That wouldn't offend anyone they'd just think "another dumb 'merkan".

Our friend can be embarassing as he always mentions to the Canadian's that our Queen is on their dollar. but unfortunately this was to the immigration officer at the port of entry who was not amused and only gave him a 6 month work permit instead of a 2 year one

An even less street smart thing to do is to show up at an Australian port of entry and, when the immigration officer asks if you have a criminal record, respond that you didn't realize it was a prerequisite for gaining admission to Australia any more. I know someone who did that. He was allowed to leave the airport -- after every square inch of his luggage and his person had been searched.
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Superb.

I suggest to Canadians that their wine industry is not "world class" and that rattles a few cages.

That one is fab.....My uncle went over some years ago to avoid some trouble in the uk......in those days it was good to have a record

Heard from my FIL - "America is a mongrel nation - full of immigrants, no history whatsoever"...said to me, the Canadian (granddaughter of Austrian immigrants), who was also an immigrant in England at the time.

When I pointed out to him that Canada is full of immigrants also, he realised his mistake. Watching him trying to back out of it was hilarious.

I did the same thing 5 years ago when we visited Sydney,and the officer just laughed.I guess that particular officer did not have a sense of humour.

Half the problem is that everyone still has the attitude caused by the last person they dealt with. They then carry their attitude on to the next person they deal with. I'll admit to doing the same at times!