Harrisonasa

Oh absolutely Paul. It is impossible to have a car in good condition! I decided not to ever buy new because it would be about a week before the first scrape or dent!

Former Lancastrian

Cant we just agree there are differences between Canucks and Brits. Neither is better than the other we just have our differences, but if we were talking differences between the Canucks and French or the UK and the French then its a no brainer who is better

phr1

So true

Paul_Shepherd

I must have met some pretty special Canadians then!

daiske

Canadians are boring

Shard

Is this some kind if troll remark or are you living in the middle of nowhere?

daiske

Well...not boring...I'd say bland, "predictable", that's my experience anyway.

Another difference I find (I am not british, but I lived in Uk and Ireland), is ...maybe some people don't agree with this, but I find british more open-minded than canadians, again that's my experience.

Oink

The problem with Canadians is they tend to generalize too much.

bats

Nice one. Why only yesterday I heard one say that Westerners are more laid back and smile more than Ontarians.

Former Lancastrian

After todays Ontario budget that might be truer than you think

caretaker

We generally don't speak too well of Ontarians. Stuffy, 'provincial' if you will, self-important (especially Torontonians). Whether it comes from their Upper Canada history or somewhere else there is a common bias, but it's situational and some like Quebec, some not and same for the maritimes though maritimers have always been well received here in my experience. A carpenter foreman at Ft Mac said the only good guys he has are Newfies and Frenchmen (he's from Halifax)
Southern fairies vs dirty northern bastards only sideways. Before the white men came the Plains Cree felt different from the tribes that lived in the north and didn't have to move with the migrations of the buffalo. They were a bit scared of their medicine, believing that they could better consolidate their power by living in one place. Just trying to illustrate it may be universal. TO to Red Deer is like New York to Dodge City so there are going to be cultural differences. Regina has the longest running symphony orchestra in the country, but sadly no ballet, though several good companies perform here every year. Problem with generalisations is they're so rarely right - the door swings open and in walks a contradiction.

tweed_wearer

Canadians are proud of their country and can get quite aggressive if an outsider finds even the smallest fault. I was talking with a very sweet Canadian girl and we were discussing the price of things, starting with her assertion that England was expensive. I mentioned that some things are a lot cheaper in England, such as a lot of groceries, her immediate response was along the lines of "well people are fatter in England", true, perhaps but it seemed like a snipe and I was a bit taken aback by it.

This is strange for Brits - we seem to have made an industry out of talking down our country and achievements. Perhaps justifiably.

Even with my Canadian wife, we can sensibly and entertainingly discuss the pros and cons of the UK and other countries, but i have to tread carefully if I want to point out any flaws with Canada; the blinkers go on even for very dry topics she knows nothing about (like pensions regulation, access to the professions, working conditions in large companies)

To a Brit, Canadian news can seem very strange - I watched the business news section on Canadian TV and they spent a good 5 minutes having an informal but excited chat about how good it was that (Canadian and much maligned) Blackberry had now started to turn a profit.

The Frankie Boyle school of comedy (making outrageous and offensive statements, simply to elict shock and incredulous laughter) has not made it to Canada. Canadians tend to assume that if you say something, you mean it.

Canadians do not do eccentricity and outlandishness like the brits do - any attempt for canadians to be 'wacky', to me seems to be a bit false, as if they are trying too hard. Ikea monkey lady excepted.

Canadians are extremely generous. I was married in Canada recently and we received many warm wishes and generous gifts - including family heirlooms and things that people had skillfully and lovingly made for us.

paolob99

one thing I have encountered, and it was really a surprise, as I was looking through rose tinted giggs, is the dishonesty of some canadians on a consistent basis.

This might be a Nanaimo thing, small town mentality and all that, but it really was a shock to me.

A one off, maybe a two off, but it does seem that there is an air of dishonesty and sharp practice

Shard

Any examples? I can't recall any dishonesty.

caretaker

The difference that is most obvious is that British people talk funny. I've just had Eastenders on and it's hard to understand parts. Some Newfoundlanders are just as bad, of course and I've heard Americans say that Canadians say 'oot' instead of out. I've never noticed that (we don't do it in Sask), so could that be an Ontario thing? Anyone? Over the last 20 years or so various corporations moved their call centres to Regina because we have a neutral accent that's easy for most English speakers to understand. At least half of those packed up due to the economy though.