Re: *Some* Canadians are polite. On the roads they are not polite. I’ve seen various times people on the sidewalk being shouted at.

Yup – especially for the driving part … though I’ve only seen the sidewalk bit is in Toronto. Driving in Montreal, though – made Toronto drivers look civil.

Re: Canada is the only part of the English speaking world where it’s assumed “Canadian Experience” is better than any other kind of experience when applying for a job.

*shug* – when I worked in the US, I experienced the opposite.

It puzzled me why the US team lead kept raving about the skills of the Canadians hired for the project. Later at a lunch, he explained that when interviewing US candidates, he was finding a lot of exaggeration of what they had done and what their skills were. According to him, the gap was so large that for any new hires, he’d prefer a Canadian over an American.

Re: You absolutely cannot tease or mock a Canadian either. They don’t seem to make fun of each other and the facial expression is akin to a deer in the headlights.

Sure you can – my Indian co-worker have been doing it for year. He gets back as much as he gives. Maybe the difference is that he waited until he’d been around three years before he started.

Re: Similary, on the highways on the on ramp the guy behind you will try to pass you before you’ve got a chance to merge, thus forcing you on to the hard shoulder. I’ve only seen that in Canada.

I’ve seen it in Montreal and Chicago as well.

Re: Canadian women are peculiar too … a friendly chat is ruled out …

Must be a Toronto thing – I’ve seen or participated in lots of friendly chats with women without an issue.

Re: Also: all Canadians believe the urban legend about Americans coming up to the border to go skiing in July

There is a problem with believing the truth? My sister thought it was a legend until she was asked how much further north to get to the ski slopes in August when she worked at Niagara Parks in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Incidently, I’ve also been personally told by Americans that the US won the war of 1812 and that Greenland is physically closer to the US than Canada.

Similarly – when visiting the UK, I was asked to confirm that the driving time from Toronto to Tampa Florida was about three or four hours. They thought I was kidding when I responded it was over twenty-three hours until I pointed out the scale on the map.

Cheers

I’m sure the maritimes have their own Celtic flavour and that the West coast is more laid back (although I wouldn’t know as I’ve never been to either) but Toronto might as well be in the US in terms of the general feel and culture. Honestly there are more similarities than differences.

I think that if you asked British people that didn’t have family in Canada or hadn’t visited the general response would be more like “they are just like americans aren’t they?” ….. now that may be ignorance but let’s face it there is a lot of it going around.

So I don’t feel the author of this post has ‘grabbed the wrong end of the stick’ to use your words. He has just expressed his view of the world he lives in which is obviously coloured by his education, background and upbringing just as our opinions are too.

Sorry buddy!

On the other hand living in Canada definitly has its benefits. The skiing is amazing and for me only an hour away and $40 for the day, you couldn’t ask for much more really. Once more the shops are open all the time, but this could be seen as a drawback for a struggling shopaholic like myself.

Oh I nearly forgot the absolute worst point of living in Canada. I have been to a few major cities including London and Paris and I have never seen such bad lane changing until I came to Canada, the country that has most likely the biggest roads in the world. An indicator is there for a reason, when I indicate I am pulling out, do not speed up!! Everyone has to pull out at some point and sorry, but tough luck this time it is infront of you. Also when people are pulling onto a motorway move over or make a space, it is how the road works.

Sorry didn’t mean to get into a rant about Canadian driving. I do love Canada and it is teaching me how to chill about abit, because lets face it, you can’t teach the 1 million people of your city how to drive by beeping your horn and giving them the finger, especially when they have no idea what they did wrong in the first place.

That is the few I will say in this letter, I do have more though. I know The Canada Health Act was violated as well as my Human Rights as a Canadian Citizen. I just want a chance at having my life back. Somehow to provide for my children, to be educated again, to go back to work at a safe job that enables me to live. And to feel like my Country cares about me and stands by it�s word that if we pay our taxes and work hard that the Government will not allow us to fall so far that we will never get back up.
Sincerely,
Mr.Troy Johnston
mr.johnston73@yahoo.ca

I actually have a post about “Canadian Experience” in our queue…

Ripoffs are rife too. Always count your change in a variety store.
When you land at Toronto airport, make sure you keep an eye on your luggage cart or else it will be grabbed by the kids who work the area to get your 25cents.
Any possibility of using the “rules” to squeeze more money out of you will be utilized to the full.

Canada is the only part of the English speaking world where it’s assumed “Canadian Experience” is better than any other kind of experience when applying for a job.

Canadians don’t know how to board a train or a bus.
They try to force their way on before everybody has gotten off. That drives me nuts.

You absolutely cannot tease or mock a Canadian either. They don’t seem to make fun of each other and the facial expression is akin to a deer in the headlights. You *better* not say to a Canadian that something about their system sucks either, or else…

And the queuing thing? I can’t say I’ve noticed that. The Scots are the worst queuers I’ve seen, not the Canadians. The Scots will line up on a two lane motorway in a single lane when it’s merging into one lane, rather than use the other lane. That too drove me nuts when I was there.

Canadians will remind you if you’ve cut in line in front of THEM, but if you’re in the supermarket and a new line opens up, they will race from behind you to try to get ahead of you.

Similary, on the highways on the on ramp the guy behind you will try to pass you before you’ve got a chance to merge, thus forcing you on to the hard shoulder. I’ve only seen that in Canada.

Canadian women are peculiar too. If you talk to them ever, it’s assumed (by them) you are trying to pick them up, even if not in a bar.
Thus just pleasant conversations and a little friendly chat are often sadly ruled out because the assumption is you’re really saying “heh baby you wanna do me”. Ironically witty conversation doesn’t work if you ARE trying to pick them up and “heh baby you wanna do me” does. Go figure.

Also: all Canadians believe the urban legend about Americans coming up to the border to go skiing in July.

Mike

Personally I wait until all the sheep have boarded and stroll on at my leisure, I’ve always found a seat.

The fact that I was almost physically assaulted the first time I got on a train at Union station (before I knew the system) has obviously put me off the whole Canadian queuing thing as the penalties for stepping outside the rules can be a detriment to ones health.

I still find it weird. It’s still the only place in the world I’ve seen people queue for the train and I’m quite well traveled. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen elsewhere but it happens in a Stepford wives manner here.