# American's general knowledge about Canada **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 2000, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617 "2000-09-26T16:12:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/41 "2000-09-27T01:55:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mealypotaotes \* > \*\*…while Americans look north, and see themselves. Is this true? \*\* Yes, when I look towards Canada I see myself. Throw me in a room with yer **demographically average** Candian and you will find that he and I: A) Worship the same God B) Have the same skin color C) Speak the same language, with very little difference in accents (ab_out_ vs. ab_oot_ notwithstanding) D) Eat the same kinds of foods E) Enjoy the same kinds of sports Americans don’t look at Canadians and see tan-skinned people who worship Buddha, eat yaksouba, speak a foreign tongue and enjoy sumo wrestling. We see people who are very much like ourselves. And, for better or for worse, our histories are very intertwined (at least until the early 1800’s). So, yeah, Americans look north and see themselves. My USD.02 ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/42 "2000-09-27T03:49:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > You guys are big, we’re small. You know, that’s the exact same way us Oregonians think about California. Well, not quite. Here it’s more like “You’re big and we’re smug.” But it’s close. > [@](#): > > The one constant amongst Canadians is that they tend to carry a terrible inferiority complex when it comes to the U.S. One thing I know for sure about Canada is that the national motto is: “Sumus non Americae, eh.” ---
**Author:** ![jbird3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/aeb1de/32.png) [@jbird3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbird3000)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/43 "2000-09-27T04:50:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mrblue92 \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > give us a map of the US and I think most of us could identify many, if not all, the states. > > Thing is, if someone gets one wrong, and it sticks out in your mind more than the 10 or 20 people who get it right. And I bet most Canadians would have a difficult choosing which state was Kansas/Nebraska, Vermont/New Hampshire, and Wyoming/Colorado. \*\* That because you’ve got your country split up in _50_ little sections, more or less squares or tiny little states. We’ve got these huge ass provinces. When you look on the map, SASKATCHEWAN is right there, pracitcally shouting at you… Look for New Hampshire on a map… uhh… nope, that’s not it… Basically my geo knowledge of the states extends to general area. Either “somewhere on the pacific”, “somewhere in the middle”, or “somewhere in the east”. Also, I learnt our provinces in order, and they have an easy order to follow, starting from the west (until you get to those punt Atlantic provinces) But if you have Oklahoma vs Missouri… I have no idea which is which. There are no discerning features seperating these two states (“on the coast”, “has a big lake”, etc) ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/44 "2000-09-27T04:57:36Z")
First off: my tiny beef, Quebecers ARE Canadians. We ahven’t sepreated yet and (hopefully) never will. Umm… I have to say that at one point in my life I COULD list you all the capitals and states of the US, as well as all the capitals of pretty much all countries around the world. Maybe I’m an exception, but people not being TAUGHT is the problem. ---
**Author:** ![KenP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c0e974/32.png) [@KenP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KenP)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/45 "2000-09-27T06:23:10Z")
I once worked with someone who had been to Canada several times, but described a vacation in Hawaii as his “first time outside the U.S.” ---
**Author:** ![mrblue92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mrblue92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrblue92)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/46 "2000-09-27T13:19:00Z")
> [@](#): > > That because you’ve got your country split up in _50_ little sections, more or less squares or tiny little states. We’ve got these huge ass provinces. When you look on the map, SASKATCHEWAN is right there, pracitcally shouting at you… Look for New Hampshire on a map… uhh… nope, that’s not it… Yep, and I personally wouldn’t expect non-U.S. citizens to know where they were either, though I bet New York and California (and maybe Florida, Texas, Hawaii, and Alaska) are pretty well known. How many Canadians (or Americans for that matter) know that Chihuahua, Durango, and Tabasco are Mexican provinces? If you look at a map, they’re right there… Maybe the letters are a little smaller, I’ll grant you that, but how often do you stare at a map of Mexico that closely unless you plan on going there? > [@](#): > > Maybe I’m an exception, but people not being TAUGHT is the problem. Oh, I think most Americans learn this stuff in school, too, but most forget a week after the test. For most people, it’s trivial knowledge that they can always look up if they ever need to know. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/47 "2000-09-27T15:17:25Z")
> [@](#): > > How many Canadians (or Americans for that matter) know that Chihuahua, Durango, and Tabasco are Mexican provinces? If you look at a map, they’re right there… Maybe the letters are a little smaller, I’ll grant you that, but how often do you stare at a map of Mexico that closely unless you plan on going there? Good point, but Mexican states (they are states, aren’t they? Isn’t that nation’s formal name “Estados Unidos Mexicanos,” in Spanish, or “Mexican United States” in English?) aren’t generally on many maps the way US states are. Looking at the Rand-McNally map of the world that hangs on the opposite wall from my computer, I can see that the cartographers have carefully put in the American state boundaries. They’ve even put in the Canadian provincial boundaries and the Australian state boundaries. But they have not included internal boundaries for Mexico. I’ve also noticed that on the American TV weather reports, the Canadian provincial boundaries are often included in the satellite pictures. Not if the weather report is dealing with a state or location far from the Canadian border, true, but in the big, here’s-how-the-nation-looks-today satellite shot. No names for the Canadian provinces (or for the American states either), but at least the boundaries are there. > [@](#): > > For most people, it’s trivial knowledge that they can always look up if they ever need to know. Agreed. Bill Clinton was originally governor of Oregon, which I think is somewhere on the Atlantic coast, and his wife Hillary is currently running for Senator of California, which is on the Gulf of Mexico. Oh, and isn’t Jesse Ventura the governor of New Hampshire–that big state on the west coast? Hey, it’s trivial information (to me), and I didn’t feel like looking it up! 😃 Just kidding… Interesting discussion, though. ---
**Author:** ![SoMoMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@SoMoMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoMoMom)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/48 "2000-09-27T15:21:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jbird3000 \* > \*\*But if you have Oklahoma vs Missouri… I have no idea which is which. There are no discerning features seperating these two states (“on the coast”, “has a big lake”, etc) \*\* Ah-hem! Missouri has a bootheel. It is the only state with a bootheel. Plus the eastern border is formed by the Mississippi River and the border above Kansas City is formed by the Missouri River. It is nothing like Oklahoma which is shaped like a pan. ---
**Author:** ![jbird3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/aeb1de/32.png) [@jbird3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbird3000)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/49 "2000-09-27T18:43:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mrblue92 \* > \*\*How many Canadians (or Americans for that matter) know that Chihuahua, Durango, and Tabasco are Mexican provinces? If you look at a map, they’re right there… Maybe the letters are a little smaller, I’ll grant you that, but how often do you stare at a map of Mexico that closely unless you plan on going there? > \*\* Canada isn’t beside Mexico. I don’t know any Mexicans, Mexico isn’t in the news, so I have no interest in Mexico. I’d expect Texans, for example, to know some Mexican states. Just like I expect Minnesotans to know Canadian provinces. **Ah-hem! Missouri has a bootheel. It is the only state with a bootheel. Plus the eastern border is formed by the Mississippi River and the border above Kansas City is formed by the Missouri River. It is nothing like Oklahoma which is shaped like a pan.** Yes, I know they are different shapes, but there isn’t really anything IN the state that would differentiate it. Provinces are huge, so they have SOMETHING, or at least a point of reference. BC: mountains, on coast Alberta: beside BC Sask: rectangle, boring Manitoba: before ontario Ontario: Great lakes, cities Quebec: st. laurent PEI: small island Newfoundland: big island NS/NB: just gotta remember which is which. NB is a square. ---
**Author:** ![SoMoMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@SoMoMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoMoMom)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/50 "2000-09-27T19:09:21Z")
oic, like Alberta, Sask., and Manitoba are all alike. :rolleyes: Here’s an example maybe you’ll understand: There’s no NHL team IN Oklahoma. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mrblue92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mrblue92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrblue92)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/51 "2000-09-27T19:15:44Z")
> [@](#): > > It is the only state with a bootheel. Except that Missouri doesn’t look at all like a boot. Now Italy, there’s a boot. > [@](#): > > Alberta: beside BC > Sask: rectangle, boring > Manitoba: before ontario Yea, those are distinguishing characteristics. :rolleyes: OK, I’ll be the guinea pig. I live in Michigan, and I am well aware that Ontario is on the other side of the bridges. I recognize the province names and generally know the location of the big cities–Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Quebec are the ones that spring immmediately to mind. Our network news programs hardly ever report anything about Canadian politics, though one might hear about socialized medicine or Quebec on rare occasion. In fact, news about our own nation is often woefully inadequate, and I sometimes go to PBS or the web to try to fill the gaps. Now, am I supposed to go out of my way to keep up to date on Canadian affairs when they have less effect on me than even New York or California affairs? Fine, Canada is a great trading partner. Yea! I’ve been to Toronto and Niagara Falls without any real problems, and even had dinner with a group that included a Quebecois (sp?) gal. Is my obligation to Canada complete, or do I need to pay more attention? ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/52 "2000-09-27T19:51:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by don Jaime \* > \*\*Damn! I meant St John is the capital of Alberta. St John’s is the capital of the Province of the Northwestern Yukon. Teach me to preview, somebody! \*\* Damn again, don! St. John’s in the captial of Newfoundland. There is no “Northwestern Yukon”, but the capital of the Yukon Territory is Whitehorse (hometown of former SDMB regular Eris.) The capital of the Northwestern Territories is Yellow Knife, and the capital of Alberta is Edmonton. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/53 "2000-09-27T20:10:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jbird3000 \* > \*\* > > Yes, I know they are different shapes, but there isn’t really anything IN the state that would differentiate it. > > Provinces are huge, so they have SOMETHING, or at least a point of reference. > BC: mountains, on coast > Alberta: beside BC > Sask: rectangle, boring > Manitoba: before ontario > Ontario: Great lakes, cities > Quebec: st. laurent > PEI: small island > Newfoundland: big island > NS/NB: just gotta remember which is which. NB is a square. \*\* Actually, I heard that Alberta was like Texas, but has even more oil, more rednecks per capita and just as many guns (or something to that respect - the last one is a long shot!) 🙂 Albertan, and proud of it! ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/54 "2000-09-27T21:40:42Z")
This is a frustrating and, IMO, rather insulting on both sides. The Canadians are insulting the Americans for not knowing anything about their country, and the Americans are insulting the Canadians for not being worth knowing about. Come on guys, we don’t need this. FTR, I have never been to Canada. I live in California, which, for the geographically illiterate, is not really very close to Canada. But I know perfectly well that the nearest province to me is British Columbia. I know that the capital of Canada is Ottawa, and that Toronto is in Ontario. I could probably fill out a map of Canada and get all the provinces right - which is more than I could do with the teeny weeny east coast states in the U.S. (I mean, Rhode Island is about the same size as my county. How did this get to be a state?) You don’t have to be a genius to know this stuff, all you have to do is pay attention. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Don](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e95f7d/32.png) [@Engineer\_Don](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Don)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/55 "2000-09-27T22:03:49Z")
In So. Cal. we get a small but noticable amount of news about Mexico, and it’s trials and tribulations. I always assumed that states along the Canadian border would get a little news about Canada. It sounds like that isn’t so, which is a shame because the level of U.S. interaction with Canada means, to me, that out of basic politeness we should at least show some interest. That being said, the lack of general knowledge of geography seems to be huge and growing. IIRC the local papers carried a report on a survey done at a local university that showed less than 60% of the students could find the Pacific Ocean on a map. 30% could find Washington D.C., and Less than 5% could find Afganistan, and this is at the time the Ruskies were fighting there. Don’t these people play Risk, or Diplomacy, or anything? I once heard a local news reporter refer to the La Canada Freeway (tilde over the “n”, pronounced “la can ya da”, a local city, freeway maybe 40 miles long total) as the L.A. / Canada freeway, which sent me and some friends into hysterics for a bit. Ya gotta laugh. ---
**Author:** ![mrblue92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@mrblue92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrblue92)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2000, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/56 "2000-09-27T23:10:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Americans are insulting the Canadians for not being worth knowing about I don’t think it’s meant as a serious insult. I think the majority Americans don’t pay much attention to _any_ foreign country unless we’re at war with them. We’ve always had a tendency toward isolationism. I never said Canada wasn’t worth knowing about, but if that kind of knowledge is not going to help the average American in his day to day existence, chances are he’s going to forget it after a short time. Sad, but often true. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/57 "2000-09-28T00:06:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Actually, I heard that Alberta was like Texas, but has even more oil, more rednecks per capita and just as many guns (or something to that respect - the last one is a long shot!) 🙂 Actually, I’d say that that Alberta, while like Texas, has less guns and less rednecks per capita. The rednecks we have are “citified” rednecks (“Hey, y’all, let’s catch the bus to the cineplex!\*”). We don’t have any really “redneck” rednecks, and there aren’t any “hillbilly” rednecks at all. \*Fun fact: The city of Edmonton, where I live, has the most movie screens per capita in North America. There’s a brand new Cineplex Odeon a few blocks from my house, and two more cineplexes are under construction elsewhere in the city. ---
**Author:** ![jcarbon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d78d45/32.png) [@jcarbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jcarbon)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/58 "2000-09-28T01:55:29Z")
Why don’t we just change its’ name to “United States Lite”? ---
**Author:** ![don\_Jaime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@don\_Jaime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_Jaime)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/59 "2000-09-28T03:00:42Z")
Everyone else - ignore me. Easy job. Greg Charles…you did get it, right? Or are you messing with my mind? ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2000, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617/60 "2000-09-28T05:14:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tshirts \* > **The “world news” on US TV has shrunk to “What has happened elsewhere that a US politician commented on, or that killed a US citizen?” If it doesn’t fit those narrow critera, it isn’t reported.** But it’s not only this. The French and Canadian elections were held at about the same time the last go-round. The French elections were front page and above-the-fold; the Canadian elections were relegated to the ‘Around the World’ sections. Canada is hands-down our largest trading partner - you’d think the news would skew towards them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-general-knowledge-about-canada/34617.md?page=4)