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PaperclipPerfector  8d ago (text post)   22736 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026

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Yes, agreed. I was born in Canada and spent the first half of my life there, and I always explain that the major difference between the two countries' cultures is that, while Americns are very proud of being American, Canadians are very proud of not being American.

I think things have changed in the last 25 years or so–and especially since Trump started provoking us—but certainly in the latter part of the 20th Century Canadians were rarely overly patriotic in the way Americans are. Sure: we'd sew maple leaf patches to our knapsacks when travelling abroad for obvious practical reasons, but otherwise the only places you'd normally see Canadian flags were on government buildings and on Canada day.

But—despite CanCon rules— we consume massive amounts of American media (though obviously we know which shows are actually shot in Vancouver of Toronto, and which of Hollywood stars are originally Canadian), and largely absorb the same values and world view. Those of us from the more populous parts of Ontario even get accused of sounding American by fellow Canadians who grew up closer to Saskatoon!

But as much as we (used to) think of Americans as our pals, and despite how little overt patriotism you'd see on any day but July 1st, Canadians almost necessarily define their cultural identity in opposition to our larger neighbor to the south:

  • Univeral healthcare is obviously hugely popular— and never more salient than when we are purchasing travel insurance for trips south of the border!
  • The Loyalist influence continues, with many Canadians being positively disposed towards the monarchy and commonwealth, and perhaps a bit skeptical (especially of late) of the populist flavour of presidential systems.
  • While recognising that our national security benefits immensely from—indeed, relies entirely on—being allies of the US, the legacy of the Vietnam war echos, with many of Canadians being glad that most overseas deployments of the Canadian military have been as UN peacekeepers, while participation in US-lead adventurism has been generally very unpopular.
  • Though it has certainly changed somewhat in recent years, most Canadians remain proud of our nation's image of being tolerant and welcoming (particularly of refugees), and supportive of the Canada's policies of official bilingualism and multiculturalism. At least when I was growing up, schools taught us about our cultural values specifically in contrast to the American "melting pot" model.
  • Despite the shameful history of "indian" reservations and the ongoing furore concerning native residential schools, I think many Canadians continue to feel that we can and should be proud that our country took a slightly less (intentionally) genocidal approach to the pre-colonial population, and that, via our courts honouring many First Nations treaty land claims, we have and continue do a much better job of making amends for the past.

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