![]() ![]() Even their postgame celebrations are tame, rarely turning into riots. They are polite and apologize if they bump into machinery. They watch hockey, recycle and never do drugs. Then there were the War of 1812 ads we produced earlier this year to boost Canadian pride in a conflict that nobody cares much about.įord is box office boffo because he upends American stereotypes about Canadians and, for what it’s worth, Canada’s self-image.Ĭanadians are cleaner, nicer and slimmer than their southern neighbors. ![]() newspapers designed to sell Americans on Keystone XL because the oil sands are in a friendly jurisdiction called Alberta that is really close by. The poll also found that respondents in France, Poland, Britain, Italy and Germany felt Washington cared slightly more about them.Īttempts to generate recognition are humiliating: the Canadian government’s ads in D.C.’s Metro and in U.S. A Pew Research Center poll of 39 countries published this summer showed that Canadian respondents, by 2 to 1, said the United States doesn’t consider Canada’s interests. The fact is that, most days, Canadians just don’t feel the love. Another gushed: “And people say Canada never makes the news in the U.S.” That’s why, after Ford’s admission, triumphalist pro-Canadian tweets followed. Why pay attention to the polite neighbor who never complains and always uses headphones?Ĭanadians, like Americans living in Omaha or Rochester or Montpelier, accept that they rarely get to bask in the limelight.īut when you’re no longer being treated like a pliant kid brother, it’s welcome. Americans perceive Canada as the place next door that exports logs, hockey players and cold fronts. That’s because Ford’s an exception - an American-style political train wreck. I suspect that more Americans now know the name of Toronto’s mayor than know the name of Canada’s prime minister. Then he refused to resign, and his popularity rose to 44 percent, according to a recent poll by Forum Research. ![]() He blamed the press for not asking the correct questions. Probably in one of my drunken stupors, probably approximately about a year ago.” He blamed alcohol - a claim bolstered by an “impaired rant” posted online Thursday by the Toronto Star. “Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine,” Ford told reporters Tuesday. The last time a Canadian politician attained any name recognition outside Canada was in 1970, when Pierre Trudeau dated Barbra Streisand. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has accomplished what no Canadian prime minister - or any Canadian for that matter - has ever achieved.Īfter a video showing him smoking crack was obtained by Toronto police, he’s made front pages around the world, become a Twitter sensation and been featured by Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel in the same evening. Diane Francis, a dual Canadian-American citizen, is the author of “Merger of the Century: Why Canada and America Should Become One Country.” ![]()
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