The fabric of societyThe nation aspires towards a “cultural mosaic,” something like a patchwork quilt, whereas Americans have aimed for the “melting pot.” Canadians are essentially practical, and have figured out that the bat-brained idea of a melting pot would simply never work in a country where 50% of the land never completely thaws at all. A quilt is a much more pragmatic idea: it's cold outside. On a clear day you can see foreverHaving so much land has a great effect on the character, customs, and culture of the nation. Take, for example, the prairies. The plains of Canada stretch out endlessly. The flattest spot in the world can be found here, with nary a tree to obstruct the view, which leaves the prairie observer with a remarkably huge view of nothing. In Saskatchewan it is said that you can watch your dog running away for three days. Honesty is the best policyIn the settling of the Canadian prairies, the early pioneers had no-one to rely on but themselves and their near neighbors. Honesty and integrity were important, not to mention things like a good reputation and a virtuous character. It's an attitude that persists to this day. In areas with sparse population, one cannot underestimate the power of public opinion (and the potential damage of the rumor mill). Peer pressure promotes public propriety. Politicians are expected to live up to their promises (and are regularly voted out when they regularly don't). The bear truthCanadians are down-to-earth, even earthy, people, and there are fewer extremes of class in Canadian society than in many others. Arrogance is curtailed by a lack of things about which to brag, although in your presence a Canadian might have caught a larger fish or climbed a higher mountain than you have, and killed a more ferocious grizzly bear (with his bare hands, naturally).
Xenophobe's Guide to the Canadians
By Vaughn Roste, Peter W. Wilson, Catriona Tulloch ScottXenophobe's Guides
Copyright © 2012 Xenophobe's Guides Ltd
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-906042-25-7Contents
Title Page,
Nationalism & Identity,
Character,
Manners & Etiquette,
Attitudes & Values,
Obsessions,
Leisure,
Eating,
Systems,
Education,
Culture (or lack thereof),
Sense of Humour,
Custom & Tradition,
Industry & Business,
Government,
Law & Order,
Language,
The Authors,
Copyright,
CHAPTER 1
Nationalism & Identity
Forewarned
Canadians are a disparate lot, their huge country created by volunteers from every other nation and consequently none too sure of just what it is itself.
The story is told of an early European explorer, Jacques Cartier, who asked the local natives what the area was called. They answered "Kanata" and the term was subsequently applied to the northern half of the North American continent. Only later was it discovered that the word actually meant 'a small fishing village'.
Canada is the second largest country in the world (after Russia). Most other countries would fit several times into one Canadian province. Its largest island, Baffin Island, is roughly twice as large as Great Britain (yet has only 28 settlements); there are national parks that are bigger than Switzerland; some of its lakes are larger than most seas – there's surf on a windy day on Lake Superior, for heaven's sake (though the most surfing that Canadians are ever likely to do is at home on the net).
Bordered by no less than three oceans, Canada is the country with the most coastline in the world. One glance at the northern islands and you will understand why. The nation doesn't have much coastline on the Pacific side because the Americans somehow got away with buying Alaska from the Russians and thus laid claim to more than their fair share. But that's OK. Canadians are not resentful, and it turned out to be more of a liability in any case after the Exxon Valdez oil tanker had passed by.
Canada as a country is a conundrum. It is a savage land with gentle people, an enormous territory but sparsely populated, a wilderness at the forefront of technology, a culture defined as much or more by its regions as by any homogenous whole. Common ground comes with layers of protective clothing against -30°C of cold.
How they see themselves
To talk glibly of a Canadian identity is to conjecture, because this has yet to be firmly established. As one of Canada's poets sagely noted: 'It is only by our lack of ghosts that we are haunted.' The fact of the matter is that Canadians have no identity and are keenly seeking one. Canada's political bestsellers are often angst-ridden commentaries with titles such as Canada on the World Stage: Is Anyone Listening? and The Future of Canada: Does Nationalism Even Matter?
Much time and government funding has been spent in the public contemplation of the question of nationalism. One thing that everyone can agree on is that Canadians are NOT American. Any other statement made about Canadians pales in the face of this one.
Being NOT something else could be seen as the guiding principle around which the whole of Canadian society is based. (French Canadians have less of a difficulty with being NOT American, but are equally obsessed with protecting their identity and being NOT English Canadian, so the principle is the same.) Consequently, anything the Americans do C
