For those of you who spent time with Canadians, how would did you find them? How would you describe Canadians, in general?

Just like Americans,eh.I have a few French Canadian relatives who have different ideas though ;)

My best friend is from London, Ontario. He’s a chemical engineer, that about explains it.

Very polite.

An unarmed american with health care.

I only traveled to Quebec (the region, not the city) twice when I was younger. For a total of 4 weeks. And that was about 10 years ago. People struck me as being VERY welcoming and friendly. You can tell there is a lot of trust between people there.

@syzygy2600 excellent and to the point, Well done!

The Canadians that I have known have been fun, easy going and bright.

somewhat coarse, Québecoises a little arrogant, good and jolly, seem to have a chip on their shoulder about their neighbour to the South but can be a lot of fun at the pub

So friendly and welcoming!

To be totally honest?
I have several friends from Ontario.
I spend a few days with them a couple of times a year.
On the whole and for the most part they are polite and friendly. When I’m traveling there I feel safe.
My friends graciously welcome me into their home. They know a lot more about the United States than most Americans know about Canada. I enjoy their company very much.
I also think that they have some notions about the US that are a bit skewed, perhaps by the media, both Canadian and US. The generalizations are, that most Americans are armed and want to rule and own the world. (false from my perspective) That most Americans think that they are better and look down their nose at Canadians. (again false)
The truth as I see it is that Americans don’t think much about Canada. Our media certainly doesn’t talk about them very much.
Canada is the friendly neighbor to the north. They don’t bother us and we don’t bother them. (Although I think we do bother them, just by “being”, we just don’t know it)
We have a lot going on in and around our country, so the quiet polite neighbor doesn’t get paid a lot of attention. The other folks in the neighborhood who are causing problems get all the attention.
When the need arises, they would be there for us, they always have been and we would do the same for them. That is what good neighbors do.
When I visit Canada, I try to be a good and friendly visitor, I appreciate their hospitality.

@candide, yes, a bit of a chip on their shoulder, that is what I was trying to say.

Just headed up North and there they all were.

From my experince, I can tell you that all Canadians carry a rucksack with a maple leaf flag on it so you know they aren’t American.

@Lightlyseared Some Americans have been known to do that too, as a decoy. Particularly during the Bush years.

I like Canadians, even if you say aboot and eh. You gave the world hockey, just treat the Sabres a little better.

@Lightlyseared – Alternately, I know some Canadians who, when they were behaving badly in foreign lands, would tell people they were American. I had friends tell me they did this and they thought it was funny, but honestly, I was kind of pissed and shocked they didn’t care more about furthering the “bad American” rep we have abroad.

As I said in another thread, I’ve had loads of Canadian friends over the years. Everyone loves a Canadian and their reception abroad makes me slightly envious. I mean, seriously, I’ve been in foreign places with a Canadian displaying the flag somewhere on their person, and people will stop them, exclaim exuberantly, I’ve even seen random hugs from strangers.

The Canadians I’ve known have been friendly, bright, well-informed, easy-going.. generally, a pretty happy lot and easy to get along with.

P.S. Any that I’ve met have been a lot like Americans, only softer and sweeter.

@janbb And Canadians seem to take more pride in how their country looks. Crossing from the US side to the Canadian side is usually an improvement.

Canadians “somewhat coarse”? I disagree with that.

Just like all Americans are not the same neither are all Canadians.
It depends on the area and the person.

Overall, I wish that our neighbors to the north and east (also east of me) would visit more areas of the US, not just New York City , Orlando and California. I think some of their ideas about Americans would change.

@jjmah I don’t see “somewhat coarse” either.

Personally, I think that Canadians are really much more polite than America as a whole. I hope this doesn’t offend anyone, if it helps I’m an American too. But, really. Canadians are just really welcoming people, friendly, caring, and nice. And there are places in America that have very nice people too, but in general, I don’t think all Americans are as polite or friendly to others outside the border as Canadians are. or maybe it could just be the newer generation

@candide tell me more about “somewhat coarse” part. I’m curious. =)

Seriously?
They’re people not aliens.

@Lightlyseared I’m guilty of doing that..

@Captain_Fantasy who are you talking to?

Why ask the question? Because I’m curious. Kiss the Maple Leaf on my lily, white ass. ;-)

The Canadians I have met and worked with even are quite nice and friendly. But get the guys out on the town and they all turned into horn dogs. I have never been with a group of guys like these Canadians where any female was not safe from their amorous overtures. And all these guys were married!! I was a bit taken aback by it all.

@jimah Maple Leafs slightly inhale (I was going to say suck but we’re trying to be polite today)

It only took me three tries to get it right.

And…
All the Canadian people I know drink beer, and enjoy it without hesitation.
@Cruiser not all the men are “horn dogs”, but enough!

@wilma I would hope so but all these guys were all out on the prowl…I was taken aback none the less.

@Cruiser I’m thinking that it was the group of dudes that you were hanging out with…

@jjmah These were all business, married family men I had known for years!??! I felt like I had to apologize to the women where ever we went!

Speaking of Canadians and drinking, I spent “May 2–4” weekend near Kitchener, Ontario and that was quite the experience. I don’t know how widespread the celebration of “May 2–4” is, so I’ll explain and say it’s Queen Victoria weekend (3-day holiday) and the kids go camping all weekend to have a non-stop drinkfest.

I’ve never been a big drinker, so I couldn’t keep up with them and kinda got bored by the end of the first night, but holy crap, the shenanigans! I have to say, watching a passed out guy be wrapped in tinfoil was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

Anyway, I could not believe the aftermath the morning after. I think there were maybe 20 people at our campsite, but the entire picnic table, including the seats, was covered in bottles and then some. I was kinda like, Damn, these Canadians can drink.

@Cruiser I agree, that’d be amongst the lowest of the low, but, like I said, it’d be that group of guys that you were hanging out with. Canadian men, on the whole, aren’t pigs.

@jjmah They weren’t crude you would think by their behavior they had never seen a woman before….I felt like I was out with Sailors on leave. I didn’t ask but maybe they just weren’t gettin any at home?

@MissAnthrope My Canadian friends do that too. “some Canadians who, when they were behaving badly in foreign lands, would tell people they were American.”
I saw if happen first hand when I was in Mexico. A very loud group of people, drunk and getting a little rude. They made of point of talking loudly about being American.
The next morning I saw some of them at breakfast and struck up a conversation. I could tell by their subtle accent and their discussion that they were Canadian, so I asked them what part of Canada they were from. They were pleased that I had recognized their accent and said that they lived in southern Ontario. I guess they didn’t care that I knew about the night before.

@MissAnthrope Interestingly enough, I have met several Australians who have proudly claimed the same thing: to have broken laws whilst overseas and when they got caught, pretended to be Americans. I was not impressed, though they thought I should have been. Most of the Canadians I have met, besides Qébec, where everyone was lovely, if a tiny bit snooty (but one tolerates that with the French), have been overseas, so perhaps the bit of “coarseness” comes from not seeing them in their own element? I speak only from my own experience, obviously.

It can be tiresome, though, to be around those (Australians and Canadians) who seem to take such pleasure in deriding the Americans for no really good reason other than that they have a distorted idea, probably through the media of what Americans are or stand for. (and I’m not American!)

Canadians are fine people. Most of the ones I’m acquainted with are pretty mellow.

So maybe all the big mouthed crude people traveling the world are Australian and Canadian and just blaming it on us? LOL! just kidding

@candide I have met several Australians who have proudly claimed the same thing: to have broken laws whilst overseas and when they got caught, pretended to be Americans

Highly unlikely – who would believe a person who speaks with an widely and easily recognised Australian accent was an American. Kiwi maybe, or South African, but not American.

@DarkScribe I agree. Highly unlikely..

@candide Hit the high road. Interesting. I feel that he or she full of shit the whole time.

It would be hard to get Australian and American mixed up unless you were in a country where English is not heard very often.
Actually when I was in Australia, I was always being asked if I was Canadian.
Understandable mistake as I have a northern mid-west American accent.
Good thing I behaved myself!

I have some great Canadian friends. They’re fun-loving, polite, peaceful, but have a funny way of pronouncing “sorry”.

I know that young Americans when travelling in Europe, who attach Canadian flags to their packs and get much better treatment that those who display US flags on their packs.

Make of that what you will.

Cnuk Cnuk Cnuk

I have a considerable number of Canadians in my family. My father, one of a family of six, was born in N.B. I see all my Canadian aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, and cousins once removed as individuals and have never viewed them as representative of a nation.

Like a quiet loft upstairs from a really crazy party.

My late wife was French Canadian. Our household is full of Quebecors. Lovely folks. What some Anglophones view as “coarseness” or “snobbishness” disappears if you learn the language.
They see the French language as a symbol of their culture, and are pretty protective of it. I’m bilingual and have never had any problems. There is a certain attitude towards people who make no effort to speak en francais, but those who make the effort no matter how poorly are treated warmly.
I have little experience of Canada other than Quebec. Just leave your pistol at home and don’t litter.

I found a lot of Canadians in Canada. The ones I spoke with were very friendly and the ones I spoke French with were very patient as well.

Been to the British Columbia for a few hunting trips. Not to stereotype, but honestly i found Canadians to be a very happy and light kind of people. I must agree that some of their views on Americans are a bit iffy. I met a few people on one of my trips who actually thought that most Americans lived either in Texas, New York, or Massachusetts. It seems to some that Americans are either cowboys or politicians. “Yay,go Bush”
But going into Canada is like walking into a whole new world. At the New York Canadian border, the New York side of the river looks like a mix between a sewer and a landfill, whilst the Canadian side looks like it hasnt been touched by man for thousands of years. So over all, Canadians can be a little coarse, but they are mostly a fun loving people who love hockey, a clean country, and a good bottle of lager.

I’ve loved every Canadian I’ve met. Can’t say that about my fellow Americans.

@essieness I’ve loved every Canadian I’ve met.

With a condom I hope…

Congradtulations to our neighbors to the north for a well played game of hockey. And, you were superb and gracious hosts throughout the Olympics. That was a great event.

How do you spell congratulations?

You nailed it the second time, big guy!

@janbb I can usually tell when it’s wrong, but just draw a blank sometimes. Great Games

On average they seem a bit more Europeans than US Americans.

I spent some time with some Canadians tonight. I just got back from a Diana Krall concert. She is a great singer, as are her support acts, Madeleine Peyroux, and Melody Gardot. I found them to be delightful.

The ones that I know are indistinguishable from someone from the United States.

American Light.