If you get into the main cities in the Prairies, they're everywhere as well. The north end of Saskatoon has three, two of which have drive-thru windows. I imagine Winnipeg and Calgary would have the same concentration of stores.
And really, cake doughnuts are so much better than the normal kind.
I heard Winnipeg has a ridiculously high crime rate, how much truth is there in that?
My buddy told me he went there and the people he was staying with don't even lock their car doors anymore, so that they wont have to pay for new windows all the time.
I hear the same things about crime, and it could likely be true. Apparently gangs are a huge problem there... like, it's mostly Native gangs, but that's to be expected with the number we have on the Prairies and their general living conditions. But yeah, street gangs are supposed to be huge problems, so crime should also be a problem.
I know Regina was the car-theft capital of Canada for a number of years running. I think last year they finally shook off that title, but it's still bad.
Yeah, Winnipeg is pretty awful. Apparently we have the highest murder rate in Canada, and the funny thing is we're one of the smallest capital cities.
The area I live in is not too bad, I mean I can walk down the streets of my community without fear of getting mugged or beaten. The north area of Winnipeg however is horrible, you'd either have to be insane or have some sort of deathwish to walk out there alone at night.
The impression I've gotten from the news is that this is a new thing (within 3 years or so)
Is that true? I honestly have a hard time imagining any Canadian city as "dangerous"
I really don't know if it's new or not. I think it has always been generally shitty when it comes to crime here, it's gotten worse with the gangs and all, but Winnipeg was a pretty bleak place to begin with.
A few of my friends joke around and call Winnipeg the "Detroit of Canada".
Covert Operative on
"The only limit to my freedom is the inevitable closure of the universe, as inevitable as your own last breath. And yet, there remains time to create, to create, and escape.
Canadian culture... it's hard to define. It's like saying "What's American culture"?
It's not that easy to define, with globalization and all. We don't look exotic, but that's because we live here. I guess both Canadian and American culture are defined by their history.
Vancouver's Downtown East Side, Northern Winnipeg, Parts of Regina... Yeah our cities are just that, Cities. The rare danger thing is a something we try to cultivate however google William Robert Pickton and you will see we have our issues too.
As for Canadian Culture I have always thought it was the mosaic rather than melting pot idea. I love it. Here in a somwhat isolated coastal towm of 20,000 we hav 2 thai resturants, a real sushi bar, a vietnamese noodle house and a mexican cantina. I think the slower pace even though I found Vancouver to be to rush rush and city for me, I sure found the area around Fort Lewis a thousand times worse. Our politics and policies, and heck even the way we devide our country go into the Canadian Culture.
We have :
the West (BC)
Home of rain, Vancouver, pot, good camping and agriculture. Seen as Califonia light and wet.
The Prairies (Alberta, Sask, Manitoba)
Flat full of cowboys and conservatives. Floods in the spring. Damn cold in the winter, Too damn hot in the summer. Edmonton and Calgary, Oil.
Central (Ontario, Quebec)
Toronto, or the center of the known universe, inflated self importance, More Americanized than the rest of us. thininking that the south end of Hudson bay is "Northern"
Maritimes (PEI, Nova Scotia, Newbrunswick, Newfounland & Labrador)
Fish, Funny accents, A huge bridge, really laid back way of life, Fiddles and Bodhrans.
The Territories (Yukon, North West, and Nunavut)
Cold, snow wasteland, Diamonds, North pole
Really we are more regionalized it seems than americans.
Phantom edit:
I like to think of our culture and diffrences from Americans with this example.
The Much Music Video Awards (MMVA's) is our award show much like the american MTV. Not as big as the grammies but ours. The MTV awards are a fancy and in a huge theatre. The MMVA'a are very canadian, we throw a party in the Chum building (where much is filimed) parking lot. Much beer is consumed by all.
If you get into the main cities in the Prairies, they're everywhere as well. The north end of Saskatoon has three, two of which have drive-thru windows. I imagine Winnipeg and Calgary would have the same concentration of stores.
And really, cake doughnuts are so much better than the normal kind.
I heard Winnipeg has a ridiculously high crime rate, how much truth is there in that?
My buddy told me he went there and the people he was staying with don't even lock their car doors anymore, so that they wont have to pay for new windows all the time.
I hear the same things about crime, and it could likely be true. Apparently gangs are a huge problem there... like, it's mostly Native gangs, but that's to be expected with the number we have on the Prairies and their general living conditions. But yeah, street gangs are supposed to be huge problems, so crime should also be a problem.
I know Regina was the car-theft capital of Canada for a number of years running. I think last year they finally shook off that title, but it's still bad.
Yeah, Winnipeg is pretty awful. Apparently we have the highest murder rate in Canada, and the funny thing is we're one of the smallest capital cities.
The area I live in is not too bad, I mean I can walk down the streets of my community without fear of getting mugged or beaten. The north area of Winnipeg however is horrible, you'd either have to be insane or have some sort of deathwish to walk out there alone at night.
The impression I've gotten from the news is that this is a new thing (within 3 years or so)
Is that true? I honestly have a hard time imagining any Canadian city as "dangerous"
I really don't know if it's new or not. I think it has always been generally shitty when it comes to crime here, it's gotten worse with the gangs and all, but Winnipeg was a pretty bleak place to begin with.
A few of my friends joke around and call Winnipeg the "Detroit of Canada".
Man, I've been to Winnipeg, and it doesn't really surprise me that crime is higher there. I mean, this is a fairly uninformed opinion, but there didn't seem to be a whole lot of things to do while I was there. Sure, I could have gone to the Fort Whyte center or something, but I could see teens getting sick of the movie theatre and such quickly.
Everything I know about Canada is from the movie Canadian Bacon. And all I can remember from that movie is that you guys like hockey and that Toronto is not the capital.
Oh yeah you also give birth to Kids in the Hall, good job there guys.
If anyone is curious about Canadian culture (or if you are Canadian and need a good laugh) I highly suggest the book How to Be a Canadian (Even if You Already Are One) by Wil Ferguson. Canada and US Amazon links are here. It is hilariously tongue-in-cheek, eh.
Vancouver's Downtown East Side, Northern Winnipeg, Parts of Regina... Yeah our cities are just that, Cities. The rare danger thing is a something we try to cultivate however google William Robert Pickton and you will see we have our issues too.
As for Canadian Culture I have always thought it was the mosaic rather than melting pot idea. I love it. Here in a somwhat isolated coastal towm of 20,000 we hav 2 thai resturants, a real sushi bar, a vietnamese noodle house and a mexican cantina. I think the slower pace even though I found Vancouver to be to rush rush and city for me, I sure found the area around Fort Lewis a thousand times worse. Our politics and policies, and heck even the way we devide our country go into the Canadian Culture.
We have :
the West (BC)
Home of rain, Vancouver, pot, good camping and agriculture. Seen as Califonia light and wet.
The Prairies (Alberta, Sask, Manitoba)
Flat full of cowboys and conservatives. Floods in the spring. Damn cold in the winter, Too damn hot in the summer. Edmonton and Calgary, Oil.
Central (Ontario, Quebec)
Toronto, or the center of the known universe, inflated self importance, More Americanized than the rest of us. thininking that the south end of Hudson bay is "Northern"
Maritimes (PEI, Nova Scotia, Newbrunswick, Newfounland & Labrador)
Fish, Funny accents, A huge bridge, really laid back way of life, Fiddles and Bodhrans.
The Territories (Yukon, North West, and Nunavut)
Cold, snow wasteland, Diamonds, North pole
Really we are more regionalized it seems than americans.
Phantom edit:
I like to think of our culture and diffrences from Americans with this example.
The Much Music Video Awards (MMVA's) is our award show much like the american MTV. Not as big as the grammies but ours. The MTV awards are a fancy and in a huge theatre. The MMVA'a are very canadian, we throw a party in the Chum building (where much is filimed) parking lot. Much beer is consumed by all.
Grouping together Ontario and Quebec is the height of insanity.
Also, Ive only ever heard the whole "not America" thing when talking to Americans, Canadians dont describe their culture like that amongst themselves.
Another thing that always comes to mind is the responsibility Canadians feel towards other Canadians and the rest of the world. Whether through healthcare, soup kitchens or peacekeepers, Canadians, for the most part, feel a responsibility to help others who need it and to do their part.
Were not a country. People always go, "oh you're from Canada? What part?"
What they should say is "You're from Canada? Which one?"
The Canada that thinks it's Canada?
The Canada that wants to be Canada?
The Canada that gets upset when you say "Canada?"
Or the Canada Canada was stolen from in the first place?
Were not a country. We're more like a bunch of little countries. We're kinda like Europe, well except that they're starting to get along with each other.
If real Canadian culture is anything similar to the online Canadian nature I've witnessed:
- They act polite, but in actuality they're stuck-up, hypocritical, snobbish asses who have a superiority complex, always thinking they're better than you if you're American.
- They always think they're right, especially when talking about things that don't even concern them, like American gun control.
- They are tenacious if they think you've slighted them, going so far as to troll and flame you through several forums.
- They are a combination of the worst qualities of foreign countries.
Of course, I could have just run into many many bad Canadian people which may have skewed my opinions :P
Since I was born there, I think i can at least give an honest view of my birth place. The first thing that springs to mind is Hockey, yes i'm a reltivly big hockey fan, though living ion the U.K. coverage is not great. The next thjing that comes to mind is the females, alot of ym friends from Canada are very attractive.
It's only Americans who have a poor view on us candians really, but I think it's partly just a friendly rivalry..(or a bitter jellousy :P) And with being Canadian AND British, I think I gert the best of both worlds, Hockey and Soccer
Sneezer on
Available for weddings, bar-mitzvahs and risings of the people against oppressive states.
I study Australian cultural history. Australia has always had a similar kind of problem: what is Australian culture? All cultures are constructed, but with Australian culture the process is often blatantly obvious: our national flag and anthem were both chosen by a government held competition. There is no consensus about what Australian culture means, and usually attempts to define it reflect only the interests and hopes of the writer.
Perhaps its a common problem among young nations in particular.
As a European I definitely used to think of Canada as "not America", figured it was like Australia but with snow instead of cool animals (no disrespect to your various bears and elks). In more recent years, though, I've learned more about the country and it's definitely high up on the places I'd like to visit for a year or something. It's definitely something I'm looking into, mainly because Australia is too damn hot and too damn far away.
Edit: Oh yeah, it's Zed. Sorry US guys, I guess we forgot to teach you that.
Last summer I worked with Ontario's Department of Culture and in a meeting with some stakeholders everyone was talking "Ontario culture this, Ontario culture that, etc. etc."
I couldn't help but think - what "Ontario" culture? To me, Ontario's culture was always just generic Canadian culture once you'd stripped away the regional peculiarities. Not much French, take away the Atlantic/Maritime contribution to Canada's culture, take away the Prairies and the west, and what little is left over is "Ontario".
Canadian culture is very loosly defined, and I like it that way. It makes lots of nationalism very difficult, since there are few "Canadian" things to do, and most of those would be downright harmless, like playing hockey or using universal health care.
In this way, we are more similar to the U.S. culture wise - not in what our culture is, but how it is constructed. We don't have the grounds for a "national" culture like Europe. It is instead a "Civic" culture based on values and beliefs, more so than traditions.
Also, Canadians aren't really that polite - or any more polite than anywhere else. The people you run into on the subway or the streets of downtown Toronto don't exactly exude sunshine. But that's no different than any other big city, Canada, the U.S. or Europe.
Anyway, as a test, let's see what the first things the Wikipedia entries for "Culture of Canada" and "Culture of the United States" come up with are:
America:
Christ if that's not the most contrived piece of crap ever.
I miss when they used to play these all the time on CBC, and occasionally even in theatres prior to the trailers. A series of one minute vignettes focusing on important events and people in Canadian history. When I think of Canadian Culture, I automatically think of these, because the moments and people they chose to portray reflect on what they want the culture to be perceived as, and a bit of what it actually is.
Particular highlights include the Avro Arrow, the invention of Basketball, the Bluenose, the Halifax explosion, Jackie Robinson (played endlessly in the theatres), Jennie Trout (first woman licensed to practice medicine in Canada, complete with hillarious penis joke), Laura Secord (warning of an American attack during the ar of 1812), Louis Riel, Osborn of Hong Kong, Sam Steele, and so on and so forth.
I think they come off as a little more realistic than your average government propaganda because they don't shy away from showing instances of intolerance, bigotry and inequality.
They're well produced, and somewhat entertaining. All viewable for free off that above linked site.
I think there is an ideology among Canadians to be polite and tolerant - while at the same time not being complete pussies – and it can be a little unsettling when people move here and don’t seem to share that ideology.
My sister’s best friend in High School was Chinese; his Chinese friends gave him a hard time for hanging out with a blond white girl. Another issue is people who come from cultures where it's still the norm for men to be the only ones with any social power and women to be treated as objects. I'm not exaggerating here, my mother worked in the ESL program at a Jr. High where it was not uncommon for 14 year old girls to be engaged to 30 year old men. I was actually quite stunned to find out that this was still going on in modern day North America.
There is a strong emphasis on de-segregation and mutual appreciation of other cultures; a lot of immigrants embrace this when they move here but there are some who hold onto their social prejudice and it really turns into a downward spiral. Now there are just as many problems – if not more – with prejudice towards immigrants and I could write several paragraphs on that as well but I’m already dangerously close to TLDR so I’ll stop here.
Novus on
I'm not smart, but thanks to the internet I can pretend.
wii Number 0648 2052 0203 3154
the West (BC)
Home of rain, Vancouver, pot, good camping and agriculture. Seen as Califonia light and wet.
The Prairies (Alberta, Sask, Manitoba)
Flat full of cowboys and conservatives. Floods in the spring. Damn cold in the winter, Too damn hot in the summer. Edmonton and Calgary, Oil.
Central (Ontario, Quebec)
Toronto, or the center of the known universe, inflated self importance, More Americanized than the rest of us. thininking that the south end of Hudson bay is "Northern"
Maritimes (PEI, Nova Scotia, Newbrunswick, Newfounland & Labrador)
Fish, Funny accents, A huge bridge, really laid back way of life, Fiddles and Bodhrans.
The Territories (Yukon, North West, and Nunavut)
Cold, snow wasteland, Diamonds, North pole
Really we are more regionalized it seems than americans.
You put Quebec and Ontario together? /SLAP
It gets divided into Northern Ontario, Southern Ontario, Toronto and Quebec.
Toronto: The rest of the country hates us, and we return in kind. Except not really, cause we don't care about you. There's as much difference between people from different parts of the city as there is between people from different parts of Canada.
Nothern Ontario: Hick. Ok, outdoorsy. Alot like the Prairies, but with more trees and less flat.
Southern Ontario: The Ontario your actually thinking of when you say Ontario.
Quebec: Seriously, shut the fuck up. We like we, we want you to stay, but your whinning is annoying as hell. Your like that friend who says "Wow, this is gonna suck" everywhere you go.
As for your father, I do get what he's saying. I think Novus had it right in his post. It's not "abandon your culture, ye who enter here". It's about becoming part of Canada. Not shutting yourself off in your own little bubble. There were quite a few people like that in my HS, who wouldn't talk to anyone not from where they came from, cause then they'd have to speak English instead of Korean/Polish/whatever.
Quebec: Seriously, shut the fuck up. We like we, we want you to stay, but your whinning is annoying as hell. Your like that friend who says "Wow, this is gonna suck" everywhere you go.
I study Australian cultural history. Australia has always had a similar kind of problem: what is Australian culture? All cultures are constructed, but with Australian culture the process is often blatantly obvious: our national flag and anthem were both chosen by a government held competition. There is no consensus about what Australian culture means, and usually attempts to define it reflect only the interests and hopes of the writer.
Perhaps its a common problem among young nations in particular.
I think thats very true, the part about younger nations. I mean, Canada in its sort of current form has only been a country for around 250 years. Hell, Newfoundland only joined up in 1949. Plus, being a nation largely of immigrants, when people think "history" they may tend to think back to the history of the various source countries, like the UK.
Plus, at least when I took it in high-school, Canadian history was taught and presented extremely poorly, and made to be as boring as possible.
Quebec: Seriously, shut the fuck up. We like we, we want you to stay, but your whinning is annoying as hell. Your like that friend who says "Wow, this is gonna suck" everywhere you go.
We don't hate you. But the rest of the country is tired of hearing about how much you don't wanna be part of Canada. You've got a national party that you keep electing to spout the separatist agenda for the love of God. The rest of the country doesn't care and wants to talk about something else.
Quebec: Seriously, shut the fuck up. We like we, we want you to stay, but your whinning is annoying as hell. Your like that friend who says "Wow, this is gonna suck" everywhere you go.
We don't hate you. But the rest of the country is tired of hearing about how much you don't wanna be part of Canada. You've got a national party that you keep electing to spout the separatist agenda for the love of God. The rest of the country doesn't care and wants to talk about something else.
I'm not gonna engage a pointless debate, but all I'm going to say about this is: you're actually wrong.
Quebec: Seriously, shut the fuck up. We like we, we want you to stay, but your whinning is annoying as hell. Your like that friend who says "Wow, this is gonna suck" everywhere you go.
It's weird. I went to a French emersion school as a kid so I got a lot of exposure to Quebec culture and even went on an exchange there; from firsthand experience the people there are really nice. Talk to most people though and there's this near universal opinion that everyone from Quebec is a separatist asshole. It could simply be that the assholes are the vocal ones and therefore the only ones we ever really hear from.
Novus on
I'm not smart, but thanks to the internet I can pretend.
wii Number 0648 2052 0203 3154
Quebec: Seriously, shut the fuck up. We like we, we want you to stay, but your whinning is annoying as hell. Your like that friend who says "Wow, this is gonna suck" everywhere you go.
It's weird. I went to a French emersion school as a kid so I got a lot of exposure to Quebec culture and even went on an exchange there; from firsthand experience the people there are really nice. Talk to most people though and there's this near universal opinion that everyone from Quebec is a separatist asshole. It could simply be that the assholes are the vocal ones and therefore the only ones we ever really hear from.
Ehh in my elementary school, we had French emersion too. All the kids in French students were admired more by teachers, supposedly all geniuses (they were the same) and basically liked more by the staff. It was quite annoying cause they were as bad as everyone else, some even worse, but they got extra attention and treated better.
For example in grade 8 in one of the other classes, someone put a open condom in the teacher's candy jug the day when there was a supply. The teacher went nuts over her class, punishing everyone and basically whoever it was, was going to get a week suspension. Then they found out it was a couple of the French students. They only got one day suspension and that was it, the teacher didn't even apologise to her class at all and the whole incident was basically forgotten.
Quebec: Seriously, shut the fuck up. We like we, we want you to stay, but your whinning is annoying as hell. Your like that friend who says "Wow, this is gonna suck" everywhere you go.
We don't hate you. But the rest of the country is tired of hearing about how much you don't wanna be part of Canada. You've got a national party that you keep electing to spout the separatist agenda for the love of God. The rest of the country doesn't care and wants to talk about something else.
I'm not gonna engage a pointless debate, but all I'm going to say about this is: you're actually wrong.
Quebec: Seriously, shut the fuck up. We like we, we want you to stay, but your whinning is annoying as hell. Your like that friend who says "Wow, this is gonna suck" everywhere you go.
It's weird. I went to a French emersion school as a kid so I got a lot of exposure to Quebec culture and even went on an exchange there; from firsthand experience the people there are really nice. Talk to most people though and there's this near universal opinion that everyone from Quebec is a separatist asshole. It could simply be that the assholes are the vocal ones and therefore the only ones we ever really hear from.
It's the same thing as every thinking all people from the GTA are arrogant asshole, everyone from BC is a pothead hippie, and if you're from the Prairies, you show the hicks how to be hick and aren't worth anyone's time.
Ontario and Quebec citzens are almost like ennemies. Almost. The border between these 2 provinces sometimes turns in a battlefield:
There a Quebec town very close to the border. Bars in Ontario close earlier than in Quebec (2am vs 3 am i think?) So you get english drunk people crossing over to the french bars to keep drinking and of course, fights will sometimes erupt in said bars.
Quebec: Seriously, shut the fuck up. We like we, we want you to stay, but your whinning is annoying as hell. Your like that friend who says "Wow, this is gonna suck" everywhere you go.
It's weird. I went to a French emersion school as a kid so I got a lot of exposure to Quebec culture and even went on an exchange there; from firsthand experience the people there are really nice. Talk to most people though and there's this near universal opinion that everyone from Quebec is a separatist asshole. It could simply be that the assholes are the vocal ones and therefore the only ones we ever really hear from.
It's the same thing as every thinking all people from the GTA are arrogant asshole, everyone from BC is a pothead hippie, and if you're from the Prairies, you show the hicks how to be hick and aren't worth anyone's time.
Quebec: Seriously, shut the fuck up. We like we, we want you to stay, but your whinning is annoying as hell. Your like that friend who says "Wow, this is gonna suck" everywhere you go.
Wow. That was quite retarded. I bet you don't know a single person from Québec.
It's weird. I went to a French emersion school as a kid so I got a lot of exposure to Quebec culture and even went on an exchange there; from firsthand experience the people there are really nice. Talk to most people though and there's this near universal opinion that everyone from Quebec is a separatist asshole. It could simply be that the assholes are the vocal ones and therefore the only ones we ever really hear from.
Bingo.
Also, most of people who vote for the Bloc (including myself) sometimes feel underepresented (not in terms of seats, but in terms of how cultural laws are decided and such) and don't vote for the Bloc to separate (it's not happening) but rather to have a solid opposition if something was just out of line, I guess. Anyway, I don't really see who else I could vote for on the federal scene. NO WAY IN HELL I'm voting Liberal or Conservative.
The separatist movement is slowly dying. "We" still want to be distinct, to decide most of our stuff by ourselves, be independant if you will, but not actually separated from Canada. I've always said that I believe Canada could easily be the best country in the world (especially to live in) if all the Provinces stopped bickering.
Posts
I really don't know if it's new or not. I think it has always been generally shitty when it comes to crime here, it's gotten worse with the gangs and all, but Winnipeg was a pretty bleak place to begin with.
A few of my friends joke around and call Winnipeg the "Detroit of Canada".
Escape will make me god"
-Durandal
It's not that easy to define, with globalization and all. We don't look exotic, but that's because we live here. I guess both Canadian and American culture are defined by their history.
Although, to me, Canadian culture is a retarded fight between French and English. As a French Canadian living in Québec, it just saddens me to see how much hate there is against "my people"... pretty much as sad, stupid, and pathetic as our own hatred for everything English, like knowing two languages immediatly meant we're traitors, or something.
As for Canadian Culture I have always thought it was the mosaic rather than melting pot idea. I love it. Here in a somwhat isolated coastal towm of 20,000 we hav 2 thai resturants, a real sushi bar, a vietnamese noodle house and a mexican cantina. I think the slower pace even though I found Vancouver to be to rush rush and city for me, I sure found the area around Fort Lewis a thousand times worse. Our politics and policies, and heck even the way we devide our country go into the Canadian Culture.
We have :
the West (BC)
Home of rain, Vancouver, pot, good camping and agriculture. Seen as Califonia light and wet.
The Prairies (Alberta, Sask, Manitoba)
Flat full of cowboys and conservatives. Floods in the spring. Damn cold in the winter, Too damn hot in the summer. Edmonton and Calgary, Oil.
Central (Ontario, Quebec)
Toronto, or the center of the known universe, inflated self importance, More Americanized than the rest of us. thininking that the south end of Hudson bay is "Northern"
Maritimes (PEI, Nova Scotia, Newbrunswick, Newfounland & Labrador)
Fish, Funny accents, A huge bridge, really laid back way of life, Fiddles and Bodhrans.
The Territories (Yukon, North West, and Nunavut)
Cold, snow wasteland, Diamonds, North pole
Really we are more regionalized it seems than americans.
Phantom edit:
I like to think of our culture and diffrences from Americans with this example.
The Much Music Video Awards (MMVA's) is our award show much like the american MTV. Not as big as the grammies but ours. The MTV awards are a fancy and in a huge theatre. The MMVA'a are very canadian, we throw a party in the Chum building (where much is filimed) parking lot. Much beer is consumed by all.
Man, I've been to Winnipeg, and it doesn't really surprise me that crime is higher there. I mean, this is a fairly uninformed opinion, but there didn't seem to be a whole lot of things to do while I was there. Sure, I could have gone to the Fort Whyte center or something, but I could see teens getting sick of the movie theatre and such quickly.
Oh, I guess they could go see the Mint too :P
Oh yeah you also give birth to Kids in the Hall, good job there guys.
You sick, twisted fucks! What have ye done to the glorious bookend of the alphabet?
In French, yes, I say Zed, but in English?
Zee. Who the hell says Zed?
Most English speaking people outside of the USA.
Lemme get this straight. Let's say I'm in, I dunno, New Zealand. And I ask someone for directions, and my destination is under one of these:
Z
They would tell me that it is underneath the big, red zed?
I never finish anyth
Grouping together Ontario and Quebec is the height of insanity.
Also, Ive only ever heard the whole "not America" thing when talking to Americans, Canadians dont describe their culture like that amongst themselves.
Another thing that always comes to mind is the responsibility Canadians feel towards other Canadians and the rest of the world. Whether through healthcare, soup kitchens or peacekeepers, Canadians, for the most part, feel a responsibility to help others who need it and to do their part.
I never finish anyth
- They act polite, but in actuality they're stuck-up, hypocritical, snobbish asses who have a superiority complex, always thinking they're better than you if you're American.
- They always think they're right, especially when talking about things that don't even concern them, like American gun control.
- They are tenacious if they think you've slighted them, going so far as to troll and flame you through several forums.
- They are a combination of the worst qualities of foreign countries.
Of course, I could have just run into many many bad Canadian people which may have skewed my opinions :P
It's only Americans who have a poor view on us candians really, but I think it's partly just a friendly rivalry..(or a bitter jellousy :P) And with being Canadian AND British, I think I gert the best of both worlds, Hockey and Soccer
Perhaps its a common problem among young nations in particular.
Edit: Oh yeah, it's Zed. Sorry US guys, I guess we forgot to teach you that.
SoogaGames Blog
I couldn't help but think - what "Ontario" culture? To me, Ontario's culture was always just generic Canadian culture once you'd stripped away the regional peculiarities. Not much French, take away the Atlantic/Maritime contribution to Canada's culture, take away the Prairies and the west, and what little is left over is "Ontario".
In this way, we are more similar to the U.S. culture wise - not in what our culture is, but how it is constructed. We don't have the grounds for a "national" culture like Europe. It is instead a "Civic" culture based on values and beliefs, more so than traditions.
Also, Canadians aren't really that polite - or any more polite than anywhere else. The people you run into on the subway or the streets of downtown Toronto don't exactly exude sunshine. But that's no different than any other big city, Canada, the U.S. or Europe.
Anyway, as a test, let's see what the first things the Wikipedia entries for "Culture of Canada" and "Culture of the United States" come up with are:
America:
Christ if that's not the most contrived piece of crap ever.
Canada:
Ah, yeah. Bonhomme for the win.
Try being French-Canadian, living in Québec, and going online. You'll be harassed at all times, everywhere for either being:
- Canadian
- French
- Québécois
- All of the above
SoogaGames Blog
I miss when they used to play these all the time on CBC, and occasionally even in theatres prior to the trailers. A series of one minute vignettes focusing on important events and people in Canadian history. When I think of Canadian Culture, I automatically think of these, because the moments and people they chose to portray reflect on what they want the culture to be perceived as, and a bit of what it actually is.
Particular highlights include the Avro Arrow, the invention of Basketball, the Bluenose, the Halifax explosion, Jackie Robinson (played endlessly in the theatres), Jennie Trout (first woman licensed to practice medicine in Canada, complete with hillarious penis joke), Laura Secord (warning of an American attack during the ar of 1812), Louis Riel, Osborn of Hong Kong, Sam Steele, and so on and so forth.
I think they come off as a little more realistic than your average government propaganda because they don't shy away from showing instances of intolerance, bigotry and inequality.
They're well produced, and somewhat entertaining. All viewable for free off that above linked site.
Because apple pie is delicious.
As in, the baseball player born in Cairo, GA and raised in California? Or am I missing something?
I'll give you James Naismith, though.
American player, but a Canadian team and city.
My sister’s best friend in High School was Chinese; his Chinese friends gave him a hard time for hanging out with a blond white girl. Another issue is people who come from cultures where it's still the norm for men to be the only ones with any social power and women to be treated as objects. I'm not exaggerating here, my mother worked in the ESL program at a Jr. High where it was not uncommon for 14 year old girls to be engaged to 30 year old men. I was actually quite stunned to find out that this was still going on in modern day North America.
There is a strong emphasis on de-segregation and mutual appreciation of other cultures; a lot of immigrants embrace this when they move here but there are some who hold onto their social prejudice and it really turns into a downward spiral. Now there are just as many problems – if not more – with prejudice towards immigrants and I could write several paragraphs on that as well but I’m already dangerously close to TLDR so I’ll stop here.
wii Number 0648 2052 0203 3154
You put Quebec and Ontario together? /SLAP
It gets divided into Northern Ontario, Southern Ontario, Toronto and Quebec.
Toronto: The rest of the country hates us, and we return in kind. Except not really, cause we don't care about you. There's as much difference between people from different parts of the city as there is between people from different parts of Canada.
Nothern Ontario: Hick. Ok, outdoorsy. Alot like the Prairies, but with more trees and less flat.
Southern Ontario: The Ontario your actually thinking of when you say Ontario.
Quebec: Seriously, shut the fuck up. We like we, we want you to stay, but your whinning is annoying as hell. Your like that friend who says "Wow, this is gonna suck" everywhere you go.
As for your father, I do get what he's saying. I think Novus had it right in his post. It's not "abandon your culture, ye who enter here". It's about becoming part of Canada. Not shutting yourself off in your own little bubble. There were quite a few people like that in my HS, who wouldn't talk to anyone not from where they came from, cause then they'd have to speak English instead of Korean/Polish/whatever.
Wow. That was quite retarded. I bet you don't know a single person from Québec.
I think thats very true, the part about younger nations. I mean, Canada in its sort of current form has only been a country for around 250 years. Hell, Newfoundland only joined up in 1949. Plus, being a nation largely of immigrants, when people think "history" they may tend to think back to the history of the various source countries, like the UK.
Plus, at least when I took it in high-school, Canadian history was taught and presented extremely poorly, and made to be as boring as possible.
I know many actually. You've been talking in the thread about how you feel though, and I was addressing that.
We don't hate you. But the rest of the country is tired of hearing about how much you don't wanna be part of Canada. You've got a national party that you keep electing to spout the separatist agenda for the love of God. The rest of the country doesn't care and wants to talk about something else.
I'm not gonna engage a pointless debate, but all I'm going to say about this is: you're actually wrong.
It's weird. I went to a French emersion school as a kid so I got a lot of exposure to Quebec culture and even went on an exchange there; from firsthand experience the people there are really nice. Talk to most people though and there's this near universal opinion that everyone from Quebec is a separatist asshole. It could simply be that the assholes are the vocal ones and therefore the only ones we ever really hear from.
wii Number 0648 2052 0203 3154
Ehh in my elementary school, we had French emersion too. All the kids in French students were admired more by teachers, supposedly all geniuses (they were the same) and basically liked more by the staff. It was quite annoying cause they were as bad as everyone else, some even worse, but they got extra attention and treated better.
For example in grade 8 in one of the other classes, someone put a open condom in the teacher's candy jug the day when there was a supply. The teacher went nuts over her class, punishing everyone and basically whoever it was, was going to get a week suspension. Then they found out it was a couple of the French students. They only got one day suspension and that was it, the teacher didn't even apologise to her class at all and the whole incident was basically forgotten.
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So .... the separatist party is all in my head?
It's the same thing as every thinking all people from the GTA are arrogant asshole, everyone from BC is a pothead hippie, and if you're from the Prairies, you show the hicks how to be hick and aren't worth anyone's time.
There a Quebec town very close to the border. Bars in Ontario close earlier than in Quebec (2am vs 3 am i think?) So you get english drunk people crossing over to the french bars to keep drinking and of course, fights will sometimes erupt in said bars.
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canadian culture in a nut shell!
Bingo.
Also, most of people who vote for the Bloc (including myself) sometimes feel underepresented (not in terms of seats, but in terms of how cultural laws are decided and such) and don't vote for the Bloc to separate (it's not happening) but rather to have a solid opposition if something was just out of line, I guess. Anyway, I don't really see who else I could vote for on the federal scene. NO WAY IN HELL I'm voting Liberal or Conservative.
The separatist movement is slowly dying. "We" still want to be distinct, to decide most of our stuff by ourselves, be independant if you will, but not actually separated from Canada. I've always said that I believe Canada could easily be the best country in the world (especially to live in) if all the Provinces stopped bickering.