Anti-Canadian sentiment
Anti-Canadian sentiment is hostility towards the government, culture, or people of Canada.
Historical
Voltaire reputedly joked that Canada was "a few acres of snow."[1] He was in fact referring to New France as it existed in the 18th century. The quote meant that New France was economically worthless and that France thus did not need to keep it. Many Canadians believe Voltaire's statement to be more an indictment of conquest in general.[2]
Modern perceptions
Country polled | Positive | Negative | Neutral | Pos-Neg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pakistan | 26% |
30% |
44% |
-4 |
Indonesia | 32% |
26% |
32% |
6 |
Turkey | 43% |
36% |
21% |
7 |
Peru | 42% |
23% |
35% |
19 |
India | 37% |
16% |
47% |
21 |
Russia | 36% |
15% |
49% |
21 |
Nigeria | 55% |
25% |
20% |
30 |
Kenya | 54% |
23% |
23% |
31 |
Spain | 59% |
9% |
32% |
50 |
Mexico | 69% |
12% |
19% |
57 |
Brazil | 71% |
12% |
17% |
59 |
Germany | 63% |
2% |
35% |
61 |
Greece | 70% |
4% |
26% |
66 |
China | 82% |
11% |
7% |
71 |
United States | 87% |
5% |
8% |
82 |
Australia | 91% |
5% |
4% |
86 |
France | 92% |
5% |
3% |
87 |
United Kingdom | 94% |
5% |
1% |
89 |
United States
In the
"Soviet Canuckistan" (full name being The People's Republic of Soviet Canuckistan) is an epithet for Canada, used by Pat Buchanan on October 31, 2002, on his television show on MSNBC in which he denounced Canadians as anti-American and the country as a haven for terrorists. He was reacting to Canadian criticisms of US security measures regarding Arab Canadians.[4]
Buchanan has a history of unflattering references to Canada, having said in 1990 that if Canada were to break apart due to the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, "America would pick up the pieces."[5] He said two years after that "for most Americans, Canada is sort of like a case of latent arthritis. We really don't think about it, unless it acts up."[6]
In 2005, the year in which Canada refused to participate in an American
In a December 2005 interview, Tucker Carlson remarked on MSNBC that:
First of all, anybody with any ambition at all, or intelligence, has left Canada and is now living in New York. Second, anybody who sides with Canada internationally in a debate between the U.S. and Canada, say, Belgium, is somebody whose opinion we shouldn't care about in the first place. Third, Canada is a sweet country. It is like your retarded cousin you see at Thanksgiving and sort of pat on the head. You know, he's nice, but you don't take him seriously. That's Canada.[7]
Saudi Arabia
Amid a diplomatic row between
Islamic State
The
“If you kill a disbelieving American or European – especially the spiteful and filthy French – or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war, including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State, then rely upon Allah, and kill him in any manner or way however it may be,”
-Abu Mohammad al-Adnani[14]
Brazil
Anti-Canadian sentiment has been observed in
Canada
Some hostility towards or criticism of Canada as a nation can be seen within Canada itself, most prominently by
Quebec
Anti-Canadianism in the
From the invasion of New France in the 1760s and the formation of Canada in 1867 until the
Quebec, whose sole official language is French since 1974, has introduced and implemented laws since the 1970s, especially with the adoption of the comprehensive Charter of the French Language Law in 1977 that limits the visibility of English on non-official signs. Commercial signs in languages other than French (especially targeting those in English) have been permitted only if French is given marked prominence in size. This law has been the subject of periodic controversy since its inception. While the architects and advocates of the Charter of the French Language Law argue that it was adopted to promote and protect the French language, critics argue that it is anti-English Canadian in its purpose by rooting out the English language from all spheres in Quebec.[21]
One of the charter's articles stipulates that all children under 16 must receive their primary and secondary education in French schools, unless one of the child's parents has received most of their education in English, in Canada, or the child themselves has already received a substantial part of their education in English, in Canada. Access to elementary and secondary English language schools by non-anglophone immigrants have also been limited by this law.[22]
Lucien Bouchard said that Canada wasn't a "real country", sparking outrage across Canada. He later apologized for the remark.[23]
Newfoundland
Many in
Political accusations
Sometimes Canadians accuse each other of being anti-Canadian: For example,
Anti-Canadianism and humour
Humorous anti-Canadianism often focuses on broadly known attributes of Canada and Canadians such as cold weather or
See also
References
- ISBN 9781550547375.
- JSTOR 2750594.
- ^ "2017 BBC World Service poll" (PDF). BBC World Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-07-30.
- ISBN 9781897425497.
- ^ "Pat Buchanistan". The Globe and Mail. 2002-11-02. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ISBN 9781849544818.
- ^ doi:10.7202/040771ar – via Érudit.
- ^ Compare: "'Canada is the world's worst oppressor of women': Saudi Arabia's bizarre propaganda campaign" by Tristin Hopper - National Post, 10 August 2018: "This whole spat began because Canada has publicly campaigned against the jailing of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi. As a result, the easiest way to discredit Canada would be to find evidence of us similarly jailing political dissidents. On Monday, the Saudi-owned TV channel Al Arabiya ran a segment on the allegedly appalling conditions in Canadian prisons. Amid claims that 75 percent of Canadian detainees die before standing trial, the segment also claimed that University of Toronto professor Jordan Peterson is a Canadian prisoner of conscience. Peterson certainly has his qualms with the Canadian justice system; he first rose to prominence as a critic of an Ontario law regarding gender expression. But the professor remains a free man."
- ^ Jones, Ryan Patrick (2018-08-06). "Saudi Arabian group apologizes for posting image appearing to threaten Canada with 9/11-style attack". CBC News. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ^ Russell, Andrew; Kalvapalle, Rahul (2018-08-06). "Saudi non-profit deletes Twitter image depicting Air Canada plane flying towards CN Tower". Global News. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
- ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ^ "Stephen Harper condemns ISIS audio urging attacks on Canadians". CBC.
- ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
- ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ Westervelt, Robert (2001-02-28). "Potash Firms Caught in Brazil-Canada Trade War". Chemical Week. 163 (9): 16. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ Scherer, Steve (2 July 2021). "Canada Day muted as country reckons with treatment of indigenous, other minorities". Reuters.
- ^ "Why some Canadians aren't celebrating Canada Day this year". Christian Science Monitor.
- ^ Latimer, Kendall (1 July 2022). "Why some Sask. people aren't celebrating Canada on July 1". CBC News.
- ISBN 9780771022593.
- ISBN 9781139491440.
- ^ Field, Dick (2008-03-11). "Time for the NATION of Quebec to leave Canada". canadafreepress.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ Joyal, Serge (Fall 2000). "Bill C-20 and the sovereignty of the people". Cité Libre. 28 (4): 97–100. Archived from the original on 2011-07-27.
- ^ "Maple Leaf flags removed in offshore feud". CBC News. 2004-12-23. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Williams, PCs still dominate landscape, latest poll finds". CBC News. 2008-03-07. Archived from the original on 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ Byfield, Link (2006-06-16). "Far from equal". The Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on 2006-10-03.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - Canadian Bacon for jokes about the weather and health care, and The Simpsons episode "The Bart Wants What It Wants" for jokes about Canadian health care