I’m sure they’re just regular people like the rest of the world, with maybe a culture that is very nice/welcoming compared to a lot of others? But I want to know, like, how long has this been a stereotype and who started the rumor? Was it Canada themselves pushing the idea or America or what? Is it a recent idea? Thanks in advance, I am so curious š
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Taking a pass on Vietnam and Iraq.
I think it was Americans through media representation and it just stuck and became a thing
Probably because they are more reserved and polite than Americans. But not as reserved as some other nations.
The “nice” Canadian disappears as soon as you put them behind the wheel of a car.
If youāve ever met anyone from Newfoundland they are genuinely the nicest people on earth. Itās not a stereotype itās real.
Canadians in general are very nice and polite, but man! you should meet their civil engineers!
It was a thing when I was young and I’m 72 now. I think it also has to do with their speech being very polite; with the impression that they are slow to anger. I’m not sure if the statics on violent crime and rape are or were very low, but the reputation was that it is a very safe country, to visit or to live in.
The “nice Canadian” stereotype comes from a mix of history, culture, and media. Canada’s British colonial roots and emphasis on politeness helped shape a more reserved culture. Pop culture and U.S. perceptions of Canadians as friendly and laid-back reinforced it. While Canada didnāt exactly push this image, it became widely adopted, especially with modern media.
Not during the World Wars that’s for sure
They say “sorry” all the time.
Truth isnāt a stereotype.
By being nice
As a Canadian, I can assure you that the stereotype is misleading.
If anything, most Americans Iāve met are actually nicer than most Canadians.
Canada has āThe Apology Actā
āIn most Canadian provinces, saying āsorryā or making an apology does not automatically mean an admission of guilt or liability. This is due to apology legislation that protects individuals from having their apologies used as evidence of fault in civil cases or other legal proceedings. The Apology Act, or similar legislation, exists in most provinces to ensure that apologies are not used to unfairly burden someone who may have felt compelled to apologize for emotional reasons, regardless of legal faultā
(preceding is a google search result, cuz Iām sorry but if I tried to explain I wouldāve probably misspoke)
ā¦ we Canadians saying many times;
im sorry š«©
I think if you look at a lot of early north American media, you see a consistent and popular trend. This really rose and became a trope, most prominent in the 80s and 90s. Because of how Canada and the United states interacted so frequently in business exchanges, the exchange of culture became really visible.Ā
It starts as most things do. A little joke here a comment there. But soon it was common to see Canadian and American cultural exchanges in media. So, it was being promoted on both sides of the border. Added to that, British media loves to highlight the differences in our culture in their popular media.Ā
They gave it to themselves eh.
As an American I can say Canadians are some of the meanest people I know, sometimes the opposite of truth becomes the stereotype.
lol they live next to the rudest neighbor on the block
Sorry
Peace Order and Good Government.
By standing next to the asshole in the room.
I think it’s just everyone is really polite. I was at a restaurant in Denver once and asked another table for a chair. Said please, sorry and thank you in the convo. They immediately asked me if I was a Canadian.Ā
Angel: “What are you doing?”
God: “Making Canadians.”
A: “Oh, they’re so nice.”
G: “Oh, yeah? Watch this.”
G: Drops puck…
Keifer Sutherland
Politeness. Not as brazen as the Americans.
One of my doctors is from Canada. I asked him about the rumor. He said it’s true. Unfortunately, we Americans have interpreted that to mean that they’re weak pushovers as well. Hey, let’s force them to become the 51st state. They’re too polite to say no.
I could have predicted their response.
Have you met the mofoās living next door to them? Anyone would look nice compared to that lot.
Have you travelled? Visited many places? Run in to tourists visiting from other parts of the world?
I went snowboarding in Canada (Iām from UK)
I was amazed they served roast potatoes for breakfast, but there wasnāt many leftā¦ sat down with my small amountā¦ few moments later someone comes over to me with a fresh tray for first takings
Getting coach to the slopes, and get stuck in traffic as they clear the road ahead. Driver gets out, comes back with tray of hot chocolate/coffees for everyone.
Half way through one day, I decide to try a different slopeā¦ queue up, get to the front. āOh your pass doesnāt cover this slopeā¦ here you go, take this oneā
Ordered a slice of chocolate fudge cake as dessert at a restaurant, it was amazing and big portion, complimented them on it, as we were leaving they handed us a box, with the rest of the cake in it.
This was all over the course of 3 weeks, I was only about 16 and very baby-faced & it was over Christmas period, so maybe some extra generosity going around.
A lot of it is just culture. I think a lot of it stems from the way we use the word sorry. A lot of the times we use it as a stand in for whoops, or gosh and I think a lot of other cultures mistakingly think that means we are apologising. We also have a lot of āpoliteā social norms. Holding the door open for others isnāt a gesture of kindness here it is just what is expected.
That being said while we are polite we arenāt necessarily warm. There are some cultures that have less perceived niceness Canada but are far warmer and welcoming then us. Though I second the comments about the East Coasters lol, they are both polite and warm.
In the early 20th century there were movies and books about Mounties or a particular Mountie rescuing a damsel in distress, usually somewhere in the wilderness. These stories would usually involve the Mountie defending the womanās honour at some point.
And then thereās our love of the word āsorryā. I once studied under a linguistics prof who theorized that the word is used as a way of diffusing a potential conflict before it starts. If Canadians bump into each other, itās not unusual for both to say sorry to each other. But if the bumpee says sorry and the bumper does not, there is a very real sense of outrage and hostility on the part of the person who did apologize. In other words, Canadians are not kind. Instead we have a quietly simmering hostility inside and we lean heavily on the word sorry to keep that in check.
Outsiders see our outward niceness as a reflection of our inner state, but itās essentially a mask that prevents everyday life from devolving into an all out elbows up hockey brawl.
Wait till you get to Saskatchewan and Alberta. There are a lot of racist shits there (speaking from experience)
Interestingly enough Canadians had a particularly savage rep in WW1.
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/q-lEEs9IbJQ
As a Canadian who has done a bit of traveling to other countries I would say that we are polite and respectful of personal space in comparison to other places. Not necessarily nicer or more friendly though. I feel like we are a bit more reserved and stand off-ish than other places.
Sorry eh, I think itās because we say sorry a lot. Which is misguided, because you can totally say sorry in passive aggressive way. I imagine this happens in hockey, clearly your hit was rough, āoh sorryā -proceeds to check them again just as hard-
From my experience with Canadians they are very kind. As an American, Canadian women are much easier and more laid back to talk to. Canadians also seem less judgmental than Americans.
Itās not that we r super nice, we are just not loud mouthed twats. America sets a low bar and it makes us look good. And ā sorryā is a compulsory class in grade four.
Idk personally. Iām Canadian and grew up and later worked with nice people, bullies, cool people etc. Seems like a mix youād find anywhere
Because weāre always compared to Americans. Our disposition is different and culturally we are different but, thatās probably where it comes from.
They disagree with this stereotype but they’ve been too nice to correct us.
We’re not even nice, but have basic manners that the US lacks, therefore we appear nice lol
on the one side we got Americans, on the other polar bears. so where’s your safe spac
Iām Welsh. Visited Canada for business a few years back. Woke way too early and walked down to a Tim Hortons for coffee. A bunch of construction workers, some DAMN big guys, were eating an enormous breakfast. I asked how the hell they ate much that without dying of heart attacks. With the best of fun they explained that was their meal until they got home that evening when they would have something light and, at minus whateverthefuck degrees C, they would work that off PDQ. Invited me to sit and have breakfast with them. Genuinely nice guys. In the UK, I may have got a grin or be told to fuck off. I REALLY liked my multiple stays in Canada. Canadians I have met are, just nice people.
I would say polite, nice and kind are three distinct things. Canadians are on average very polite. Southern Americans are on average quite nice, going beyond please and thank you. Both can be deeply unkind, especially during wars or sporting events.
As to how they got the reputation, the same way all nationalities and ethnic groups get reputations: assigned by Hollywood. Youāre welcome.
Have you ever been to Canada? If not I suggest you visit.
Somebody must have met GSP.
Canadians have earned a reputation as usually responsible people, no worse than George and Harold, always presumed to be well intentioned.
Americans by contrast have slid down the slippery slope from aspiring to be Don Rickles to Don Imus to Rush Limbaugh and Rupert Murdoch to the current crop of Jack Merridews.
Same as MN.
I had the joy of hiring Canadian oil field workers. Almost all of whom required exception letters to be allowed a visa, as they all had criminal pasts, usually related to alcohol/ violence.
someone said āsorryā once in 1867 and it just spiraled from there.
By the American definition of niceness, Canadians are less “nice” than Americans,.but more polite and as individuals quieter and more reserved. That might be some other country’s definition of “niceness”.
Because we are often compared to Americans who come off as loud, obnoxious, shameless, and self serving. This has been especially noticed in the tourism industry. There are plenty of nice Americans but the latest election is kind is proof of this sort of behaviour.
We vent all our aggression out while playing hockey or in times of war so when we are at peace and off the ice, we’re nice.
The mean ones leave no survivorsĀ
I have never met a Canadian who wasnāt awesome. Ā Maybe I am lucky
By standing next to Americans.
In my experience Canadian society really is just kinder. For example, there is less pressure put on kids when they are young; and in school, at least compared to the UK, they are treated with significantly more respect from teachers—they are given every opportunity to succeed and if they are willing to keep at it the doors to success are always open. The onus is on kids to work in their own interests though; and there is less force feeding. They are treated, up to a point, as equals from the beginning.
People working in shops and restaurants are happier and more content, and again respect goes both ways easily. It feels like Canadians are quicker to work together and they do it easily and naturally.
Politics in Canada is naturally to the left, with breaks taken when needed to the right. However, it does feel like the cost of living and the culture war that’s leaked over from the US has been working against us. And of course it’s not as equal a society as those that have assume. There are many people who care here, but even with a will it’s not always easy to find a way.
Because we are
Perhaps some of it has to do with the relatively hostile climate. The winters are long, and odds are you will need to be pulled out of the ditch, pushed out of a snowbank, or given a boost, and you donāt know who is going to be the one to help you out.
Meanwhile, because we donāt generally have guns, and the people who do have them donāt wave them around, we can feel a little more safe with each other. If we piss someone off, the odds are a lot less that we are going to get shot. I canāt say that being within 15 feet of someone who thinks taking an AR-15 to the donut shop is really what I want to do.
Part of it is Canada has a proud history of making some really good UN peacekeepers. Theres parts of the world that only know Canadians as ‘those guys that stop rebels from killing our families’.
Then when you compare us to Americans, we don’t even have to try, and we come across as nice.
We are polite, not always nice.
We’re just nice. We can’t help it.
It’s easy when you compare them to loud obnoxious americans.Ā
In general Canadians tend to be softer spoken than our cousins to the south. We have more of a tendancy to follow rules and be a little more patient. Then of course there’s the tendancy to say sorry, please and thanks. General good manners that have become more eroded in the US…
We had to work hard at it after some very questionable things we did in war timeā¦
Iāve heard the āfriendly Canadianā one as well. Lived in Seattle for 2 years and as an aussie often hoofed it to Vancouver. Spent time in Toronto and Montreal as well. They arenāt any different to anywhere else in the planet. I definitely wouldnāt go out of my way to enforce the āniceā or āfriendlyā stereotype of Canadians- Iāve come across rude and racist ones too!
Google “The Apology Act.” That may have something to do with it.
Not sure, come visit Alberta I am sure you will find the majority of assholes here.
Well, Lester Pearson (who eventually became Prime Minister) was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1957 for United Nations peacekeeping in the Suez. We have since had a long history of peacekeeping.
Additionally, we officially adopted multiculturalism in 1971, welcoming any and all to participate in our nation.
Finally, this reputation of kindness, acceptance, and public service was amplified by the media from our neighbours to the South, who have the loudest and most powerful voice in the world.
So, Iād say this reputation, like Canada itself, is relatively recent. We have been kind for a long time, but it probably wasnāt until the 70s that we began to really have an international reputation for kindness.
By being constantly compared to Americans.
One day Canada will take over the world! Then you will all be sorry.
Itās because mostly they are.
Reddit has a habit of posts that trash everyone in country x. Itās kinda ignorant.
Iām not Canadian, just saying though.
Ask a Canadian aboot it. Why are you so nice ayyy?
Edit: demande Ć un Canadien Ć ce sujet. Pourquoi es-tu si gentil ?
Ummm, thinking not a stereotype.
A great way to break the illusion is to visit Quebec lol
Have you ever bumped into a Canadian?
Come here and see! We’re considerate by nature, ask anyone who has ever visited here! The caveat that people DON’T generally mention, is that we can get as mad as are we get nice, ESPECIALLY if we’re nice to you, and then you betray us! We hate bullies, and the world had to come together to write the Geneva Convention, just to reign us in once we were let off the chain for war! We have guns here, but we prefer a good ol fistfight
Nice? Do you know what the people of Newfoundland did on 9/11? There are no words. Gander and surrounding communitiesā¦.hope Iāve piqued your interest. Best Random Acts of Kindness story. Ever!
Manners, most places Iāve travelled people arenāt as polite as they are back home in Canada
Thatās not to say theyāre rude by any means, but a cashier in Canada will normally wish you a nice day when you order a coffee or make some sort of small talk, random strangers talk with one another about the most random things at random times, like how good those honey crisp apples look while grocery shopping, etc.
Whereas anytime Iāve travelled, Iāve been told by my friends native to where I am to āsettle the fuck down on the small talk itās embarrassingā but thatās just normal in Canada, at least where Iām from
That being said, when I visit a big city in Canada like say Toronto, you may as well be visiting a foreign country
Not from World War 1/2 that’s for sure
They are nice. They gotta make up for those mean geese.
Honestly, I think itās just like the hardships that Canadians have to go through and they always help others out.
And what I mean by that is when itās minus 30 Celsius and you have to endure that. When someoneās car gets stuck in a blizzard like you push them out, because all of that has happened to all of us and you would be screwed or have to call a tow truck if no one helps.
In regards to Newfoundland- heck the majority when they get a blizzard, the powers out, wonāt have power for days and you just kind of need to rely on neighbours.
So maybe just being like low density population in general and surviving like extreme cold weather makes us a bit hardy? IDK? Thereās always been like a sense of community in a way, although I do see it fading a bit.
We are nice until you fuck with us.
It’s also useful reputation or stereotype to have.
In the Canadian Military, prior to deployments or other international events we’re often given talks about how we’re percieved and being nice and that we should do our best to maintain that image. You get treated differently abroad when everybody “knows” you’re nice.
Personally though, I’d have to say that we’re not nice. We’re polite, and there is a difference.
No idea, I am a Canadian who knows tons of huge assholes and can be one from time to time when it’s warranted
Iām not your buddy, friend!
I’m Canadian. I spent a lot of time “down east” in Nova Scotia growing up, but born & raised in Toronto. Down east they are very neighbourly people.
There is a joke about a Canadian stand-off. It is where there is a common doorway, like from a store where people are exiting & entering. The standoff happens when everyone starts telling everyone “after you on no after you” & no one gets anywhere.
We are generally polite but we can be quite passive-aggressive. An example may be that if someone insists they know something about Canada or Canadians, & they’re wrong, we don’t correct them. We just add more misinformation onto it to turn them into a bigger fool.
We typically don’t like attention focused on us in general. The stuff with Trump tends to make many of us uncomfortable more so because it’s like there is a focus on us. The boycotts of US tourism & products is also uncomfortable for many of us too cause we like Americans, we want to support our neighbours but we can’t right now. It’s a really weird, torn feeling right now. I’m use to trying to buy Canadian first but if I see “made in the USA’ I’d buy it with no hesitation or be happy to find North American made. Sadly not now.
Sorry, I’m actually just really nice
WW1.
When we’re born all of our anger is transferred into a Canadian Goose.