I’m dismayed at your experience of Albertans during covid. I hope I am not as disappointed with Alberta as I was with Saskatchewan. If that’s the case, then damn it, let’s become part of the U.S. of A. If Mohammed can’t get to the mountain, then bring the mountain to Mohammed.

        1. All I’m saying is that it’ll be an easier sell for Alberta to go it alone if Quebec goes first, but otherwise, you’re correct. The sooner Alberta leaves this snake pit called “Canada,” the better.

  7. I spent time in Alaska and the lower 48 interacting with Americans. In my experience most of whom I met where warm friendly people. They sometimes asked why my accent was pretty much the same as theirs except for eh and huh. I replied that we watch the same movies and TV as they do. We have more of a Hollywood accent maybe.
    I left the left coast (Vanvouver) years ago and have lived in Alberta since. I found that Albertans are much more like Americans than lower mainlanders. Rural BC is probably more conservative.
    All in all, I like Americans

  8. I dunno… Forgive me, too, for the personal comment.
    Went on a drive last winter. Saskatoon to the “flyover” states. Montana, Nevada, Idaho, etc. Small towns only.
    We were welcomed and treated very well. We like historic hotels, especially if they have an original 19th century saloon!
    Met a fellow at a local saloon who built the Sharps rifle for the movie “Quigly Down Under”. Regular guy, fun to talk to, me being a gun guy.
    Guy beside me on the other side asked what kind of vehicle we were driving, as the weather forecast said snow and bad weather in the morning. Just concerned. Told him a Chevy Tahoe 4WD, he just said “good”.
    His buddy was asking about Canada. He was worried about the crazy up here. Fair enough… But interestingly, he keeps both an AR10 in 30-06, and an AR15 in 5.56 in the cab of his truck. And he does not lock the doors; no need to.
    “Regular” Americans actually like us and are worried about us. Funny how that works.

    1. Thanks for sharing this story. It reminded me of a retired NYC policeman and his policewoman wife, who I met in Mystic, Connecticut last August. I had a wonderful conversation with them. I was astounded how much the husband knew about Canada, the Trucker Freedom Protest, and even about Canadian politics and political figures. Like you mentioned, he was worried about Canadians, feeling sorry for all under the tyranny of Juthin Lieberal Turdeau.

  9. I agree with your comments.

    Like you, I have lived extensively in both countries (35 years in Canada in Montreal/Kingston/Toronto/Ottawa, 15 years in America, and 2 years in Europe).
    Americans are not really judgmental about people from other places (except maybe red states vs blue), and have no animosity towards Canadians. But Canadians have become so smug, so haught-taughty, so holier-than-thou. The proclaim themselves to be morally superior to Americans while insulting Americans. Especially conservatives or republicans. Let’s face it, Canada has spent a decade vilifying Trump. Canada has also reneged on any military alliance, nato or norad, with the minuscule military spending. Canada’s so-called peacekeeping efforts no longer exist. Canada vilified Americans during Covid. Canadians tell Americans about their (so-called) superior health-care while relying on American health care due to Canada’s endemic and permanent shortages. Canada vilifies Americans as stupid and ignorant while buying American products, watching American movies and TV, traveling to American locations for vacation, earning less than Americans, and having less influence on the rest of the world than Americans. On the world stage, Canada has become a non-entity, economically stagnant, militarily decrepit, and weaker year by year.

    So, essentially, Canada has decided it no longer wants to be an ally with Americans on the world stage. Which makes Canada like any other nation in the world to America. So why wouldn’t America level tariffs on Canada to gain economic advantage? Let’s face it, all Canadian businesses with exports are now thinking about how to insulate themselves from tariffs in the future, which means opening offices and factories in America. Trump is inflicting short-term economic damage for long-term economic advantage, exactly what you would expect the leader of your country to do, to gain every advantage he can.

      1. From the WP article dated Nov 28, 2004 –
        ‘Ultimately, Canadian anti-Americanism says more about Canada than it does about the United States. Because some 80 to 90 percent of this country’s trade is with the United States, the reality is that Canadians need Americans to sustain their economy and thus the quality of life they value. Such dependence breeds resentment. In “officially multicultural Canada,” hostility toward Americans is the last socially acceptable expression of bigotry and xenophobia.”

        I immigrated to Canada in 1970, and this was how Canadians in BC talked about the US even then.

      2. Same here: from the Midwest to Ontario. Lived there 17 years. Worked there much longer, crossing the border daily. Initially I liked it a lot (was living in a white ethnic sub-culture), mostly. Among educated progressive English Canadians it was assumed I thought like them. I did, for a long time. But I started changing. And I was seeing more and more publicly expressed anti-Americanism and moral smugness. I didn’t want to put up with it any more. I had a dear Canadian friend, my closest friend, for years, who grew up conservative, rural. She began to change under the influence of work colleagues. When out to lunch one day after Trump’s 1st election she started saying some nasty things. I was shocked. It got papered over, but not really. I’m back in the Midwest and we have virtually no contact any more. I never would have thought that would happen. Many of my other Canadian friends and acquaintances are SO anti-Trump and into progressive causes that it’s sad. It grieves me. My feelings in general about Canada are now pretty negative. Except for a lot of you folks and a few conservatives who are Christians.

    2. Thanks James … just when I was going to say I never met a Canadian I didn’t like … you and your obsessive anti-boomer idiocy pop up. So sad. Such a nasty obsession. I agree with you to some extent, because boomers (my generation) have made a massive mess of so many things … I’ll grant you that …but dude … really? Let me show you how we aren’t all that horrible, ignorant, or dreadful.

      We need a beer and a long talk … and probably a hug. Don’t worry, I’ll buy … because I have all the wealth of the world stored up in my 401-k … my house … my fancy cars and whatnot. And as Obama (your generation?) says … “I didn’t earn that”.

    3. Outstanding article, Daniel/fc, written by someone who has tested the waters so to speak.

      Canadian textbooks give short shrift to America’s failed attempts to invade the Canadian territories in the War of 1812 is to avoid antagonizing the Americans — who are just waiting for an excuse to give it another try.

      Well Brian … I don’t blame you for your opinion about Trump’s “expansionism”. I blame your wannabe textbook editors.

  11. The wife and I took a month-long trip last March through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, California (eastern), AZ, NM, TX (northern), Oklahoma, Kansas…. and back eventually into Montana and Alberta.
    Altogether we were in fourteen states.
    Our experience was that the Americans are nicer than Canadians.
    Whether in a store or at a rest area or a tourist attraction, they were invariably courteous and more likely to engage in friendly conversation with a complete stranger than my fellow Canadians.
    Having our leaders tell us how wonderful we Canadians are doesn’t make it so. We are what we are, we aren’t what we were forty years ago, and there is ample room for improvement.

  12. I have a multi vaxed sister who, when she needs to mimic the voice of a stupid person, uses her Tennessee or Alabama accent. She does it well.

    When I point out the number of people from that southern area of America with the accents she despises, has a greater number of earned Nobel prizes (not “peace”) than similarly populated Canada, she responds with, “they sound stupid”

    The entirety of my Liberal minded family which still resides in Regina, SK (the city which rhymes with “fun”) has used “Americans” as an example of someone not too bright, drives a car that’s too large, keeps their house too warm in winter, owns too many guns, is much more violent… and pointing out that they compare Sask. with Washington DC or Chicago doesn’t help at all. About 30-40? years ago, South Dakota had a year in which there were zero murders. I compare Sask to the Dakotas or Montana… They look at me as if to say, “America is in Chicago, in NYC, in LA… not the Dakotas.

    I think the majority of Canadians, who even though at best only 2% of them watch the CBC on any given evening, seem to absorb the CBC’s opinion of Americans. I cannot understand this, I have given up trying to explain this to them, or convince them otherwise, and simply point out certain moments in their arguments, and giving me more time to stuff my gaping maw at family get-togethers. FTW…

    1. I don’t mean to sound as though I actually dislike all of them, but they have forgotten more about the CFL than I’ve ever known, and I’ve forgotten more about politics than they’ve ever known. So I don’t argue with them about the CFL, and for the same reason they shouldn’t argue with me on politics.

  13. Robert:
    If you can offer any suggestions as to how I can legally immigrate to the U.S., and maybe even become a citizen, I’m wide open to suggestions.
    I’ve had it with this shitball of a country.

    1. I made it down to America on a TN-1 visa, via NAFTA. I then got 4 more TN-1 visas, before applying for and getting permanent residency. As I recall, this visa is applicable to 12 different professions: https://www.rfsuny.org/media/rfsuny/procedures/ap_nafta-professional-list_pro.pdf

      Others open up businesses. There are actually several different routes to legally emigrate to America. Each costs money, but I’ve found it the wisest decision I ever made in my life.

      1. Thanks for the tips, Robert, but unfortunately, I am too close to retirement age, and so I’m not very employable, and I don’t have very many assets to use to invest in a US business, but I appreciate the response. What I need is a reference to a good immigration lawyer.

        The only relative in my extended family who actually is an American citizen is an uncle by marriage, who has long since been deceased.
        I remember him teaching me the US National Anthem when I was growing up, and explaining what the lyrics meant. I’ve listened to his records of JFK’s speeches.

        With the onset of the turd 2.0, my fascination with America became an obsession.

        I’ll keep monitoring this post in case you can give me a reference.

  14. I lived about three years in the US. My wife and I were privileged to be H1B visa holders. I am proud of our accomplishments in the US and the friendships we made. While we were on the “green card” track, that was never our goal, and we return to Canada to take care of ageing parents, and to establish a home in what we still call the homeland. I believe that President Trump, along with the American Congress and the Senate are free to do what they will to “make America great again”. It’s up to us, Canadians, to read in between the lines and “make Canada great again”, as well. God bless this us all, from sea, to sea, to sea.

  15. I’m a dual citizen and I’ve experienced a lot of anti-Americanism here in Canada. It reminds me of how when I lived in Austria, many Austrians I met were anti-German. I think it’s just an inferiority complex of the smaller country feeling overshadowed by the bigger, more culturally dominant country.

  16. I’ve lived in both countries. My wife is an American (now dual) as are our kids and grandkids and they all live in the US. My experience is that there is a demoralized sociology in Canada which has gotten much worse in the last decade for very obvious reasons. Lefties on both sides of the border tend to be smug, obnoxious, and rude. Unlike Canadians generally, Americans don’t carry a chip on their shoulders regarding their neighbors, largely because they rarely think of us as we are a blank slate on the north side of the 49th parallel on their grade school blackboard pull-downs. They do everything in a big way such as infrastructure, military, sports, bands, business, etc. Both countries are now broke welfare states, over-governed, with captured institutions. The US leviathan is a frightening monster. I value a nation only to the extend it leaves me alone. I’ve given up on any hope of influencing the political state and see myself as somewhat of a time traveler observing the Eloi and Morlocks but not getting involved anymore. I call it as I see it but have come to the realization that despite the potential of both countries, I live in a second rate nation adjacent to Rome in its decline.

  17. Up until the late 60’s, relations between Canada and America were reasonable, rational, and respectful.
    Then came Trudeau(mania), two ‘solitudes’, and 40,000 American draft dodgers (followed by young American women).
    These college-aged Americans were a quick and large influx of English speaking, energetic, enterprising ‘refugees’
    injected into Canadian society – with a grudge against America.

    By 1970 ‘American Woman’ had hit #1 on the charts in Canada and America, and became a daily dose of ‘Canadian Content’ on the radio waves for decades.

    Five decades of media hate-on for America deflects from the capture of Canada by Quebec, which
    whip hands Canada in word and deed.

    Canadians should ask themselves whether they would rather be a businessperson selling into American markets, or an American selling into Canadian markets.

    President Trump is a super man.

    Life Follows Art dept.
    Superman’s Song – Crash Test Dummies
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX4U6XWYvus

    1. What a superb tune with a subtle viewpoint

      My 5yo grandson just celebrated his 5th birthday and received a Captain America action figure (real BOYS don’t call them dolls) from one of his little friends. Oh … yeah … the BLACK Captain America. It was hard for grandpa not to bin that toy.

      Why? Perhaps CNN describes my disgust best …

      “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” the six-part Disney series that culminates [spoiler alert] in Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson becoming a Black Captain America, is important because it challenges notions of American exceptionalism that gloss over the most painful chapters in our nation’s history. It also underscores the need to understand contemporary political crises as rooted in an origin story Americans have often stubbornly refused to acknowledge.”

      https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/29/opinions/falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-black-captain-america-joseph/index.html

      In other words … slay all memory of John A. … or George W. and remake history … or you’re a Luddite raysyst. Yes, both our nations are being attacked from within. We must defend ourselves from this ROT.

  18. So many things to say … where do I begin? And to John Chittick who NAILS IT when he says he feels like a time-traveler sent to live in a second rate nation and observe the decline of his neighboring Rome. My friend, I feel the same way … a man out of time in so many ways. And let me say that everyone I live with here in the SF Bay Area ARE THOSE exact Romans who have set our BIG Cities and nation ablaze (literally) on a rapidly accelerating decline. Trust me … I have to live near Oakland and San Fransicko … the Roman decline is up close and personal.

    My son in law is a legit, legal, Métis Canadian, and he fully embraces his 1/4 native (interior BC) heritage. I respect him for that, but wish he’d realize that all the “stories” he’s been told about Residential schools come from one unhappy relative (now deceased) and does not represent the whole truth, without which there can never be reconciliation. I digress.

    Perhaps my favorite son in Law anecdote that best summarizes my view of Canadians … is when he came to stay for his first visit to our home here in the safe, quiet, semi-rural, suburbs of the East Bay Area. I had met him in several other locations and places, so I already had gotten to know him. But after a while of staying with us I finally turned to my daughter and said; “Tell (J) that he doesn’t have to keep pretending to be so polite and “nice”. He can relax and be himself around us, he doesn’t need to put on the act to get the parents approval for marriage … we already like him. Tell him he can be himself.” My daughter just laughed and said; that’s no act, that’s exactly who (J) is … this is how he is to everyone. Yep … he’s just “Canadian nice”.

    Yep, every Canadian I’ve met have been warm, friendly, polite … and just plain nice. After her college graduation my daughter just randomly said “I’m moving to NYC”. What? You have no job there, you have no friends there … ? Her rational father pleaded. But she hopped a plane, couch surfed with friends for a few weeks … got a job … got a ridiculously overpriced apartment in Midtown, and settled in to become a Californian in NYC … a fish as far out of water as it gets.

    For whatever reason … perhaps it was the Irish Bar she adopted … or the fact of her playing on that Bar’s coed soccer team … but she met MORE Canadians in NYC than New Yorkers. She had at least a dozen good Canadian friends … mostly all from Toronto … in NYC!! And BTW … almost ALL her other friends in NYC were from all corners of America, her BEST friend hailing from TN. Very few from from NY … except one great girl from Long Island … smart Long Island … not big hair, lonngk Island accented women.

    My theory about why my daughter developed so MANY Canadian friendships is because she is kinda like a Canadian … she’s NICE. Really nice. My daughter has the loveliest smile that she uses constantly, and she makes friends easily. She is genuine, with no guile … just an acerbic, dry sense of humor (thanks dad … but the “nice” comes from mom – LOL) . My daughter is just like a Canadian … she’s sooooo damn nice. I guess nice people just gravitate toward one another … even onto marriage.

    And listen … most everyone here on SDA is nice. Really nice. Sure we kevetch constantly but it’s all for the good. We want to see things enacted politically … that work. For ALL the people. Not just for protected classes, or the political elites. I pray that the far-left lunatics ruining Canada come to their senses and start cooperating with Trump’s basic concerns over what TRUE cooperation means. But alas … my observation is that far-left ideologues aren’t very nice people. Trust me … I have to live among them here in the SF Bay Area … where my neighbors mock and deride: Texans, anyone (white) from the Deep South, Trump voters, and even Southern Californians. If you don’t believe all that they do … you’re mocked.

    And yes, despite my experience with nothing but nice Canadians … my radar still detects an underlying uneasiness with Americans. It’s no big deal to me as I believe ALL people are Tribal. It’s in our DNA. We are always going to cling to our Tribe … our city … our football team. Doesn’t mean we have to hate each other … but diversity has NEVER been our strength. As Pete Hegseth just said about the US military … “Unity is our strength”. Indeed. So I expect Canadians to see themselves as unique and different from Americans … that’s natural and normal. Canadians should want to Make Canada Great Again! Brian … I fully embrace that! But we all have to live together … and observe rules that are FAIR … to both groups. I believe that is all Trump is saying and doing.

    1. Kenji, can I safely assume that you’ve been to Vancouver, BC?

      People often compare Vancouver and Seattle, but I think the similarities between Vancouver and SF are actually stronger. All the worst thinking in SF (ie. DEI on steroids) is very present amongst a sizable chunk of the Vancouver population. Then visit Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, & Ottawa and there will be similarly programmed woke NPCs.

      It’s kind of like a race between California and Urban Canada to see which place races down the drain faster. This deeply saddens me, but any objections I’ve ever raised have loudly told me to shut up.

      1. Agree with this completely…People living in large urban centres vs. everyone else is a far better generalization than Canadian vs. American IMO…I’ll take a small town Californian over an Edmontonion any day of the week

  19. Arrogance is a shitty disguise for ignorance.
    Canadians are ignorant assholes acting like know-it-alls.

    1. Not ignorant
      Pretentious yes
      But not ignorant
      Pretentious is when you see facts and counter those facts with outright fabrications.
      Case in point is the “Canadian flag sewn on backpack”.
      Or the ever useful “we punch above our weight”.
      Two facts stand out for me.
      First one
      Canada is located on the “North American” continent which makes anyone by extension American.
      Second one
      Any talk of boycotting US products should be responded to with the question “so you called your cable provider and cancelled all US content and any Canadian network carrying US content. For example no more sports like NHL, or sitcoms and nightly talk shows? Oh and don’t forget those special events like the award shows.
      Myopic is a good word for it too.
      A better one is Lilliputian.

  20. This anti-American meme was created right around the same time as Westminster passed something called the Quebec Act as a response to the reaction from the colonies being upset after shedding blood and treasure on the Plains of Abraham only to be told they would be taxed for their efforts.

  21. Fascinating how people from the same gene pool think their alternate cousins, for want of a better word, are somehow different. One difference that has always been front and center for me was the difference in the love of freedom and country. Canadians hate freedom and don’t have a clue what having a country really means. My American cousins on the other hand tend to mostly understand freedom and why they love their country. Decades of left wing BS and democrat insanity has changed that somewhat, but, the election of Donald Trump shows that there are still more who care about freedom and their country, than who do not.
    I wish my fellow Canadians good luck…..they better start thinking.

  23. I’m American, and have spent a bit of time living and working in Canada. I’ve met nice, friendly people there, and have not dealt with much anti-Americanism at all. I would say that it’s difficult to get a Canadian to define his/her country without using the phrase “not America.” Perhaps living next to the behemoth makes that necessary. I find Canada more European in mindset, culture and government – we are both descendants of European settlers but Americans have pretty definitively rejected the cultures and government of Europeans, who will forever regard themselves as Our Betters.

    Toward the (very few) strident anti-Americans I have met in Canada, my attitude is “meh.” They are rare, just like the anti-Americans I have met in France or Spain, and their mindset has no effect on me or my life. I do sometimes wonder if Canada’s ceremonial ties to Great Britain might have some effect on viewpoints – I find the English more condescending than antagonistic.

  24. My wife, a Maritime Canadian, who grew up with all the advantages that came with, forever EI, more seats in commons than the population warranted, etc. Just said to me this weekend, as we live in Alberta, should we thinks of leaving Canada? Maybe now is the time.

    Amazing her turnaround, but even she has woken up from the Liberal lies and bribes!

    Now, where the hell do we go!

  25. A woman from Oregon phoned me up after she learned we (Canadians) were exploring for critical minerals in her state. You see … she had a dream … where all the lithium was … and then another dream … about a meteorite that left a mountain of nickel behind. She had been in a bad car accident 5 years previously and while recovering had started to have visions.

    The thing about that mountain is … the nickel had shielded “the surface-dwellers” from learning the truth about the people who lived inside the mountain. They were the descendants of Poseidon – God of the Sea – who drove a tunnel under the ocean to the center of the mountain so that he could be with his love – the Goddess of Agriculture. Their descendants have lived inside the mountain for millennia with all the fruits of the sea as well as ancient farming secrets to keep them fed and happy. At night if you stand near the base of the mountain you can sometimes hear the sound of a bell that rings, calling all the descendants to dinner.

    I managed to get off that call without laughing once and later went to my spreadsheet of mineral occurrences in Oregon. The place she described is full of nickel showings. I’ll be headed to Oregon in April to have lunch with her. She did manage to say that a lot of people in Oregon “disappear” in that area and nobody knows why. So … maybe a Zoom call.

  26. I’m Canadian, my experiences of Canadians and how they speak of and treat Americans is bad.

    Too many Canadians are assholes about Americans and the US, smugly superior without reason, mentally and physically lazy, improvident and foolish, jealous of the success of the Americans.

    I travel a lot, I’m in Scottsdale AZ right now, after a trip to LA and a side trip to Mexico City. Going back to Calgary today westJet willing – just got an email saying ’emergency maintenance, we’ll let you know when we know”.

    I have never met any other civilized national or cultural group behave as badly towards Americans as we do.

  27. I live in Ottawa,Ontario, been in the same house for 35+ years now. My work in the last 20 years has taken me all over the USA, usually short stint stuff like equipment service calls and a couple of really long term contracts.
    While the ribbing between my American friends and contacts has been pretty brutal at times it has all been in fun. There were a couple of idiots, but that is too be expected. Vast, vast majority were good people working to get through life.
    There are differences in attitudes about some things, of course. Mainly just good people living the life.
    The service call work involved people in stressful situations, public safety comms is no joke, but still good people for the most part.
    Company executives are a$$holes in both countries. Enough said there.
    I’ve also worked throughout Canada and the vast majority were good people. Again most were working and getting through for a good life.
    Then I started gov’t contracting. Now I know where all the a$$holes went. Government is the curse of civilization. As necessary as it is, it is also the most evil part of our society.
    We have failed to contain our evil, and now we pay.
    An exorcism is needed, but I’m not sure the body will withstand the procedure.

    1. In the last few years, Trump 1.0 to now, I’ve noticed more attitude about the US than before. O’bummer was highly regarded even though he started the whole mess we’re in today. TDS is common even though it is not based upon fact. Biden, well that was O’bummer 3.0 which was a failed offshoot of the main software. The press up here was too supportive of him and Kamalalalala and distorted the reality. Too may bought the stories.

      I have relatives and neighbors whom it is just not worth the effort to converse with, some close. I see and hear a general bad attitude towards America, but not so much the people. Sort of a global dismissal.

      Most people I interact with that have these attitudes have never traveled beyond a short vacation, no real interaction with outsiders. Canadians for the most part are too caught up in smelling their own turds to see they are not what Canada used to be. These people are not just wearing blinders, but masks with pinholes cut in for view.

      I blame the Turd, Libs and NDP, but mostly the MSM.

  28. I am a born & bred Albertan, lived all my 63 years here. I was brought up to believe AB was the home of the entrepreneur. Albertans were the last of the western spirit, of grit and determination. While the big cities are diluting that, I still believe it. Our family history travels through the U.S. Two family members were reformers from the U.K. that came across on the Mayflower. That’s correct, “the Mayflower” So we have American blood. Grand father came to Alberta in 1903 to take advantage of the land offers from Minnesota. We still have many cousins still there and through the 10,000 lakes area.
    I love America, what it still stands for and the people I have met. Three times the wife and I have spent time in Tennessee ( so love it there), people are amazing, not to mention the food. One of those trips ( work) on a shadow day, we had to do a service call at a property, where at that time were in the final preparation’s for a wedding. It was honest to god like a scene out of Gone with the Wind. With the pomp and pageantry of fine southern dress, tables of food and drink and southern hospitality.
    We have a timeshare in Vegas that allows us to bank and see other cities in the U.S. Arizona, Tennessee, Florida, all wonderful experiences.
    We have a few friends who holiday with us in the States, ironically they gripe about the gun toting, bible thumping Americans, never the less always come with.
    I hope we ( Albertans) are given the option to join as the 51st state, I for one would be first in line to sign on.

    1. I’ll be right behind you…I cringe when I hear talk of Canada becoming the 51st state, as if we’re one big happy family…Canada would/should grow the US to 63 states (10 provinces and 3 territories)…I have a dream…

  30. I’ve posted this once or twice before about my family’s anti-America sentiments. My maternal grandfather worked at Avro Canada and was thrown out of work in 1959. Never voted Conservative again in his life and neither did any of his children. To this day, they have no love for America or Americans and some have TDS. Arrogant, dumb, stupid, lazy, and racist are how they view Americans.

    Two of my siblings own a business started by my late father and they import a lot from the U.S. In fact, there would be very little business without the U.S. They also rely on shipments traveling through the U.S. to Canada. Another sibling manages logistics for the company. This is going to be very ugly for them.

    Conrad Black once wrote about “…ghastly Canadian pomposity that thinks we have a national vocation to scold the Americans on their moral infirmities.” Regardless of what you think of Black, I think he has a point. The hubris of Canadians that only see the speck in our neighbour’s eye.

  31. Funny thing is, when you ask Americans what they think of Canada the most common (99.9%) answer is. “We don’t think of Canada at all.”

  32. As born and raised Canadians my wife and I spent the first 1/2 of our lives in and around Toronto, and liked it. Then I got transferred by my employer (with our 2 high school teens) to Atlanta HQ in 1993. Loved Atlanta, then to Chicago (fun, but even colder than Toronto), lots of visits to our daughter’s family in North Carolina . . . and now retired in Florida with full U.S. citizenship.

    So many of our Canadian relatives and friends seem to believe the CBC’s relentless anti-American lies. On our Summer visits north to our place in small town Ontario we keep our SUV with Florida plates in the garage out of sight, and drive around in a little Mazda with Ontario plates to avoid unwanted anti-American mouthing off from complete strangers.

    Most of my Canadian relatives have died, but my wife’s 5 siblings, their kids and grandchildren are all in southern Ontario, so Summer visits and parties / picnics are frequent; winters, they visit us in Florida. My wife has trained them all to STFU about politics and Trump around me, or they’ll never get another winter invite to Florida.

    I no longer enjoy anything about Canada except the ‘nicer than Florida’ summer weather. Hate the government, hate the prices/taxes (a case of Molson’s beer is less than a buck a bottle in FL; dairy products are all 40% less; gasoline approx a buck a gallon less), hate Canada’s invasion by Indians (curries not feathers), Chinese and muzzies, hate preliminary proclamations about ‘turtle island’ nonsense at sports events & concerts, hate the far fewer choices / options for EVERYTHING in Canada. Can’t believe we spent half our lives there.

  33. I was born in the States as a “Canadian Born Abroad” to Canadian parents working there with green cards. We moved to SW Ontario in the early 1960’s when I was an adolescent. I spent the first half of my primary schooling reciting the “Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag” and the last half singing “God Love the Queen”, every morning. And love the Queen they did. I had never heard of the United Empire Loyalists before moving to Ontario, but heard about them most every day after. All my adolescent classmates seemed to be UEL and already had a natural ingrained hatred of Americans, which they took out on me assuming I was one. I finally concluded that “Canadian Nationalism consisted of being Anti-American” and voiced that opinion to them, which only made matters worse. Fortunately I was eventually able to escape to Alberta and Saskatchewan where there are no UEL descendants.

  34. I was born in the deep southern states to Canadian parents who moved back to Canada when I was young. When Canadians find out I was born in the States, they will often condescendingly state, “Oh, your a Yank”. I reply, “You best not be calling a southern boy a Yank or your likely to get a bloody nose”. That usually solicits a blank stare from them. I love baiting ignorant Canadians.

  35. Last night watching the Canucks game against the Detroit Red Wings, the crowd in Vacouver booed the singer and American anthem. The Redwings won the game. Lots of people love to hate, that’s a fact. Canadians can boo the Americans, but we will lose this trade war too.

  36. The question was about Canadian experiences in Canadians talking about Americans.

    I’m a Prairie Canadian who has lived and worked 3 years in the UK and 3 years in Africa. As such I have seen how Canadians talk about other nationalities when in those nations. They seem to have a pretty honest and aware assessment of people and themselves when outside of Canada. But the Canadians I lived with were not normal Canadians. They are internationally aware based on actual experience.

    In Canada, the average Canadian has not lived outside of Canada (unless they are a recent immigrant in which case many of them bring an anti-American animus). The average Old Stock Canadian (not JT’s definition) has been propagandized to ever since the French Canadians took over Canada under the offices of the Official Languages Act. The narrative is Canada with its 2 founding nations and cultural mosaic is much superior to the one dimensional, money driven, former slave nation of America. And Americans are all loud, garish, overweight and ignorant. This deflection hides the Canadian decline over the last 50 years that has resulted from the watering down of merit and the increase of woke that started in the early ’70s. Something that I am old enough to remember and ashamed to admit that I bought into at the time.

    And to answer the question – most Canadians I know have bought the narrative and talk about Americans as they have been told to. Disparagingly.

  37. I was born in the USA but have spent my life in Canada. The non-stop anti-Americanism has always disgusted me & has eroded any love I have for Canada. To me, this problem began in the aftermath of the American Revolution, when Canada was settled by United Empire Loyalists (as mentioned by another poster above) who hated the United States; when the Americans invaded in 1812, these Loyalists were the people in charge & after the US finally left — rather ignominiously — in 1814, they created a national myth that emphasized the superiority of the British Elite over Yankee Repubicanism! This attitude of superiority has been handed down generation by generation ever since, even if our elite is no longer British.

    The War of 1812 explains a lot about today — I’ve even started a small Youtube channel about it to explore some of these issues.

  38. Trump is not playing “4D chess”. He’s an old man yelling at clouds. How do you announce that the US is acquiring Gaza without speaking with your Secretary of State? That speaks to massive incompetence and basically points to an old idiot shouting things. This will only get worse over the next four years.

    Biden was a major idiot in part because he was !?$& eighty, why is anyone excited to have another guy around that age in the Oval Office?! They’re both way too old.

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