Does the rest of the world see Canada the way the US does?

Well, @seazen , in this case, aren’t you representative of the rest of the world???

I don’t know. You tell me…

I do my best to keep the US and Canada separate in my mind, because I don’t like it when people associate Australia with New Zealand (joking, joking… sort of :D)

My idea of Canada is that it’s very cold, they play ice hockey, and they speak American and French. Sometimes I forget that it has cities other than Toronto, but I’m getting better at that.

a quite loft above a crazy party

I like that!

I’m surprised the question isn’t getting more answers. Maybe if the question were simply “What do you think of Canada”.

@seazen you’ve inspired me to ask Fluther about its impression of my home.

I have no idea how the US sees Canada, but I tend to think it is a naturally beautiful country, with people that speak like those from the US (accent-wise) but are much more reserved and more culturally aware of the rest of the world. I have met some Canadians that are embarrassed by their connection with the US. I always think of Canada as having huge modern cities, but the rural areas are wild and exotic. Oh, and rich people go there to snow ski, because we only have a few decent ski fields in Australia.

@iphigeneia They speak American?

@JLeslie According to some of their shows they do.

@papayalily I don’t get it. We don’t speak American, we speak English. English with an American accent. Even then, the accents vary around the country of course. Someone asked my husband to speak Mexican once, and he didn’t understand the question lol.

By the way Canada spells as the British do, and they have a Canadian accent, not American. The upper midwest in the US has a similar accent.

I can’t answer @seazen question because I am American, but I thought I would say that I love Canada. The cities are wonderful, great food, great people, clean, safe. Only negative is the cold weather.

I think some people probably do lump North America into one. Maybe even all of the Americas? At least as a verbal shortcut. When my SIL went to finishing school in Switzerland, they kept sang she was the only American in her classes, and she was from Mexico.

They speak American?

No, but it’s aboot like American.

I have to say, normally I agree with @JLeslie, but lately I’ve been wondering if this society of decency that you normally think of in regards to Canada is more a culture of conflict-avoidance and the passive-aggressiveness that follows. Just a idea

@papayalily I don’t think of Canadians as avoiding conflict. I think of them as friendly and open-minded/liberal and non-judgemental for the most part. Of course there are exceptions. I don’t get a stiff upper lip squash all feelings and reactions from them. I see hat in my Mexican relatives. I always comment that they are more like the Brits than I ever would have guessed, and many of them are defnitely passive aggressive. Not sure if the English are passive aggressive?

@JLeslie I haven’t noticed any real passive-aggression in Brits if you’re paying attention. More like… really mean comments, but nice tones – but I don’t think they’re hiding and saying “I wasn’t mean” or anything, I just think we Americans are more likely to get red in the face and start yelling, whereas Brits are more likely to use their words in the same tone.
Wait, many Canadians or many Brits are passive-aggressive?

@JLeslie I was being silly. I know they speak English, but whenever I hear a Canadian speak my first impression is that they are American.

I can’t tell he difference between a Canadian accent and an American one. I like Canada though (I’ve been, once, and loved it). It was like being in America, except that people seemed to have more like European attitudes rather than American ones. And Toronoto was the cleanest city I have ever seen.

I like the money, except the Twonies, they’re too heavy. The rest is pretty. Just sayin’.

When my friend (a US girl) was traveling in Europe, she encountered some hostility in a country-that-shall-not-be-named when she tried to speak to people, even though she had worked very hard at learning the language. Some kind soul took pity on her and advised her to introduce herself as Canadian and she never had another problem.

@papayalily I kind of put two things together in my statement, I did not word it well. In my limited experience with the English, I would agree with you that they do not seem passive aggressive, but do seem well controlled in displaying displeasure or anger. The Mexicans on the other hand, many do seem passive aggressive. But, so do a lot of Americans. Red in the face and not red in the face does not tell us whether someone is passive aggressive, it could simply mean someone is able to communicate without losing their temper. It is the lack of direct verbal communication that makes someone passive aggressive in my mind.

@iphigeneia I guess that is like an American confusing the Brits, Scottish, and South Africans. I can usually tell the difference. Usually, not always. But, most Americans who anything close to an English accent guess England. Still I would not say someone speaks Australian for instance. Is English your second language?

I think that Americans in general are pretty ignorant when it comes to Canada, at least from what I’ve experienced. It’s not cold here all the time, we don’t all say aboot, and we don’t live in igloos or take our smowmobiles to work. If you’ve ever seen Rick Mercer’s Talking with Americans clips you’ll see what I mean about the ignorance toward Canada.

I have to agree with @Blueroses, though – people in foreign countries often assume that we’re American, but when they find out we’re Canadian, their attitudes can change greatly (for the better). I’ve experienced this myself, and have heard the same from many friends and family.

@Seelix That is not ignorance towards Canada. That is stupidity among Americans. Those same people would get all sorts of American history, geography, and info about their own country wrong also. In some instances it is probabaly camera fright. Most Americans think why vacation in Canada it’s basically the same as America, especially those who live near the border think there is very little difference between America and Canada, not enough like going to another country.

I tend to think of Canada as a really beautiful place full of people that are similar to Americans, but who are always on their best behavior. That’s why I love Canada. All of the good stuff, without all of the bad stuff.

@JLeslie It’s funny because those accents all sound completely different to me.

I used American because it made the sentence flow better and it was easier to type on my phone than ‘English with an American accent’.

I blame Canada.

I blame it on the Bossa Nova.

@iphigeneia They are different. Americans just have little experience with those accents so they simply don’t know the differences, so they are taking a guess. Also, when a language is a second language it is very hard to catch the differences. My husband is ESL, and he loves English, Irish, and Scottish accents. He does hear much of a difference between them. He does ask me why I think those accents sound so much more sophisticated and appealing than an American accent, and why a southern accent sounds more stupid, lol. I have no real answer for that. But, I find it interesting a foreigner, my husband, has that perception just listening to the accent, without a stereotype that has been taught to him. I do find that the English, when they mimic an American accent many times pick our southern accent, I have not figured out why yet. I think the English have fun picking on us, at least it seems so on Top Gear. Our weight, accent, and intolerant southern states.

@JLeslie Don’t judge the English by what Jeremy Clarkson says: he picks on EVERYBODY.

@downtide Don’t get me wrong, we think Top Gear is Hilarious, and I have yet to disagree with his generalizations about Americans.

Canada blames the Bubby. Just saying.

So the feeling is mutual.

But of course.

What are we blaming Canada for?

Oh whatever is currently blame-able!
There’s only heels left in the bread basket… Canada
I stubbed my toe on a meteor… Canada
All of the tv shows are reruns tonight… damn you, Canada!

@JLeslie Everything, pretty much. Blame Canada!

Robin Williams does too.

Haha. Oh yeah. Someone on my facebook posted that same link. Slipped my mind. I blame people all of the time, in jest, for things they are not responsible for. I figured @janbb was doing the same thing. Figuring it was a Jewish schtick or something.

Canada and the US share quite a bit, but Canada got the class, culture, and health care, while the US got something else, I just haven’t figured out what it is.

I woulda said that the US got warmer weather but right now, I’m not so sure!

@janbb You got that right. O degrees this AM here in Upstate. How was Canada, jellys to our North?