Canada Viewed from Abroad: What do People Think?

[Acajack]

OK, this is a thread about the first (superficial, but often only) things people in various countries think of when they think of Canada:

Netherlands: the people who freed our country from the Germans in WW2

Japan: it has amazing mountains and Anne of Green Gables

Brazil: it is freezing cold but there is a Grand Prix auto race in Montreal in the summer

Ukraine: my great-great uncle Bohdan moved there to farm on the open prairie ages ago and the family hasn’t heard from him since

China: Dashan is from there; my cousin Chang lives in Vancouver and my cousin Wei lives in Toronto

India: my cousin Bhupinder lives in Toronto and my uncle Ranjiv lives in Vancouver

UK: a kinder, gentler, colder version of the U.S., but Australia is all in all more alluring and intriguing

Australia: similar in mentality to us, but similar in culture to the States; it would be really cool to spend a working holiday in Whistler or Banff

Cuba and Dominican Republic: must be really cold there; half of them speak English and behave in a similar way to Americans, half of them speak French and party similar to the way we do

Sweden / Finland: they share similar geography, climate and Nordic characteristics and passions for similar winter sports to us; hard to distinguish from the U.S. but probably a bit less crazy than the States

France: essentially coterminous with Quebec; Canada = Quebec; the entire country is quite predominantly French-speaking although there are anglos too like Bryan Adams, all of whom speak pretty good French; a “safe” more familiar America for the French; seems like lots of opportunity and open space, and I’d like to try my luck there if I could – I can always come back to France if things don’t work out

Italy: my distant cousins who live there think they’re really, really Italian but who are they kidding?

Feel free to add your own and to critique what others have said.

[kool maudit]

kosovo: sort of like america once you get there, but didn't do shit for them back in the day so whatever.

[Acajack]

From various states and regions of the U.S.:

Upstate NY (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse): they have lots of money and they get ripped off by their government and retailers so they come to shop here

Washington state: why is that border there again?

Pompano Beach, Hollywood, Hallandale, Fort Lauderdale, FL: they all speak French, drive slow, tip poorly, and wear Speedos far too much for our liking

Florida Gulf Coast (Tampa down to Fort Myers and Naples): they are people just like you and me, but with health care

Texas: at least Albertans seem to have their heads on straight up there.

California: Canada, um, yeah, I worked on a production/hi-tech projects with a few guys from up there; all of them were pretty cool; they went to Kings/Sharks/Ducks games a lot, though they always cheered for teams from back home

Any NHL city: hockey players come from there; some of them seem to be French

New York: Canada who? Oh yeah, some guys on the Rangers are from there I think

Boston: had the best time EVER of my youth in Montreal: lower drinking age, great bars, strippers, hot women.

New England (especially northern areas): mémère and pépère were from there; aunt Fernande and uncle Fernand still live up there I think

[SignalHillHiker]

My most recent ones...

Canada in general (Newfoundland in particular)

Ireland: I was asked a lot of questions by people desperate to understand Americans and hoping I could offer some insight based on proximity. They clearly thought I was like them and America was some inexplicable other. (Lots of hugs, cheek kisses, invitations to come for dinner or drinks, lots of uninvited discussions about how awful England was/is).

United Kingdom:
- Scotland: Same as Ireland. (Most people knew the name but there was no special affection for Newfoundland as in Ireland).
- England: Complete disinterest. (A mocking sort of curiosity, but still a surprising amount of interest, especially compared to the "meh"s saying I'm Canadian got me. Most at least knew what/where it is but their impression of it hadn't been updated from the late 1500s).

Bermuda:
- Polite interest that quickly waned once people realized it wasn't an exotic, winter wonderland. (Learned something new while there. Several immediately brought up Bermuda's historic religious connections to Newfoundland upon hearing the word - apparently our Bishop was also theirs during the British Empire - but, despite knowing the name of the place, few knew what/where it was).

[puj]

Dominican Republic: It`s cold, they are all rich and it as border with Germany !

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

My most recent ones...

Canada in general (Newfoundland in particular)

Ireland: I was asked a lot of questions by people desperate to understand Americans and hoping I could offer some insight based on proximity. They clearly thought I was like them and America was some inexplicable other. (Lots of hugs, cheek kisses, invitations to come for dinner or drinks, lots of uninvited discussions about how awful England was/is).
-

I suspected as much (part in brackets) but preferred to let an expert from NL to give the assessment.

I have also noticed like you that as a Canadian in the British Isles in general (but also in other parts of the world), people often want to talk to me about the U.S. on various topics ranging from moving there, to American sports, movies and TV shows, to picking my brain to figure out "what's wrong" with the States at the moment...

[mike474]

Originally Posted by Acajack

France: essentially coterminous with Quebec; Canada = Quebec; the entire country is quite predominantly French-speaking although there are anglos too like Bryan Adams, all of whom speak pretty good French; a “safe” more familiar America for the French; seems like lots of opportunity and open space, and I’d like to try my luck there if I could – I can always come back to France if things don’t work out

Really? (to the first part only, the second part about Quebec being a good beachhead for young French who want to take a crack at North America is spot on. The Plateau is full of 'em.)

I've never really gotten that vibe in France (which is admittedly limited to Lyon and Paris). It seemed to me that everyone I met had the typical view that we were America junior and Quebec was merely an exception. People seemed pretty pleased that I could hold a conversation in French despite being North American (and the French tendency to be nitpicky about linguistic perfection).

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by mike474

Really? (to the first part only, the second part about Quebec being a good beachhead for young French who want to take a crack at North America is spot on. The Plateau is full of 'em.)

I've never really gotten that vibe in France (which is admittedly limited to Lyon and Paris). It seemed to me that everyone I met had the typical view that we were America junior and Quebec was merely an exception. People seemed pretty pleased that I could hold a conversation in French despite being North American (and the French tendency to be nitpicky about linguistic perfection).

Out of curiosity, what kind of accent do you speak French with and how fluent are you?

[MonctonRad]

Typical high school student from Alabama:

Ca-na-da......Ain't that one of them there former Soviet republics that Gorbacheev kicked out of Russia. Oh, yeah - that's the place they launch all of their rocket ships from. The ones we have to fly in now, thanks to Obama. God damn commie son-of-a-bitch, I wish he'd go back to Kenya where he wuz born!!!

EDIT - I was being too generous, I should have attributed this view of Canada to a "typical recent university graduate from Alabama".

[mike474]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Out of curiosity, what kind of accent do you speak French with and how fluent are you?

I'm anglophone with a very neutral western North American accent. I've been told I have a pretty good French accent despite learning the language as an adult (I've been told by Quebecers that I sound more French than Quebecois).

As for how fluent, I think that's always a hard question to answer for someone who learned a second language as an adult. Fluent enough to have dinner conversation and do postsecondary studies, is that an answer?? I think the major thing is that I rely on English syntax because unfortunately my brain was fused that way by the time I started learning French. In talking to other sort of bilingual anglos who had the opportunity to learn French at a younger age I feel like they are more capable of thinking in French than I am even though our conversational skills are similar.

Like I said my experience in France is very limited; your perspective is likely more valid. I was just curious.

[Kilgore Trout]

Hong Kong: More than 4% of the population is Canadian and it wouldn't be a stretch to say that a big chunk of the rest have friends or relatives who live in Canada. But the country is a mystery outside Vancouver and Toronto. Quebec is considered exotic.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout

Hong Kong: More than 4% of the population is Canadian and it wouldn't be a stretch to say that a big chunk of the rest have friends or relatives who live in Canada. But the country is a mystery outside Vancouver and Toronto. Quebec is considered exotic.

I am surprised people there even know that Quebec exists.

Although it is true that many people around the world have at least a vague idea that Canada has this uppity, borderline rogue French part that wanted to separate at some point.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by mike474

I'm anglophone with a very neutral western North American accent. I've been told I have a pretty good French accent despite learning the language as an adult (I've been told by Quebecers that I sound more French than Quebecois).

As for how fluent, I think that's always a hard question to answer for someone who learned a second language as an adult. Fluent enough to have dinner conversation and do postsecondary studies, is that an answer?? I think the major thing is that I rely on English syntax because unfortunately my brain was fused that way by the time I started learning French. In talking to other sort of bilingual anglos who had the opportunity to learn French at a younger age I feel like they are more capable of thinking in French than I am even though our conversational skills are similar.

Like I said my experience in France is very limited; your perspective is likely more valid. I was just curious.

OK. Great answer. The reason I asked is because people in France probably don't lump you in with Québécois (or maybe even "Canadiens" - a Canadian accent in France is a Québécois accent), even if you mention at one point that you live in Montreal. In their world-view you fit in with (other North) Americans, which I suppose is why they are pleasantly surprised that you can speak French quite well.

For the average Frenchman, probably 90% or so of the Canadians they have met, seen or heard and identified as being from Canada have been from Quebec.

Sure, there are many English-speaking Canadians roaming around France but unless they interact with them directly for a certain period of time, for the average Frenchman it is virtually impossible to distinguish them from Americans or even in some cases the British.

[big T]

I was in Louisiana two weeks ago for work. One of the guys I was working with casually asked me (over lunch) "so, is most of Canada French-speaking?"

So, there you go - typical view of Canada in Louisiana: they don't have one.

[Metro-One]

Japan: Famous locations are Vancouver, Toronto, The Rocky Mountains, Whistler, Niagara Falls and PEI. Three lesser famous locations, but still somewhat known, are Calgary, Quebec City, and Victoria. Montreal is thought to be in Europe most the time. Outside of those locations very little is known.

Canada is a much more safe and clean version of the United States, therefore it is excellent for working holiday / english student visas (hence the countless Japanese english students in downtown Vancouver).

Canada is also excellent for holidays after one retires.

[Kilgore Trout]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I am surprised people there even know that Quebec exists.

HK is probably unique in this regard because so many people have either lived in Canada or have family who lives there. If I say I'm from Montreal, the first question anyone asks, without fail, is "Do you speak French?" That's about all they know about it, though, unless they've visited.

There's actually a number of pop stars, actors and TV personalities here who come from Montreal. Not sure their origins are widely known, though.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by big T

I was in Louisiana two weeks ago for work. One of the guys I was working with casually asked me (over lunch) "so, is most of Canada French-speaking?"
So, there you go - typical view of Canada in Louisiana: they don't have one.

Yeah, this misperception is present is a lot of places, and not just in the French-speaking world.

Every once in a while on forums you get people from the States or elsewhere who ask if they will need to know French to visit Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, etc.

I worked in tourism in Ontario in my youth and every once in a while you'd get inquiries from people about whether or not they should brush up on their French to visit, say, Niagara Falls...

French is very much a minority language in Canada but it's got presence and visibility that make it an obvious outlier that "sticks out" when some people think of the country.

[yaletown_fella]

Seriously? I doubt even .5% of Texans know what Alberta is.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by yaletown_fella

Seriously? I doubt even .5% of Texans know what Alberta is.

Methinks they deserve more credit than that.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Yeah, this misperception is present is a lot of places, and not just in the French-speaking world.

Every once in a while on forums you get people from the States or elsewhere who ask if they will need to know French to visit Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, etc.

I worked in tourism in Ontario in my youth and every once in a while you'd get inquiries from people about whether or not they should brush up on their French to visit, say, Niagara Falls...

French is very much a minority language in Canada but it's got presence and visibility that make it an obvious outlier that "sticks out" when some people think of the country.

Many people I met in my time in Boston seemed to think that. I think it's because the only vague thing they know about Canada is when either they or their brother or their cousin went to Montreal during Frosh week and got blitzed and met some amazing girls that only spoke French. The French part just sticks in their minds. It's not as though they have any real opinions or knowledge about Canada -- it's just word association.

Americans will have heard of Toronto and say that they were there for a convention once ("it was really clean looking"), but that's usually about it. It's not a place that represents anything to them. Vancouver they've all been to or would like to go to because they've heard it's beautiful. The rest of the country might as well be Mongolia.