Guest Blogger - Scott

Okay, so I have been invited to guest blog on my friend Chriselda's blog. This is my first time doing this so here is what I came up with. Sorry in advance to Chriselda's regular readers for this unexpected change of pace. I hope that you enjoy.

What I have decided to blog about is the misconceptions that Americans have about Canadians. This is a fun topic that we discuss here in Canada. True story, I once went to football camp at the Univesity of Michigan ( a good 40 miles from the Canadian border ) and I was talking to a few guys who came down from Nebraska. They really thought that Canadian was the land of the Eskimo (in Canada they are called Inuits) and that we had snow all year etc.... sad sad stuff. You will have to forgive the Canadian inferiority complex, but hey, we only have 30 million people in a country that is larger than the US, so it is kind of like being a flea next to an elephant. Anyway, so I came up with some stuff to educate and entertain.

The first thing here is from a popular beer commercial about five years or so ago. Sidenote to this, at the time that the ad came out I won a competition in the city of Windsor, ON and did a similar speech thus making me Mr. Windsor....haha. Here you go.....

Hey.
I'm not a lumberjack, or a fur trader , and I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber, or own a dog sled, and I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada, although I'm certain they're really, really nice.
I have a Prime Minister, not a President. I speak English and French, not American, and I pronounce it " about", not "aboot".
I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack. I believe in peacekeeping, not policing; diversity, not assimilation; and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal.
A tuque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch, and it is pronounced "zed"; not "zee" – "zed"!
Canada is the second largest land mass! The first nation of hockey! And the best part of North America! My name is Joe! And I am Canadian!
Kind of a fun little ad... next is some common misconceptions about Canada, and the truth.....

Canada does not have winter for 11 months out of the year. Yes it is true that the weather in Canada is cold - sometimes REALLY COLD! (Coldest Temperature ever recorded in Canada was in the Yukon at -63 degrees C) However in many/most places Canadians enjoys 4 seasons and hot summers. In Southern Ontario the temperature in July often goes above 30 degrees C so that is around 90 in American. The North where it is really cold is very sparsely populated.

Canadians enjoy modern technology in their lives. We have TV's, radios, refrigerators, computers etc. (You would be surprised to find out how many people who didn't know we had those things.) We don't live in igloos (Snow houses) and the VAST MAJORITY of us do not use dog sleds - in fact most Canadians have not used a dog sled. I did once though and it rocked.

Canadians do not speak "Canadian". The two official languages are English and French. Many Canadians can speak both and other languages. However aside from a few pronunciations and the odd spelling issue (we spell "Color" "Colour)

Canadians say "eh" a lot. Yes that is a given. Sometimes I say it myself. However I don't see what the big deal here is. I know a lot of Americans that say "y'all" with everything. Not every Canadian says "eh" either , although I think that we did..

We are not a nation of "draft dodgers". Canada was one of the first countries to declare war in WWI, WWII etc. We even fought in the Gulf War along side many other countries. We are renowned the world for our peace-keeping forces. It just happens that we have a small army. Yes there were many people who came to Canada during Vietnam to avoid the draft but that was their personal choice - not ours. I am not going to lie, our military is not exactly a world force, but hey, what do we need that for anyway?

Most Canadian Citizens are not Mounties. Yes we have the RCMP - but our police officers do not ride around like a pack of Dudley-Do-Rights in Red coats with ponies. This is just like the same way that American Sheriffs do not ride around like cowboys on horses , or do they???. RCMP officers are hard working individuals who in some places are the police force. The only time that they perform the Musical Ride is for special occasions. (You can see them on Parliament Hill on Canada Day.)

Canada is not a state or a part of the United States.Many people in Europe or elsewhere think that we are Americans. I can see why many people would think that we are Americans as from afar we are similar. However, while Canada does have many ties to the United States, we are a separate country.

Canadians are not subjects. While Canada does acknowledge the Queen, (represented by the Governor General) and under law we need "royal assent' for our bills to become law - Canada is it's own country. We are a "Constitutional Monarchy" - that is we have our own constitution and we acknowledge the Queen as a figurehead - but that's where it ends. Canada makes it's own laws and it is in no way dependant on Britain for laws or governing the country.

Toronto is not the capital of Canada. Ottawa is the Capital. Toronto is however Canada's largest city and the Capital of the Province of Ontario.

Not all Canadians talk slow.I have no idea how this one started. People tell me that I speak to quickly. Go figure.

Not all Canadians are on a bus going to the US to see a doctor.Have you seen the ads from http://www.busfromcanada.org/ ? Talk about manipulation of the media! The reality is that most of us are, at the very least, within an hour of a good medical care center. Sure - everything isn't perfect with health care not even close actually - but at least I know that I can have a heart attack in Canada without needing a second mortgage! So in honour of Super Bowl sunday I will be eating chicken wings and nachos covered with cheese !!

So that is about it... I hope that you have enjoyed my post about things Canadian. One more thing though, there is a definite misconception out there that Canadians do not like Americans. In my experience that is not even close. Most of the Americans that I have met over the years have been great people that have been a pleasure to know... now your President on the other hand, well that is a whole other post.

K, thanks Chriselda for letting me blog on your blog. It has been a pleasure.

Scott

*** ... no! Thank you, "ScAtt!" ***