# I need a crash course in Canadianness **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 2, 2024, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418 "2024-06-02T18:58:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/61 "2024-06-04T03:08:52Z")
I’ve known about my Canadian heritage pretty much since I was old enough to know anything at all, but it only became possible for me to get Canadian citizenship by descent recently (if at all - I don’t want to jinx myself because my application is still pending). My father wasn’t entitled to his own mother’s citizenship until he was 75 years old because of peculiarities in Canadian citizenship law. ---
**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:** [June 4, 2024, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/62 "2024-06-04T03:55:50Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I thought Stan Rogers was _de rigueur_ Along with the others mentioned, try Stompin’ Tom Connors. He wrote and performed plenty of songs, usually about Canadian things. Some are about historical events (“The Bridge Came Tumbling Down,” “The Martin Hartwell Story”); some are about Canadian places (“Sudbury Saturday Night,” “Tillsonburg”); and some are about characters (“Bud the Spud,” “Big Joe Mufferaw,” “Margo’s Cargo”). Other bands/performers to consider. You might not know about all of them, but they’ve all been inspired by this country. Particularly Canadian song recommendations follow: Neil Young, “Four Strong Winds” Gordon Lightfoot, “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” Bruce Cockburn, “Coldest Night of the Year” The Barra MacNeils, “Coal Town Road” The Irish Descendants, “Let Me Fish Off Cape St. Mary’s” The Rankin Family, “Gillis Mountain,” “Orangedale Whistle” John McDermott, “Song for the Mira” Tanglefoot, “Vimy,” “Agnes on the Cowcatcher,” “Secord’s Warning” The Arrogant Worms, “The Last Saskatchewan Pirate,” “Canada’s Really Big” There are, of course, many more artists and songs, but the above are among my favourites, and they’re a good place to start. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/63 "2024-06-04T04:03:26Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Neil Young, “Four Strong Winds” > Gordon Lightfoot, “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” Two of my absolute faves. The first is beautifully melancholy, the second a great Canadian classic. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/64 "2024-06-04T04:08:43Z")
Some of these are a click away… > [@It's Canada Day, Up Canada Way!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-day-up-canada-way/967257): > > Who better to kick it off than Stompin’ Tom? [[Canada Day Up Canada Way] ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGHMw_67fOk) Best wishes, fellow Canucks! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/65 "2024-06-04T04:35:14Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > The Irish Descendants, “Let Me Fish Off Cape St. Mary’s” I first heard them do this song live at St John’s Celtic Fest. Marvellous. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/66 "2024-06-04T04:36:15Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Other bands/performers to consider. You might not know about all of them, but they’ve all been inspired by this country. Particularly Canadian song recommendations follow: “Farewell to Nova Scotia”, I’m familiar with The Irish Rovers’ version, but it’s been done by lots of folks ---
**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:** [June 4, 2024, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/67 "2024-06-04T04:50:37Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I first heard them do this song live at St John’s Celtic Fest. Marvellous. Regarding “Let Me Fish Off Cape St. Mary’s,” I first heard it in Lethbridge, Alberta, of all places. The Irish Descendants used to tour western Canada every year or two, and always made a stop in Lethbridge. Love their version of “Catch the Wind.” Much better than Donovan’s. I’ve seen them a few times in Lethbridge, and I always had my spoons, of course. I still cannot keep up to them on “Rattlin’ Bog” towards the end, but I’m fine with their other songs. ---
**Author:** ![moes\_lotion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/68 "2024-06-04T06:30:06Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Neil Young, “Four Strong Winds” Neil does an excellent cover of this, but I prefer the original Ian Tyson/Judy Collins version. Another band suggestion, The Cowboy Junkies ---
**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:** [June 4, 2024, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/69 "2024-06-04T07:50:18Z")
> [@moes\_lotion](#): > > Neil does an excellent cover of this, but I prefer the original Ian Tyson/Judy Collins version. Yeah, a lot of the songs were done or written by somebody else. I like Neil’s version, but it’s all subjective. John McDermott’s “Song for the Mira” is a cover version, but I like it. And of course, “Farewell to Nova Scotia” is traditional and has been covered by a lot of artists. If we turn to Canadian literature, we’re a little hobbled by the fact that a lot of “Canlit,” as it is called, is … not always accessible to Joe and Jane Average Canadian, to put it nicely. I’ve often said that this country will never produce a Stephen King or a Danielle Steele, except perhaps in niche genres (Guy Gavriel Kay in fantasy, for example). Still, there are some gems with Canadian themes by Canadian authors that are enjoyable and accessible to all. A sample: Mordecai Richler, _The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz_ Farley Mowat, _The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be,_ _The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float_ Harry J. Boyle, _Homebrew and Patches_ Lucy Maud Montgomery, the _Anne of Green Gables_ books Lyn Cook, _Jady and the General_ Stephen Leacock, _Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town_ And then there is Gregory “Greg” Clark, a newspaper and magazine columnist, whose columns have been collected into various books. He fought for Canada in WWI, and was a press correspondent in WWII, and his experiences in both conflicts, as well as just being a Torontonian, are documented in _Greg Clark’s War Stories,_ _May Your First Love Be Your Last,_ _Grandma Preferred Steak,_ and _Hi, There!_ among others. All great slices of Canadiana, and fun to read. The OP could do a lot worse than to check these out in order to understand Canadianness. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/70 "2024-06-04T08:06:01Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Stephen Leacock, _Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town_ That’s arguably his most famous book, and perhaps the sweetest and most endearing, but not actually the funniest if that’s what one is looking for. Many other great examples – all of which I managed to acquire years ago: Literary Lapses Nonsense Novels Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich Frenzied Fiction My Discovery of England Moonbeams From the Larger Lunacy Further Foolishness Behind the Beyond ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/71 "2024-06-04T08:14:18Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > YMMV, I’m not really a fan of his. Too snide and snarky, and other vids of his that I’ve seen, he got stuff wrong. Agreed quite strongly. And JJ McCullough’s affected “aboot” gets on my nerves. ---
**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:** [June 4, 2024, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/72 "2024-06-04T08:19:11Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > That’s arguably his most famous book, and perhaps the sweetest and most endearing, but not actually the funniest if that’s what one is looking for. Another Leacock fan! Gosh, if you preferred Bloody Marys, we’d be two of a kind 😉. Seriously, there is a lot to Leacock, and in _Sunshine Sketches,_ I loved the description of the _Mariposa Belle_ sinking—in three feet of water. That’s Lake Couchiching, where Orillia is located. And you have a nice collection, I must say. I collect Dorothy Parker myself, but to each their own, right? I think that Stephen Leacock can be described as “Canada’s Will Rogers” or perhaps “Canada’s Gerorge Carlin.” He took what everybody takes for granted and put a comedic, humorous, and truthful, spin on it. I always got a kick out of driving to, or through, Orillia. A big sign says, “Welcome to Orillia.” On the next line, “Home of Gordon Lightfoot.” Then a smaller sign hanging beneath, “Also Stephen Leacock.” Umm … I think Stephen Leacock deserved better than that. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/73 "2024-06-04T08:37:25Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Swearing in Québécois is fun. Tell me about it. Their swears are vernacular renderings of objects found on an altar or other religious words. So if you get really, really, really pissed off, you might exclaim something like: “Ostie de tabarnaque de caulisse de Calvaire de Crisse de saint ciboire!!!” (a host of a tabernacle of a chalice of Calvary of Christ of ciborium!!!) > [@gkster](#): > > Regarding spelling, I’ve heard Canadians say that the American spelling of honor, color, valor etc. looks wrong to them, and that their spelling of honour, colour, valour is the correct way. Not to me. As I mentioned in a dedicated post, I use these spellings (also “center”), simply because they’re more phonetic. And I am not the only Canadian to do so. Plus, I’ve found two historic instances of the use of “harbor” (not “harbour”) in Canada. > [@Gorsnak](#): > > And for Canadians who don’t hear the difference between how they say ‘about’ vs how Americans say ‘about’, think about the words ‘loud’ and ‘lout’. Two different dipthongs, for Canadians. Americans use the vowel sound in the Canadian ‘loud’ for both. On my Youtube channel, [I posted a video last year doing the “accent tag challenge”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wRqfPg5ZOc&ab_channel=erracht). On it, I not only do the challenge, but I analyize my Toronto accent / dialect on it. There I also discuss my pronunciation of “about”, which I find “neutral” or “as written”. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Americans only know “Oh Canada.” when played at a hockey game. Canadians can go as far as “Oh Canada. My home and native land.” before they have to start faking their singing like a Methodist at Sunday Service. Interesting. I learned both the French and the English words to “O Canada” in school and remember them both perfectly. Then again, I can also sing various other countries’ national anthem (I can even fake the Dutch anthem in Dutch, a language I don’t speak), so maybe I’m not representative. Kudos to Americans who can sing “O Canada”, though. > [@Spoons](#): > > Another Leacock fan! Gosh, if you preferred Bloody Marys, we’d be two of a kind 😉. Seriously, there is a lot to Leacock, and in _Sunshine Sketches,_ I loved the description of the _Mariposa Belle_ sinking—in three feet of water. That’s Lake Couchiching, where Orillia is located. Ah, yes. _The Mariposa Belle_. Great story. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/74 "2024-06-04T08:48:01Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Another Leacock fan! Gosh, if you preferred Bloody Marys, we’d be two of a kind 😉 Too American, much too heavy on the tomato juice! 🙂 > [@Spoons](#): > > I loved the description of the _Mariposa Belle_ sinking—in three feet of water. That’s Lake Couchiching, where Orillia is located. There’s so much great stuff in that book! Peter Pupkin, who is in love with Zena Pepperleigh, the judge’s daughter, although she has no idea. IIRC Pupkin expresses his love by riding his bicycle by the judge’s house, and as his passion rises he pedals faster and faster until he’s whizzing by her house at incredible speed! And then there’s the town’s religious center, the Church of England Church (love the name!) headed by Dean Drone, which runs into financial trouble but which is miraculously resolved when the building, which was well insured, mysteriously catches fire. No possible cause for the fire was ever determined, and rumours that the wily Josh Smith, proprietor of the Smith Hotel, was seen walking through town late at night with a gasoline can were dismissed as just rumours. > [@Spoons](#): > > I think that Stephen Leacock can be described as “Canada’s Will Rogers” or perhaps “Canada’s Gerorge Carlin.” He took what everybody takes for granted and put a comedic, humorous, and truthful, spin on it. My own personal proclivities make me think of Leacock as Canada’s P.G. Wodehouse. They were different but both were gentle human beings with a great sense of wonder and amusement at the world around us. Wodehouse was renowned for his mastery of language, but Leacock could turn a phrase pretty well, too, and arguably Leacock was more varied in his writings whereas Wodehouse tended to be somewhat more formulaic. But I absolutely love them both! ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/75 "2024-06-04T09:09:56Z")
Me, I ain’t never been to Canada. But I’ve sure heard 'bout that one main thing which everybody knows is the real essence of Canada, and I expected you folks in this thread to teach me more 'bout it: So will somebody please explain to me why this thread is lacking in lumberjacks with plaid shirts? 🙂 Oh, and Mounties. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pol2VndGld0/hqdefault.jpg "Challenge of the Yukon - The Ghost Riders") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pol2VndGld0) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pol2VndGld0/hqdefault.jpg "Challenge of the Yukon - The Ghost Riders") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pol2VndGld0) ---
**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:** [June 4, 2024, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/76 "2024-06-04T09:38:38Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > So will somebody please explain to me why this thread is lacking in lumberjacks with plaid shirts? 🙂 You try being a lumberjack and wearing anything other than a plaid shirt. That ain’t happening. > [@](#): > > Oh, and Mounties. Let’s get one thing straight: the Mounties’ red uniforms are dress uniforms. They’re only for ceremonial duties. In spite of what Dudley Do-Right and American television productions might tell you, everyday policing Mounties wear everyday uniforms, which, last time I checked, are pale green shirts with black trousers, which have a yellow stripe down the leg. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/77 "2024-06-04T09:44:46Z")
Do they still wear the hats? And did they ever catch Snidely Whiplash? ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/78 "2024-06-04T09:48:50Z")
They wear the Montana peaked campaign-type Stestons as part of the ceremonial uniform. But for regular police duties, they wear a standard police peaked cap or baseball cap. However, I’ve seen pictures of individuals wearing the Stetson with the everyday uniform from time to time, though context is lacking. ---
**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:** [June 4, 2024, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/79 "2024-06-04T09:49:30Z")
Stetsons on their dress uniforms, yes. Catching Snidely Whiplash, no. Gosh, do you Yanks expect the US Marine Corps to go into battle wearing their dress uniforms? No? Then you cannot expect the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to perform their regular policing duties in dress uniforms. Those are for ceremonial occasions, not for regular duties. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418/80 "2024-06-04T10:12:01Z")
Listen, I only know what I learned on Saturday morning cartoons, okay? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-crash-course-in-canadianness/1002418.md?page=5)