Do Canadians even have their own culture?

OP, Canadians are a less violent, more progressive and healthier version of Americans.

The Québécois have.

Their healthy version of french fries.

Culturally (and politically) I feel they are closer to Europe than they are to the US. They've implemented universal healthcare since the 60s, a system, which as Trump explained, the US just cannot afford, because "it's too costly". Curious because last I knew the US was the wealthiest country in the world.

To me as a euro, they seem culturally closer to the US than to Europe, much like Australia. Except Montréal, of course.

R4, you're focusing on politics, but there's much more to culture than that. Look at the way ordinary, middle-class Canadians live their day-to-day lives. It's very similar to the way Americans live - in spacious suburbs, driving most places, shopping at shopping centers (or, sorry, centres). This is because of affluence and the availability of land, along with similar origins in British colonialism and westward expansionism.

Any two countries will seem different if you compare them only to each other. But when you compare them to countries across the world, the similarities emerge, and few countries are as similar in the way ordinary people live as the US and Canada.

Is America’s Ukraine.

[quote]They've implemented universal healthcare since the 60s, a system, which as Trump explained, the US just cannot afford, because "it's too costly". Curious because [bold]last I knew the US was the wealthiest country in the world.[/bold]

Most besotted with the idea of being richest, but not by useful measures. The U.S. is 13th by GDP per Capita.

They have Poutine, and Maria Chapdelaine, also they kept their natives

Spend time there, you'll notice the difference. Canadian is quite open and quirky. I love it there.

They have cottages in the Muskokas that they have to refurbish all summer otherwise they're deemed "lazy" by the neighbours and they become social pariahs. No one invite them for summer Poutine

Canadian men are super hot pansexual hunks who fuck anything that moves, male or female, you don't even have to be attractive at all, they're into you even if you're fem fat and ugly

They speak french, and think the French like them, or even aknowledge them.

They gave us Dudley Do-Right...

They have weird bacon.

Poutine? Maple syrup?

they throw fresh Marple sap in the snow in winter to make lollipops

Maple , not marple

Hockey. That's all I've got

They're a power to be reckoned with... Nothing says, "Don't fuck with me" like a giant red maple leaf 🙄

They have great gay porn

R21, do they use maple syrup as lube?

I live in the west. Saskaberta is a cultural and educational wasteland of conservatives.

^ Same with the Great Plains in the US, fortunately there's not a lot of you 😏

They hate Americans. That’s a big part of their identity.

Had a Canadian fiancée and can confirm they're culturally closer to the U.S. than to Europe.

[quote]They hate Americans. That’s a big part of their identity.

Please, R25. Americans think EVERYBODY hates them ("'cause they wanna be us!") Right and Left, idiots and semi-intelligent, it's an indoctrinated believe that the rest of the world is sick jealous of your freedoms and such.

There's a Canadian male contestant on this season's Top Chef. He seems indistinguishable from an American bro, albeit perhaps more polite and soft-spoken.

We don't hate you Americans. Many of us just can't believe how lucky we are NOT to be American.

At Halloween they sell candy in big cardboard boxes instead of bags. That's all I've got.

Canada is basically only good at making money and mass entertainment. An unstable, ill-educated populace, big race problem, fixated on sports. Democratic system is failing and probably can't be retrieved. Reaping the downside of laissez-faire. Guns out of control, violence starting to follow, no will or ability to fix it. No real social cohesion. Fetish for the mythology of a country that next really existed, clinging to a fictional view of their past. Short tempered, easily triggered, insecure. Lash out at anyone who doesn't speak consistent with their view of... anything. Hubris, on a national scale.

Oh, and an addiction to making themselves feel better at countries they need to see as less than.

Justin Trudeau fucked me so hard while whispering French sweet nothings in my ear. I love Canada!

R33 are you Macron ?

Oui, R33. J’adore his pant serpent!

No we don't and we really don't care tbh. I mean the Quebecois and the Newfies hold tight but we're more pragmatic and too busy to give a shit.

Denim-on-denim (Canadian tuxedo), and they say “soar-ry” instead of “sorry.” Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell. Tim Horton’s. Hockey and mullets (originally called “hockey hair”). Mountees. Lots of movies made there because of the tax breaks

Americans really are grate again.

MARIA CHAPDELAINE

Poutine

poutine eating championship

Poutine eating championship contestant

You'll always have Nascar. And mass shootings.

There definitely are differences between American and Canadian cultures. But the world is changing. 23% of Canadians are landed immigrants or naturalised Canadians.

R32, Americans like Canadians. I have literally never heard an American criticize or complain about Canada in a serious way. We make fun of them sometimes - we mock other nationalities occasionally, just as people in every country do - and our governments often disagree, but Americans as individuals don't “lash out” at Canada or Canadians because we like them. Your anti-American diatribe is just a waste of time.

Anyway, regarding poutine: The biggest mystery is why this is not a thing in the US. Most Americans would love it. Why do we not see poutine on the menus of American restaurants and take-outs?

Doesn't get more Canadian

First time on the board, R45?

New Amanda Marshall song 🇨🇦

If you watch Maria Chapdelaine, while wearing a Hockey gear, and eating poutine and pancakes with maple syrup, you don't need to go to Canada, you've seen it all

[quote]Your anti-American diatribe is just a waste of time.

Yeah, not sure that wasn't just a list of home truths, R45, but I get why you'd say so. It's hard.

R46: Americans produce maple syrup as well. It's not uniquely Canadian.

Dumbasses in America really questioning what Canadian culture is while obsessing over basketball and Superman and having no clue which country invented them.

At first glance they appear laid-back and friendly, but are actually passive-aggressive, self-righteous losers.

Without weekly mass shootings.

Denim-on-denim (Canadian tuxedo)

That's MEXICANS.

[quote]They have weird bacon.

What we call bacon, you call bacon.

What you call "canadian bacon" we call BACKbacon

[quote]big race problem

We don't have the same racial issue that you do.

Why don’t they have RHD cars like other Commonwealth countries? Is it because they are next door to us?

Isn’t being ripped off at their store part of their culture? And the milk in bag thing?

Canada seems sedate compared to the U.S. because it doesn't have black culture.

Hot curlers.

R61 Google Afro-Canadian.

I think this thread was wittier the last 7342 times we did it.

R57 , Google " Indigenous canadian peoples". or "Inuits". or "residential schools"

R61 I want this calendar if it's the last thing I ever get

Couldnt pay me to live in the nightmare of canada

We’ve been severely infected by Trumpist ideology. Look at the big Clownvoy in Ottawa last year. That had funding from the US far-right propping it up.

Vancouver is a Chinese-owned junkie-infested shit hole.

Great catch, R64! You Americans always know your history, like, bulletproof.

Why not, R66? You'd probably get a higher minimum wage than the one you're making now.

Black culture.

Oops, meant to capitalize.

R3- That Poutine is

PEASANT SLOP

Troll or idiot?

Funny thing is back in the 70s the Canadian government was asking this very question. There was concern American culture was taking over the country so the government mandated that Canadian broadcasting must have a certain amount of 'Canadian content'.

This edict so annoyed SCTV comedians they quickly took up the challenge: "YOU WANT CANADA? HERE YOU GO"

Outerwear?

No.

Canada is so bizarre bending over backwards for immigrants yet racism towards native Canadians is still a huge issue.

Good point, R78.

Canada's pussy stinks.

Americans are in no position to criticize, satirize or mock any other western country. It is the Miss Havisham, Norma Desmond and Madonna's Instagram of the west.

Canadian bacon is not real Bacon

Canadians are uniquely phoney

R25, as an American that has interacted with many Canadians over the years and been to Canada, this isn’t true at all in my experience. Overall I’ve found them to be quite ambivalent toward America / Americans. Now, the British on the other hand….

^ typo, meant to say apathetic not ambivalent

Canadians could just all start claiming they are First Nations and indigenous which would make them and their culture more interesting.

This is what is happening in New Zealand. Lots of young men are now getting Maori tattoos even Ta Moko even though most look like they just got off the boat from Liverpool. Self-identifying as Maori has exploded.

Canada is a "postnational" country.

Even Trudeau stated back in some NYT article that "there is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada".

I think my Canadian cousins believe the less people know about Canada the better.

Well, thinking isn't easy. With time, you might improve.

Canada's biggest contribution to Western culture is...

.

... Wait for it...

.

"Eh"

Canada invented pablum.

Klondike Bars??

Well, R91, I guess the Group of Seven in painting, Robertson Davies, Margaret Laurence, Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood as writers, Anne of Green Gables as a character icon, which I gather isn't Weekend at Bernie's or Rambo, but, hey, you try.

Why not throw in Marshall McLuhan, Northrop Frye, and John Kenneth Galbraith?

And not a person, but insulin, so valuable to the American diabetics who can afford it, the telephone, basketball, pacemakers.

But I'm sure you knew that and were asking the question in the fully informed spirit for which Americans are so well known.

Canada is large geographically but somewhat small in terms of population. So as small bodies do, they tend to revolve around larger bodies.

At first this was the British Empire - from the time the French were driven out until the mid to late 19th century. As America grew in population and landmass, it began to rival, and eventually exceed, the UK in influence.

However, despite the strong influence of the bigger countries, Canada has always been its own thing. Culturally it’s an interesting blend of US, UK, and local Canadian custom.

Snowdrifts

[quote]Canadians could just all start claiming they are First Nations and indigenous which would make them and their culture more interesting.

The5re are actually efforts underway to weed out those who falsely claim indigenous heritage in academia and the arts to advance their careers and qualify for grants. The term being used is 'pretendians'

[quote]Self-identifying as Maori has exploded.

Do tell, R88. That's ... very interesting.

Everybody gets a new land claim!

I am what I am

and what I scam

is reparations!

The social safety nets, lack of shootings and healthcare are great but overall Canada is a bore and there’s not a lot for us to be smug about.we may not have carried in with slavery as long as the us but we still had slaves in Canada, we tried to exterminate the natives, he’s nowhere near as bad as trump but we have an unqualified nepo prime minister, we still have class inequality and Canadians have not contributed to the arts nearly as much as Americans have. It’s a nice safe stable place to live but it’s boring.

I don't know if r88 is even a Kiwi, but Maori people come in all sorts of colours.

Exactly.

The fastest growing ethnic group in Australia is Aboriginal. Yet, the Aboriginal birth rate is flat. The growth is due to a surge in Australians suddenly self-identifying as Aboriginal. The same is happening in New Zealand. Claiming idigenous heritage, gives white Kiwis and Australians a sense of identity and culture that they are accused of not having.

Mike Tyson. I think he would hate fuck any hole available. Under the right circumstances.

Oh shit! Wrong thread. But I stand behind what I said.

“I'm on the Zoloft to keep me from killing y'all,”

R104, you got that right! What was that all aboot, eh?

Most Canadians are very passive aggressive.

I imagine most Canadian women being like high-pitched, polite fraus like Jocelyn from Schitt's Creek.

R8, it's not exactly fair to compare the per capital GDP of the U.S., which has more than 330 million people, to the 12 small countries higher on the list, which probably all have less than 10 million people.

To me, Steve Lund at R12, is one of the hottest guys on the planet. When I saw him on Schitt’s Creek, I was blown away. Yum… Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Lund.

I've found Canadians to be cowed in the presence of Americans. They withdraw into passive aggressiveness.

Don't listen to r68. Vancouver is very upscale, surrounded by natural beauty, very clean for a big city, very cosmopolitan and a has world-class restaurant scene. Compared to Vancouver, every west coast American city is a slum. I'm going there Monday and I can't wait. R68 is a trashy racist who has never left Ohio.

R110 who said life was fair? 🤗

[R8]it's not exactly fair to compare the per capital GDP of the U.S., which has more than 330 million people, to the 12 small countries higher on the list, which probably all have less than 10 million people.

R110: Why not? I might say that it's "not fair" 9f the U.S. to craft the being the richest country in the world in terms of raw GDP -- at the expense of its citizenry and their quality of their lives. Or that it's not fair that you rely upon an antiquated notion of American superiority. Or a dozen other arguments if the top of my head that suit my purpose.

Meat 🍖 me at ye Renaissance Faire, bitches

Why not, R115? Because it's like saying Monaco is a typical European country, which it most definitely is not. It's a little tax haven for the rich.

I win.

Of course, a small country like Luxembourg with 640,000 people, is going to have a higher per capita GDP than countries like Germany, France and the U.K., which all have more than 60 million people.

Yes, OP. Have you heard of Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro and Leonard Cohen?

Horrible, each and every one. You should have gone for Anne Hebert , Michel Tremblay, Hubert Asquin. Even Mordecai Richler.

Anyway, most Canadians would put Robert Service at the top of the list.

Yes. The TV show "Degrassi Junior High"..

The Yellowknife Dinner Theater 🎭

Yes. Celine Dion, Shania Twain and Justin Bieber. Their music will be popular for 500 years.

I think Canadian “WASP” culture, or whatever you call it, has a strong Scottish influence that feels different to most American regional folkways - and very different than the Scotch Irish culture that informs Appalachia.

New Zealand is similar.

Not at all different. Violent, honor based, rigid, dumb. Perhaps different in believing in its own power versus perpetual victimhood, but in that American Scots-Irish have more in common with the home country. The Scots culture of the universities, of Robert Burns, Alexander Fleming and all that has some representation both in Canada and the US but it's a small minority in both cases.

I find New Zealand and the US culturally more similar than Canada and New Zealand.

Now Canada and Australia have a lot in common.

Thee first large group of English Speaking settlers were refugees from the American Revolution. Many of them were not particularly loyal to the British crown but either came because hostile neighbours spread rumours that they were loyalists and took their land, others came because British rule seemed more stable than the chaotic new republic, and many simply came because the land was good whereas in the USA, all the good land between the Appalachians and the Atlantic was claimed and beyond the mountains, the Natives were hostile. My point being that English Canada has it's origins at Plymouth Rock and Jamestown. Many Scots would come fleeing the hardships of early 19th C Scotland and a great many Scotch Irish from Ulster. The difference from the US Scotch Irish being that those coming to Canada came to a land where there were already a great many (French) Catholics and the colonial government made a real effort to ensure that there was little religious tension. The wave of famine Irish who arrived in the 1840s were generally the poorest of the poor (Catholic Irish were not eager to re-settle in British land, much preferring America, but passage to Canada in a lumber ship returning to Quebec was much cheaper than passage to Boston or New York). Even then, the wave of Irish immigration to Canada at that time was, by slim majority, protestant. We are North Americans and live like North Americans. We may claim to be more European...but that's not really true. Canadians who work overseas and have to decide to between a British international School or an American International school for their kids, tend to decide American... it's just less foreign to them.

No, they don’t.

What r1 said. Canada seems like it has no culture because they are really us, ideal. Canada is the family movies of the 80s/early 90s. Anyone else get what I’m saying. Where diversity is exist and people aren’t racist. And any instance of sexism, poverty, or bad behavior is fixed by getting the bad guy. Canada are the liberals of the northeast without the drugs and lesbian drama. Notice I said liberal not progressive. So much of liberalism in the states has had to become a reaction to fringe conservatism that they jumped off the deep end too. Because if you aren’t with us then you must be JK Rowling right.

^ A culture neutral white drywall Canatopia??

Snow shoveling

Yes. SCTV

I love their national anthem... 😍

R103, there is a similar phenomenon in the US. Maybe it’s partly a sense of identity, but it’s mostly done to get the benefit of affirmative action. Don’t you have some form of affirmative action or set-asides for indigenous people in Australia and New Zealand? If so, then that's bound to be part of the motive for people suddenly "discovering" 1/16th indigenous ancestry or whatever.

Also, it's unfashionable to be white anywhere in the English-speaking world, so anyone who can claim some sort of mixed ancestry tends to do so.

R118, they are Canadians, but do they have anything else in common that marks a particularly Canadian culture? Besides being Not Americans, I mean, which seems to be the core of Canadian cultural identity. I used to read Margaret Atwood years ago, and there was never anything in her writing that couldn't have come from an American writer of similar talent, life experience and biases.

[quote]Not Americans, I mean, which seems to be the core of Canadian cultural identity.

Well of course it is. Otherwise the French Canadians would have joined in the revolution, the English Canadians would not have left the USA. It's the choice to not be American that created us. That's enough. We don't need to justify ourselves with unique cuisine or quirky customs or writers whose work could only be Canadian (we actually have an abundance of all three of these things but really, who cares?).

Well, R136, what marks a particularly American culture? Serious, genuine question.

[quote] Look at the way ordinary, middle-class Canadians live their day-to-day lives. It's very similar to the way Americans live - in spacious suburbs, driving most places, shopping at shopping centers (or, sorry, centres).

R6 you just described practically every western country. Are you saying they have no culture of their own either because on the surface they appear similar to the U.S.?

You do realize that a great many people in Britain, Australia, NZ, France, Germany and even South Africa also live in suburbs and drive everywhere and go to shopping centres? Shit, the French practically invented the “supermarket” and the even bigger hypermarket!

Expanding on idea of Canadians choosing not to be American. We made that choice. You tried to invade in 1812 and made the assumption that since most of Upper Canada (Ontario) and a significant portion of Lower Canada (Quebec) was populated by people born in what became the USA, there would be little resistance (Colonial Government was very concerned about this also). The invasion failed. Even the settlers who came from the USA actually fought hard to stop the invasion. So what did you do?

You ignored us. Your histories of the war of 1812 focus on the naval war and downplay the invasion (many of them omit any mention of the invasion). And you went about your business (quite successfully). Why ignore Canada? Because it makes no sense that we would choose not to be you. Turn down freedom? Turn down liberty? Not want to be a part of the best country in the world? Better to just block us out from view. It's like a two way mirror. You look towards us an see yourselves reflected. Nothing unique or different. We look towards you and see something very different. When you read Margaret Atwood you don't get the same story a Canadian gets

R128, Canada had been under British control since. The population in 1725 was 39,300. In 1750 was 81,600. In 1775, 150,000. About 40,000 - 80,000 people left the United States because of the revolution. The point is it was well settled by the British prior to the revolution.

Brits in control since 1763.

Why do you guys have to do this? What about mocking Canada makes you feel good? It's pretty small, if depressingly regular.

[quote]The point is it was well settled by the British prior to the revolution.

It was well settled, by the French. The English in Nova Scotia pre-1775 were mostly Massachusetts farmers who took land forceably vacated by the French Acadians (many of whom were returning by 1775. No one would refer anything outside of Quebec and Ontario as part of Canada until 1967 anyway.

Two languages, a solid indigenous population. National Healthcare...and poutine.

Just like Australians, Canadians are meh

Don't be silly, R147. Plenty of Americans are meh. A lot of American pop culture is meh. Don't be modest.

Let’s be honest, have you ever heard anyone say “Honey, let’s stay in and order Canadian”?

Canadians are resource extractors the culture is selling off the bounty of the vast resources they have while pretending they have some virtue. Passive aggressive Protestant repressive pukes for the most part.

Enjoy your next mass shooting r150 which happens any day that ends in the letter Y.

R151 wins. Thread closed.

Canadians are ultimately responsible for giving the world Meghan Markle.

Canadian hockey players are delicious. I have enjoyed them for years.

R149 Have you ever ordered American? Wtf are you even talking about?

r155 hoe cakes and pot roast for everyone!

I wouldn't be surprised if pot roast was originally British, R156.

Oops, maybe pot roast is American. I just assumed working class Brits used this method for tougher cuts of meat.

What’s a hoe cake?

[quote][R149] Have you ever ordered American? Wtf are you even talking about?

Whatever it is, a single serving could feed four normal people and pack enough fat, sugar and calories to max out your daily limits for a week.

And that is American culture.

pemmican is true Canuck food but I wouldn't recommend it.

@r155 it’s a quote from the movie Canadian Bacon 😂

On topic

R 151 Don’t speak too quickly about shooting people Canada has its sins too. I was in Mexico at a music cultural festival known as Cervantino . Canada was the featured country, invited to specifically present its cultural/ economic and social aspects and display them. They were given a small town size venue to do this in. The town was in a silver mining area and most of the big mines were run by what were described as Canadians. The mines had recently hired armed guards to patrol around the mines. I saw them myself. They also had helicopters and armed guards wondering in the hills. The guards were dressed in black uniforms with no identifying logo or number. They shot the locals on a regular basis. They felt free to murder locals who went into the mines at night and grabbed a few dollars worth of silver. The country represented itself with a couple of rooms in a small building with pictures of a forest and had plastic water jugs for sale with a Canadian logo and flag. That was it, no mention of the mining. The only thing of significance musically was an indigenous rap group that had an angry New York City type vibe. They were great but the chance was lost to show what Canada was about unless of course it was about pissed off indigenous musicians.

To answer the question above: American culture is jazz, rock n roll, hip hop, rhythm and blues (England is the only country that rivals the US in music), many forms of dance, the internet, so many great writers and playwrights that I've lost count, too many great visual artists to count, the silicon chip and numerous other technological inventions, a constitution that has been copied by several other countries, film and television watched all over the world...however one feels about the US, it has a distinct culture. It doesn't mean you have to like it.

No one outside of Canada itself thinks Canada has culture. Ask any European. Even Canada's prime minister doesn't think so. It doesn't mean Canadians are unlikeable, I prefer Canadian men to American men tbh. It also doesn't mean that Canada will not grow into its own and become a dominant force, culturally.

If countries can fall (US and England and France), then others can rise.

Well, in fairness, Canada's Prime Minister is an spoiled princeling imbecile.

You know what, this is the thread that makes me quit DL. Fuck you all. You live in the most failing, disappointing country on earth... like Miss Havisham, cloaked in the rotting remnants of something grand forty years ago. You are riddled with guns and shootings, and erosion of rights, and obesity and a rotting democracy, people who don't have healthcare and cruel national culture clinging to a myth that any child can grow up to be a success, even President (which boomeranged nicely on you with Donald Trump.) And yet you think you're so fucking great. All you've got left is weapons and a financial system that's selling you out in front of your faces. There's no point listing your frailties... you're too stupid to see it.

That so many of you get off on picking on Canada... well that's about how far you've sunk and the rest is sinking fast. Fuck you and fuck off.

r1, we totally agree.

r167, I agree too!

R166 better to be a has been then a never was, eh? I'm sure there is a robust interesting Canadian forum for gays like the DL you can join...or is there?

Don't let the door hit you on your way out.

Sure R1

What a great comeback, R169. Robust and interesting.

[quote]No one outside of Canada itself thinks Canada has culture. Ask any European.

That's because Americans and Europeans are ignorant sluts.

Canadians don’t even like Canadians.

It was Paul Bernardo, genius.

And it's spelled Sergeant.

Helpful hint, Harvard, when there's a red line under the word, you done fucked it up agin.

Are clutcher is smart.

[quote] Helpful hint, Harvard, when there's a red line under the word, you done fucked it up agin.

Guess you didn't see that red line huh?

R171 how did I know you would be back? Every time someone DECLARES they are leaving DL, they stay. So predictable.

Americans have Christian fundie politicians and judges who are determined to take away abortion rights from all women. We're so jealous 🙄.

R178, I didn't say when dear. I want my 1.99's worth. You should understand that. It's what you pay for most of your supersize entrees down there.

R151 put you smug Yankee bitches in your place.

R180 nothing hotter than a cheap Canadian. You won't leave.

For all the Canadian complaints about the US, you copy us every chance you get. You're even on a forum started by an American and majority American viewership.

We deplore you, R182. We disdain you every chance we get. We may pretend otherwise if there's an advantage, but you people are crude, vulgar, lawless and cruel. You're like that uncle everybody puts up with. Tell yourself what you need to. It'll be a full time job.

As to why we might slum here, this thread is the real America, but there are some good threads and good posters elsewhere. That said, I've got about a week to enjoy the few and far between and then I'm done with the likes of you. Enjoy your next mass shooting or killing of a black person by a cop.

Yes, everybody wants to be just like you.

Ice Trucking

Most reputable countries (2019):

1 Sweden

2 Switzerland

3 Norway

4 Finland

5 New Zealand

6 Canada

7 Denmark

8 Australia

9 the Netherlands

10. Ireland

36 U.S.A.

Canadian artist Alex Colville - Couple on Beach

The Reputation Institute, an international consulting firm with offices in Copenhagen and Boston, issues a yearly report of the countries with the “best reputations” worldwide. The firm uses this report to recognize the countries with international renown for garnering respect, trust, admiration and esteem from others, and the firm uses a number of criteria to gauge a country's worthiness to be included within their list.

The institute gathers its data by running an online survey of 48,000 consumers from G8 countries.

The top 10 most respected countries in the survey were found to be Canada, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, Finland, New Zealand, Denmark and the Netherlands. Further down the list are Belgium, Ireland, Austria, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Japan, Spain, Portugal, France and Singapore. Certain countries also scored better in specific reputation sectors than others. Sweden, for instance, scored especially high in governmental aspects, while Japan did similarly well in its own reputation for growth and development.

Of the countries that didn't make it to the top 20 of list, the United States may be one of the most surprising absentees to many. The US was considered about average in terms of national reputation, known mostly for its technology sector and its recognizable brand-name products. Other reasons that pushed the US out of the list of the top 20 reputation below was the US Supreme Court ruling in favor of super-PACS, a decision that has caused many people at home and abroad to lose trust in the American political system

Some awfully high praise from some critics for Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin's movie "My Winnipeg":

Critic Roger Ebert gave the film a perfect 4/4 star rating, stating of Maddin's work generally that "If you love movies in the very sinews of your imagination, you should experience the work of Guy Maddin."

Jonathan Romney began his review by stating that

"This reviews section, you'll have noticed, operates a five-tier ratings system, but there are occasions when this just doesn't suffice. Once in a blue moon, you encounter a film so extraordinary that it's not enough to award the icon of a woman standing, hands raised in applause. You really need her to be levitating several feet above her armchair, body racked with the transcendental ecstasies of Saint Teresa. Such a film is My Winnipeg, by Canadian film-maker Guy Maddin."

Maddin has served as a visiting lecturer at Harvard University's Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies.

I'm an American ex-pat now living in Canada with my husband (who is Canadian) and I would say the "Canadian Identity" is multiculturalism, the fact that no one is made to prescribe to a particular cultural ideology. As long as you follow the law, basically you do not have to forsake your roots. This is different to America, or even the UK, were immigrants (particularly non-white immigrants) are made to feel they have to "reinvent" themselves. Unlike the US, Canada is a group of former European colonies that evolved peacefully into it's own country. Quebec, is unique, in that it is deeply rooted in its french heritage, although Montreal is really just a North American city where the majority of the population speak French. I would said Canada is a mix of American culture, with a hint of British social sensibilities and humour. Also, anti-Americanism is deeply rooted in Canadians. Personally, I find Canada a kinder, gentler and safer version of America.

We do like the fact people are so poorly paid that Target's pretty cheap.

[quote] You live in the most failing, disappointing country on earth

You need to get out more.

[quote] Personally, I find Canada a kinder, gentler and safer version of America.

Yeah, this is pretty much it. And cleaner. I like both countries though.

Other worthwhile Canadian films:

The Sweet Hereafter

Mon Oncle Antoine

Jesus of Montreal

Léolo

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner

C.R.A.Z.Y.

In 2008, Roger Ebert included "Mon Oncle Antoine" on his "Great Movies" list.

R190 , only " critics" seem to care about this movie nobody has seen, except critics ofc, about some backwoods place " up North"

Canada....America's hat!

Oh I have good memories of Canada, Ontario specifically. In the late 90s during my college years, one wild weekend my friends and I drove across the border to Montreal to see the Tragically Hip in concert. It was a magical time.

Wow, R196. You have given us the most perfect example of a cheap shot in the history of DL. I'm very proud of you.

r84 bitter, much?

Typical American art

I've had uniformly hot Canadian men and exquisite Canadian cock on all my visits.

10/10, would recommend!

National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. by Canadian indigenous architect Douglas Cardinal

The Reputation Rankings of countries was interesting to me. See R186 and R189.

If you are curious, here are results from additional years and a complete listing at link.

American here. My overall impression of Canada and Canadians is positive. I've been to BC, only. Canadians seem friendly and polite.

Posters above have said Canada is boring and that Canadians are passive-aggressive. I think I'd trade that for unvarnished aggression. I could, at least, try to avoid or ignore people who were passive-aggressive.

At R204 the States always in the fifties for a score and ranked in the thirties among nations.

Canada's Culture is Multiculturalism and French Culture.

You want a poontang eating contest, baby, you just bring it on down here to St. Louis.

Curds 'n' all.

But, I can’t fefefeeeel my toes 🥶

I've lived in both the US and Canada in my life...the US is more exciting, Canada is safer and easier to live in.

Outside of Quebec, Canada doesn't have it's own culture. As a former colony that never rebelled, but rather, evolved into a separate country, Canada has always been an import of cultures. Really, only Quebec has developed it's own unique culture the rest of the country is a patchwork. We're strongly influenced by the American media but socially are somewhat more European (certainly our political system is based on the British Model). While Canada, like the US, is dealing with both far-right white supremacy and far-left wokery, we don't have the same obsessions with race as in the US (Canadians are more 'behind closed door racists.') Reconciliation has become an issue in Canada but outside of politics it really doesn't dominate national discourse. The arts and culture scene in Canada is small, boring, and very snooty. Canadians are far less religious, indeed, for it's population, Canada is one of the most secular countries in the world.

[quote] Canadians are more 'behind closed door racists.')

Very true

[quote] Canada is one of the most secular countries in the world.

So secular that in Quebec they banned all religious symbols

I’m Canadian and I know we don’t have a culture. The fact that people are bringing up the likes of Justin Bieber as something we should be proud of shows how sad it really is.

[quote] So secular that in Quebec they banned all religious symbols

Uh, no. Civil servants in positions of authority cannot wear 'ostentatious' religious symbols, such as large crucifixes, turbans and most notably, hijabs (there are many North African women in teaching positions).

R212, I was joking when I brought up Celine Dion, Shania Twain and Justin Bieber. I'm very well aware that they aren't great artists.

What about actress / director Sarah Polley and writer Miriam Toews? Are you embarrassed by them too?

[quote] Outside of Quebec, Canada doesn't have it's own culture.

Really, R210? You clearly never spent any time in the Maritime provinces, particularly Newfoundland, PEI or Nova Scotia.

The United States is the classic cautionary tale of what happens when the mechanisms for setting health care prices and allocating health resources are largely left to the market. The U.S. system is the most expensive in the developed world, by far, yet instead of more and better health care it actually delivers less health care than universal health care systems in Europe, at way higher cost. But it does redirect massive amounts of wealth to private hospitals and private insurance companies.

The answer to your question OP is Letterkenny

Take the definition of culture, from an American dictionary (Merriam Webster): "the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time popular culture; the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization;: the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic

Many posts have established the Canada does have culture, which may not be as rare as the questions suggest. Indeed by these definitions, OP's questions, "Do Canadians even have their own culture?" and "Is there anything unique or distinct about them at all?" are in the running for stupidest question ever asked on DL. But then again, he reflects the customary beliefs, social forms and material traits of his kind in doing so. Poor booby.

The Group of Seven

Let's try that again.

R216 from what non American DLers have said here, government ran healthcare is about equal to private in terms of quality.

I can't remember what thread I was reading or what country they were from but they said a lot of citizens kept private health insurance in addition to the free/cheap healthcare provided.

There is, of course, no doubt that it's more affordable.

R221 So it's a misconception that here in Canada we have a universal free healthcare. We don't. Basically, your primary care is covered e.g. going to the doctor, getting necessary medical treatment is covered. However supplementary care (e.g. dentist, eye doctor, prescriptions drugs) are not covered. Most people who work full time jobs are provided insurance through their employer that covers some or all their supplementary costs.

Trailer Park Boys and Tragically Hip

Yes, OP. David Cronenberg.

As I've said before, you Yankees are ignorant sluts. There are many examples of Canadian writers, artists, TV shows, movies, etc. on this thread.

The Toilet Boys

R223 make like a tree and fuck off

[quote] As I've said before, you Yankees are ignorant sluts

Thanks!

So use pads.

I think Canada's lack of a strong national identity is an asset. Kind of the ultimate modern society.

Chicago's most beloved landmark, the Bahai temple, was designed by a Quebec born architect.

True, R230. Americans are always pillaging Canadian culture and then they say we don't have any. It's what they do.

Baha'í Temple in Wilmette, Illinois

R230, the Bahai temple is great but let's not exaggerate. That is NOT Chicago's most beloved landmark.

It should be, R233.

The Bourgeois family in Quebec were extraordinary architects

Another Quebecoi architect designed Notre Dame de Chicago, an impressive church in Chicago.

And a Canadian in Chicago invented Kraft Maraconi and Cheese dinner, Which needs to be a demerit for the land of poutine ledger!

The red maypole leaves are confusing.

Canadians are largely indistinguishable from Americans. 90% of Canadians live within 150 miles of the US border.

I always imagine I have a Canadian doppelgänger. He speaks slightly differently and face it he’s likely uncut.

I always feel like they’re lining the border with binoculars

Then get a shrink. You do have health care, don't you?

Canada gave us the greatest gift of all: Celine Dion.

And then it fucked it up by giving us Justin Bieber.

But Céline always sings terrible, overwrought sentimental songs.

Canada gave the world Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchelll and Neil Young.

Don't you talk like that about The Celine, r244! She's the greatest singer in the World!

If you say so, Ana Gasteyer / R245.

[quote]Joni Mitchell

Lost her voice.

I mean Joni Mitchell at the height of her career. She is 79 years old and I assume she's still a chain smoker.

snowshoeing

Playing lacrosse.

Playing street hockey or on a backyard ice rink. Not many people doing that in Georgia and Florida.

This tongue in cheek song from 1965 says it all.

PD Canada got colour TV in October 1966.

Sloan - Everything You've Done Wrong

Much better than most American pop music.

Sam Roberts - Don't Walk Away Eileen

Much better than most American pop music.

Feist - Mushaboom

Much better than most American pop music.

Arcade Fire - Rebellion

Light years better than most American pop music.

I had forgotten those, r252, r253, r254 and r255. The last two could have stayed forgotten.

They’re always sore-y.

They can claim Sue Johanson, the most sex positive grandma ever.

OP, I love Canadians. They are like midwest Americans. Polite, unassuming, friendly. Yes, they have their own culture - they just don't foist it on you.

How VERY dare you, R256? All those songs are brilliant, especially Arcade Fire.

It's typical of canadians to assume the US doesn't have an indie music scene.

Uh huh. Those songs weren't hits in the U.S. Why? Because Americans assume nothing worthwhile happens outside their borders. Americans are very provincial in their own way.

We're not discussing whether the U.S. has an indie music scene, R261. We're discussing whether Canada has any culture.

Which is a stupid discussion. It's like discussing if water feels wet. Everywhere has a culture. Even this dump, which seems to include large doses of stupid, racism, sexism, jingoism, self-loathing and mommy issues.

Curling

Pffft. Yeah right, R264. Does Idaho have a culture? No, it doesn't.

We discussed the definition of culture R264. Every place, every group, has a culture, whether you like it or not. So Pfft you. You're being purposely obtuse. I hope.

Argh... R266... why do you imbeciles make my blood boil?

Yeah, Idaho has a culture not worth mentioning.

Sloan is very good. You don’t always hear it but there’s always been good Canadian music. Mother Mother is my favorite Canadian band.

Idaho has a very pungent culture...of evil!

Capers said there were 10 people in the house — some of whom has just moved there earlier in the week — but that that no one else was injured. He said two of the victims, all believed to be from Honduras, were found laying over two children in a bedroom.

Two other victims, a male and female, were found by the front door and the slain child was in the front room. Capers said three other “blood-covered” children were found in the home and taken to a hospital, where they were determined to be uninjured.

“The Honduran ladies that were laying over these children were doing it in such an effort as to protect the child,” Capers said.

The confrontation followed family members walking up to the fence and asking the suspect to stop shooting rounds, Capers said. The suspect responded by telling them that it was his property, according to Capers, and that one person in the house got a video of the suspect walking up to the front door with the rifle.

Oh great. It's the wrong thread troll.

[quote]Those songs weren't hits in the U.S. Why? Because Americans assume nothing worthwhile happens outside their borders. Americans are very provincial in their own way.

I don't think Paul McCartney, Elton John, Adele or about a thousand other British musicians would agree,.

Um, Americans have a long history of admiring British culture. After all, Britain was the world's superpower in the 19th century. For many years, American students studied British literature in high school because it was considered to be better than American literature.

Yeah, once in a while, a British pop star makes it big in the U.S. They're in the minority.

r179 the difference on that matter is that Canadians codified the law because they sought decriminalization, whereas Americans abortion advocates were holding out for full legalization or nothing. Very few of even the most staunch advocates support full legalization. So, Democrats had decades to codified the law but the proponents were stuck in the mindset of legalizing. So, it was more the problem with American 'liberals' rather than opportunistic conservatives which had been pushing from the era where anti-abortion advocacy was a civil rights matter.

The great Eleanor Wachtel is part of Canadian culture.

Thank you for the interesting info, R277. Not sure why you're listed as a troll. What you wrote sounds legit to me.

This

Sasquatch Porn

Nah, that's popular in the Pacific Northwest too, R281.

Gordon Lightfoot

Stan Rogers, you ignorant Yankee whores.

The "Northwest Passage" has millions of views on Youtube.