# What does a Canadian look like, anyway?



## jimbunting (22 Jan 2004)

Gentelmen:

In one of my many sojurns in the USA, I had occasion to be speaking with a number of adult, educated, and apparently serious Americans.

The topic swerved into a rather strange area, about what Canadians "looked like". The impression seemed to be that we Canucks are " just like Americans " but with some funny ways of speaking, and expressing ourselves. Other than that, the Americans coudn‘t see any difference.

Of course, I‘m a white anglo guy, and so where the Yanks I was seated with in this bar, so i tried to explain that Canadaians are all colours and from all ethnic backgrounds, but to no avail, as the Americans firmly stated that "those others are not Canadians, they‘re immigrants".

Hard to argue with that, right? I tried to point out that we have had Sikhs in BC for over a hundred years, as well as Chinese there, and a large number of black Canadians trace their ancestry to escaped slaves who came up the "Underground Railway" and that the first black newspaper, in North America was in Dresden, Ontario. Didn‘t make any difference to them, cause to them Canadians are white, except of course for those bad French Canadians, who want to secede.......their term, not mine!

I was sorry that I wasn‘t able to change their minds, but it‘s their loss, not mine.

So, my question to all of you?

What does a Canadian look like, in your opinion?

Jim Bunting. Toronto.


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## Infanteer (22 Jan 2004)

Tell em we all look like this...


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## nULL (22 Jan 2004)

hey infanteer, ah, what are you doing tomorrow night?


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## Infanteer (22 Jan 2004)

Hands off....


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## nbk (22 Jan 2004)

Ask the internet.


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## mattoigta (22 Jan 2004)

The first picture i got in the google image search for "Canadian" was a soldier.

And funnily enough the second picture was a collection of multicultural people, drinking beer.


wtf! look what else turned up:


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## D-n-A (22 Jan 2004)

Infanteer, isnt she American?

Also, I really hope the helmet I got issued to me, wasnt used by one of those guys before..


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## mattoigta (22 Jan 2004)

i pity the fool who has one

"ed"‘s tan line makes me laugh


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## Jeff Boomhouwer (22 Jan 2004)

Whats really funny is "Brian is a spitting image of my unit‘s Padre!! Hey Ed is American. Look at his tags. I think I‘m looking at that pic too long.


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## Infanteer (23 Jan 2004)

No, there Canadian, he just broke them (notice the way one hangs differently due to the holes being in seperate places (check your tags).


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## Enzo (23 Jan 2004)

Those guys have been in Kuwait for waay too long. I don‘t want to even know what‘s on the remainder of that film.


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## sgtdixon (23 Jan 2004)

Ive Seen some pretty Odd Shiznit living on various bases and stations in my years as a brat, and even more since i took up some work in the oil industry...but as the b‘ys at the wellpads would say...Lord Tunderin Mary Mudder of Jesus me Buddy, thats some Effing wrong..


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## Danjanou (23 Jan 2004)

Dixon, fer the last time der buddy it‘s not Jesus. It‘s Jaayzuus. 

De only time ya say Jesus is when yer gonna kick the bejesus outta someone.


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## Slim (25 Jan 2004)

Aren‘t Canadians all 10 feet tall and bullet proof?

...Or is it only when intoxicated?

Ch e er s (hic)  ."

M is l (Said while slidingf off the table and passing out.)


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## Korus (1 Feb 2004)

Holy crap.. I swear "Rich" looks like an instructor I had this summer....


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## CanadianAtHeart (9 Jun 2004)

Hey y'all (Sorry, I live in Georgia, USA). . . This would be my first post, but I had to respond.  My mother is Canadian and I was born and raised in the States and I am constantly amazed by the ignorant attitudes of my fellow countrymen/women.  I actually had a Political Science class last fall at University where some guy told the entire class (in all sincerity) that Canadians did not back up the USA in some conflicts because - "What were they really going to do?  Chase the bad guys on their horses?"  I was apalled.  The ignorance of some US citizens gives my entire country a bad name.  My Papa, Nana, and great-uncles served Canada in World War II and I'm fairly certain that none of them rode into battle on horses (after all, the horses would have died trying to cross the Atlantic, eh?). . .


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## bossi (9 Jun 2004)

Thanks, CanadianAtHeart.
(and, oh - by the way, in addition to Shania Twain and Pamela Anderson, here's another Canadian) :


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## K. Ash (9 Jun 2004)

And what a beautiful Canadian she is....

I once meant a tourist from the southern US who thought all Canadians lived in igloos...heh, needless to say he was surprised.


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## Nox (10 Jun 2004)

absent_element said:
			
		

> And what a beautiful Canadian she is....
> 
> I once meant a tourist from the southern US who thought all Canadians lived in igloos...heh, needless to say he was surprised.


Funny, one of my friend's brothers went down to the state, and a guy assked him this exactly...

"Does your igloo melt in the summer?"

Want to know what my friend's brother said? Of course you do.

"What is s u m m e r?!"


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## brin11 (11 Jun 2004)

Granted this was many moons ago but...when my mom was a youngin' she lived down in New Orleans for a bit and she once held a large table of Americans quite enthralled with her description of igloo building.  She still has a giggle about it when she tells that story.


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## mattoigta (11 Jun 2004)

My father tells me of when he was a teenager, he'd go down to Expo '67 every day, and when he'd see the planes come in, alot of Americans would get off the plane in big fur coats - and realize it was a hot summer day


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## K. Ash (11 Jun 2004)

brin11 said:
			
		

> Granted this was many moons ago but...when my mom was a youngin' she lived down in New Orleans for a bit and she once held a large table of Americans quite enthralled with her description of igloo building.   She still has a giggle about it when she tells that story.



OMG...yea I can understand her still having a giggle from time to time over that one. 

This thread is beginning to remind me of Rick Mercer's 'Talking to AMericans'..heh


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## Infanteer (11 Jun 2004)

You'd be surprised on how stupid alot of Canadians can be....


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## Nox (11 Jun 2004)

Infanteer said:
			
		

> You'd be surprised on how stupid alot of Canadians can be....


True, take me for example. I'm an idiot, henceforth stupid Canadian, considering that I am legally Canadian (Born and raised), which furthermore leads to me being stupid - and - a Canadian.

And to whom stated it, I agree this is turning out like Rick Mercer's "Talking with Americans".


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## K. Ash (11 Jun 2004)

Nox...do us all a favour and just stop. 


Infanteer,

Personnally I think stupidity is pretty evenly distributed to all people.


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## CanadianAtHeart (12 Jun 2004)

I'll agree with that, absent, for sure.  I have met stupid people from all walks of life. . . And it seems to me that stupidity is not limited to any one country.  It just seems like Americans are a bit more vocal about it than most.  Thanks for humoring a not-quite-so-vocal American. . . Although clearly one who has no problem barging into a Canadian chat room.


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## Spr.Earl (12 Jun 2004)

CanadianAtHeart no prob's, we don't mind all y'all's


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## CanadianAtHeart (12 Jun 2004)

Haha. . .     

It very much amuses my (Canadian) grandfather that I typically use sentences that incorporate both "y'all" and "eh?"


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## mattoigta (12 Jun 2004)

CanadianAtHeart said:
			
		

> Haha. . .
> 
> It very much amuses my (Canadian) grandfather that I typically use sentences that incorporate both "y'all" and "eh?"



Hah that's excellent

Y'all come back now, eh?


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## tabernac (12 Jun 2004)

All Nox wants is attention. Even after knowing him for 8 years he still wants attention. Did any one else realize that "Nox" is in ObNOXious. 



> You'd be surprised on how stupid alot of Canadians can be....



I'm not. We had a little pop quiz with questions like "longest serving Prime Minister" "leader of the northwest rebellion" "date of confederation" "leader of the French Army at the Plains of Abraham" "leader of the English Army at the Plains of Abraham" I was the only one to get all six questions right(there was another person, but I gave him the answers).


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## Smoothbore (12 Jun 2004)

The stupid disease as it turns out, is hereditary. That means a person may be less intelligent just because his mother was so dumb she got fired from the M&M's factory for throwing out the w's.



			
				cheeky_monkey said:
			
		

> > You'd be surprised on how stupid alot of Canadians can be....
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not. We had a little pop quiz with questions like "longest serving Prime Minister" "leader of the northwest rebellion" "date of confederation" "leader of the French Army at the Plains of Abraham" "leader of the English Army at the Plains of Abraham" I was the only one to get all six questions right(there was another person, but I gave him the answers).



Oh yeah, than how much is a'million plus a'million?


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## K. Ash (13 Jun 2004)

CanadianAtHeart said:
			
		

> Haha. . .
> 
> It very much amuses my (Canadian) grandfather that I typically use sentences that incorporate both "y'all" and "eh?"



Haha...that's pretty good man.


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## Da_man (15 Jun 2004)

shes canadian


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## Smoothbore (16 Jun 2004)

Ahh....The Girl Next Door, I went to see the movie just for her.


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## Enzo (17 Jun 2004)

The igloo comment reminded me of something. When I was a teen, a class trip to Seattle came along. While we were down there, we interacted with some local kids. Bear in mind, this was a "day" trip as Victoria's not exactly a long way from Seattle. The inevitable questions came up (also bearing in mind that teenage boys will try to one up each other, regardless of nationality, when pretty girls are watching) with that "tone." Yes, the igloo thing, and the "power & running water" comments. All in good fun. So transportation came up and I quietly entered the conversation.

"Do you guys all have dogsleds?"

"Of course."

"How come you don't have snowmobiles?"

"Oh, well, we do, but only for in town use. Not when we go out into the bush or over vast distances."

"Why not?"

"Snowmobiles run out of gas, and you can't eat a snowmobile :evil:"


The looks were incredulous, keeping the straight face was the hardest part. We had a good laugh over that. ;D


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## sgt_mandal (17 Jun 2004)

Smoothbore said:
			
		

> Ahh....The Girl Next Door, I went to see the movie just for her.



I wouldn't get your hopes up, she keeps her clothes on


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## 1feral1 (17 Jun 2004)

Recently a girl from our Canberra detachment, who his a PTE RAAOC (Clerk), posed in Australia's FHM magazine. I wish I could figure out how to post her pic here, but I am too thick, so check out the recent 'uploads' (hurry now), and you decide. She's not too bad in the pic, and much more yummier in person. In the CP when in the fd, the young Lads hang about lie flys around a day old corpse! Us older SNCOs, are much more steath in our wicked thoughts! ;D Go have a look and you decide.

Cheers,

Wes


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## 1feral1 (17 Jun 2004)

;D She's in the 'For The Boys' section ;D


Cheers,

Wes


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## SFontaine (6 Jul 2004)

S_Baker said:
			
		

> I am pleasantly amused , it never fails (it seems to me) that inorder for a CDN to describe what he or she is, it always comes to a point where they describe what they are not (American) in a demeaning manner.     Hmmm.....pot calling the kettle black?



Well if you're confused on how to be Canadian check out this little guide

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=3212


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## LeeYang (7 Jul 2004)

Good link and very funny. I studied in Canada and the USA and I see a great difference. But only in attitude.
I think there is a very funny movie called 'Canadian Bacon' and the Americans are pushing their way through a crowd saying 'out of the way' and pushing Canadian people. And the Canadian people say 'oh! Sorry.'


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## Inch (7 Jul 2004)

One thing that sticks out in my mind about the differences between Canadians and 'mericans is the fact that they wear running shoes with jeans all the time.  Not all of them mind you but next time you're in the U.S. of A. have a look at their footwear.


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## Mansell (8 Jul 2004)

See, the beauty of Canadian Bacon is that the director is Michael Moore. Not too many people know that. One of our more favourite movies directed by a Friend from the South.


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## commando_wolf63 (10 Jul 2004)

While posted to C.F.B. Cold Lake   during one of the bi-annual exercises I was on the oppisite side of the main base I had an American come up to me and ask me if he could hitch a ride back to base I told him if he wasnt in a hurry as I had to pick up some officers who were lodged at a motel in the town of Cold Lake that it'd be ok for him to catch a ride with me.  As I drove past Grande Center the American aske me if we were still on Base my answer to that was No. As we passed several farms in the area he was confused and asked if we were on Base and I still replied no. I fianlly asked him what his fixation with the houses was and why he kept asking if "we were still on Base"  I immeditatly had to pull over on the side of the highway as his answer nearly caused me to swereve off the road as I was laughing so hard.  "Everybody down in Alabama knows Canadians live in Tepee's in the summer and Igloos in the winter."


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## Scott (11 Jul 2004)

Excerpts from an email I received that I would like to share:

These questions were posted on an International  tourism website about Canada:

Q) I have never seen warm weather on Canadian TV, how do the plants grow? (UK)

A) We import all of our plants fully grown just to sit around and watch them die.

Q) Will we see Polar Bears in the street? (USA)

A) Depends on how much you've been drinking.

Q) I want to walk from Vancouver to Toronto- can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)

A) SURE, it's only four thousand miles, take lots of water........

Q)Are there any ATM's (cash machines) in Canada? Can you send me a list of them in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax? (UK)

A) What did your last slave die of?

Q) Can you give me information on hippo racing in Canada? (USA)

A) A-fri-ca is a big triangle shaped continent south of Europe. Ca-na-da is the big country just to your north....oh f*** it. SURE, there's hippo racing every Tuesday night in Calgary, come naked.

Q) Do you celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada? (USA)

A) Only at Thanksgiving

Q) I was in Canada in 1969 on R&R, and I want to contact a girl I dated while I was staying in Surrey, BC. Can you help? (USA)

A) Yes, and you still have to pay her by the hour.

Q) Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA)

A) Yes, but you will have to learn it first

I mean no disrespect to our friends from the south, I have family from there (I make fun of them too) I mean it as good natured.

Cheers!


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## Korus (11 Jul 2004)

Hah! That's brilliant, mate, thanks for posting that!


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## CdnGalaGal (24 Sep 2004)

Hey All,

Yes, no one has written on this topic in a LONG time but I felt the need to share  ;D

I'm over in the Golan right now and many of the LOs and shop keepers I meet marvel that I am Canadian. I usually get the question "Are you Arabic?" When I ask why they don't think I'm Canadian, I usually get "You don't look like the others... You know, white."

 :


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