Atlantic Xpat

I like to think I've had an impact in the organisation I've worked for these past 5 years. My weary cynicsm is rubbing off. Apparently not everything is 'awesome' now, some things are shit, there is a blame culture and it is your fault. My work here is done......

iaink

You had better be careful or that might turn out to be prophetic!

Onefut

that made me chuckle
I have to say that this is the one part of Canadian culture i will find hard to deal with as Im the type of person that calls a spade a spade and dont see the point in being nice an shiney about something thats dreary and dull, i'd rather say nothin

lots of usefull info in this thread tho

ninaDGBCA

a few weeks ago some salesman came to the door and I think in 15 mins he mentioned 20 times how "awesome" it is that we moved from the Uk, how great the kids are (although both just screaming for food ha ha ) etc. and what did I do ?
I said "brilliant, nice to meet you, sounds good...... no thanks " lol
it is contagious but I see it as the "Canadian way" to communicate and being friendly.
No need to be rude to them just know it is not all "real".

dbd33

Today I caught myself using "perfect" when I meant "that'll work, yeah, alright".

JonboyE

In Canada you get told you are awesome by someone who doesn't mean it. In the UK you get told to **** off by someone that does.

Lorry1

Yep and i'd rather be told to f*** off by someone who means it!

el_richo

I actually like the niceness, however false. I find it passes around through people and I myself actually turn into a nice, more tolerant person.

Almost Canadian

I thought that, until I began working here. When employed I never knew how my employers and colleagues really thought of me. I saw them praise others to the point of death, right up until they were fired

I prefer the honesty of not liking all things people say to you, but knowing that they mean it. It is one of the few reasons I post on here. I need the reassurance that I am the asshole most think I am.

el_richo

<Man hugs AC>

To elaborate, i enjoy the niceties when context or situation allows (they enjoy my shit cooking). For more serious and important aspects, i'm more than happy to, and very much prefer to, say exactly what i mean.

Lorry1

Ha ha I nearly spat my water all over the computer

ninaDGBCA

Don't mind the nice way of communication whether false or real in daily live but prefer the honesty among friends.
Find it more cheerful when the shop assistant askes me "how I am, that the dress is perfect for me and wishes me an awesome day" rather than to f*** off, but I am lucky to have friends that tell me the truth whether I'd make a fool of myself actually buying that dress. Cheers for that lol

mrvp

This totally - it makes me feel a little bit more comfortable that I could work in Canada as I had been told by a lot of other people that it is a common thing. I do it in my current line of work in the UK as a default setting almost and most people think that I am quite genuine about it (I just take the view that a little bit of niceness can often go a long way and what comes around goes around if you need favours at some point in the future). It's only where things have become so depressing lately that I think people are starting to realise that I'm maybe not as genuine as they thought I was (and I'm starting to notice it in other people that have a similar way of doing business - it's almost like going through the motions).

I know that this can be a big thing to a lot of people though so I try to make an effort. It's important to have genuine friends and colleagues - the kind of people who you'd drop anything for - that will remind you of who you are sometimes in the current climate.

Dave+Jules

I suggest that you and anyone coming to Canada reviews the wiki entries on Job Hunting

There are a couple of success stories about how to improve your chances of success. (I don't get any commission for pushing this)

Lemonfish

I think part of the reluctance to hire newly arrived foreigners is due to a more general under-confidence among some Canadians.

For some, newcomers are a risk in a range of respects:

- they might out-shine others in the workplace
- they might bring in new ideas that feel threatening
- they might be direct in their style rather than passive-agressive
- you may not be able to understand what they say, which is embarrasing for everyone
- they may not be able to talk easily about the same subjects that everyone else does: cottage, hockey, golf, good deals at stores, barbeques past and planned etc

This is a huge generalization, but I honestly feel that some of these are deep-seated concerns among a minority of Canadians.