# What % of Americans can name the capital of Canada? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 9, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170 "2005-11-09T04:15:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/21 "2005-11-09T14:24:27Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > It’s probably about the same as the percentage of Canadians (or Americans) who can name the capital of New Zealand. > > Most who don’t know would probably guess Toronto, just like a lot of people think NYC is the capital of New York, or Rio de Janeiro is the capital of Brazil. > > It’s no big news that most Americans don’t have a lot of cause to think about Canada and/or Canadians. Sorry. Well, in fairness to older Americans, Rio de Janeiro WAS the capital of Brazil for a long time. They moved it to the newly created city of Brasilia in the arly Sixties. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/22 "2005-11-09T14:27:55Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Uh, no, Wellington is the capital. Auckland is, I believe, the largest city. Uh, that was an object lesson for all you young’uns out there. Yeah, that’s the ticket. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/23 "2005-11-09T14:37:37Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Uh, no, Wellington is the capital. Auckland is, I believe, the largest city. Right. And next you’ll be telling me that the capital of Australia is neither Melbourne nor Sydney, but some fictitious magical city halfway between the two. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/24 "2005-11-09T14:47:16Z")
I didn’t know it, and I apologize to our brothers and sisters north of the border. I’ll try to do better. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/25 "2005-11-09T14:52:40Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Aukland is the capital of New Zealand, and I didn’t have to look it up. Uh, I hope that’s right, or I’ll be one ashamed American… Spelling errors aside, this has to be some sort of corollary to [Gaudere’s Law](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skitt%27s_law). ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/26 "2005-11-09T15:12:16Z")
Cue Three Dead Trolls In A Baggie… “And the white house burned burned buuuuurned And we’re the ones that did it…” Yeah. 😉 Now - my experience (purely anecdotal) as a canadian expat in the US is that a LOT of americans end up asking me what the capital is… or they assume it’s Toronto (or Montreal, or Vancouver) Ottawa is just too small for most people to have ever even heard of it. I should know, it’s my hometown 😉 _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/27 "2005-11-09T15:13:57Z")
> [@Elenfair](#): > > Ottawa is just too small for most people to have ever even heard of it. I should know, it’s my hometown 😉 > > _sigh_ The damned Senators seem to always kick our ass. Of course we know where it is and we plan on burning it to the ground as soon as we can figure out how to get there. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/28 "2005-11-09T15:19:09Z")
I didn’t know, and I’m overeducated. I have a BA and a BS… 304 hours of college credit. Shame on me. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/29 "2005-11-09T15:52:28Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > the US capital is more newsworthy, even in Canada, What make you say this? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/30 "2005-11-09T16:51:03Z")
> [@Elenfair](#): > > Cue Three Dead Trolls In A Baggie… > > “And the white house burned burned buuuuurned > And we’re the ones that did it…” > > Yeah. 😉 Except, of course, that that is completely false. Washington was burned by British troops. Crediting Canada with burning Washington is like crediting Australia with winning the Battle of Kursk, or giving the Luftwaffe credit for bombing Pearl Harbor. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/31 "2005-11-09T16:56:41Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > I would not be surprised if more Canadians can name the US capital than vice-versa because of two things: One, the US capital is more newsworthy, even in Canada, and two, the sheer amount of media produced by the US that has found its way into Canadian culture. Actually, I **would** be surprised – there are so many more Americans than there are Canadians! So even if only 10% of the U.S. population can name Ottowa… well, it’s all over 😛 [end hijack by a non-American (as in, not a resident of the continent of America)] ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/32 "2005-11-09T17:03:42Z")
How many Canadians can name all 50 states and their capitals? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/33 "2005-11-09T17:04:50Z")
In defence of our U.S. cousins, Canada is quite a small player globally. A lot of Canadians are fond of stating how ignorant you are in the U.S. because you can’t name the capital, or the Prime Minister. That’s when I ask my fellow self-absorbed Canadian who the President of Mexico, or Prime Minister of Australia is. Guess what, 9 times out of 10, they can’t answer. But then they’ll state that we’re right next door, and besides we know ALL about them, why don’t they know more about us? Ahhh, maybe all the news programs, sitcoms, movies, etc. that are exported from there? Most people are ignorant of other countries and cultures. Why should Clem working down at Home Hardware care what the capital city of New Zealand is? ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/34 "2005-11-09T17:09:16Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > I would not be surprised if more Canadians can name the US capital than vice-versa because of two things: One, the US capital is more newsworthy, even in Canada, and two, the sheer amount of media produced by the US that has found its way into Canadian culture. A quick search of an archive of Canadian news articles from January 2000 through June 2005 indicates that Ottawa is mentioned nearly seven times as often as Washington D.C. (excluding by-lines, and the statistics change only very slightly if you remove “D.C.” as a keyword). Articles containing “Ottawa” and not “Washington” have an average of five and a half times as many words as articles that contain “Washington” and “D.C.” but not “Ottawa.” So, where exactly did you get your facts about Washington being more newsworthy than Ottawa in Canada? Or did you pull them out of your ass? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/35 "2005-11-09T18:16:17Z")
> [@BluePitbull](#): > > How many Canadians can name all 50 states and their capitals? I can. (I still sometimes confuse which of Bismarck and Pierre goes with which Dakota.) I know one other Canadian who can. I’m not all that smart, I’m just a geography geek. I know a lot of Canadians who can’t say how many provinces there are in Canada. And it’s a nice, round number, too. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/36 "2005-11-09T18:27:16Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I can. (I still sometimes confuse which of Bismarck and Pierre goes with which Dakota.) That one’s got an easy mnemonic: Germany’s north of France, sort of. If you can remember the two state capitals, just think of which name goes with which European country. 🙂 > [@](#): > > I know a lot of Canadians who can’t say how many provinces there are in Canada. And it’s a nice, round number, too. Let’ts have Nunavat here, please! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/37 "2005-11-09T18:27:21Z")
I thought _The War of 1812_ was written by the Arrogant Worms. Fun song, even if it’s not accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/38 "2005-11-09T18:36:14Z")
I asked the other person in my office (whose family is from wetern Canada). I knew the correct answer. She said “somewhere in the East” and muttered something about the French. So there you have it: my poll indicates that half of Americans know that the capitol of Canada is Ottawa. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/39 "2005-11-09T19:04:13Z")
Canada has a **capital?!**. Impossible. That would imply that Canada was a real country. ---
**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:** [November 9, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170/40 "2005-11-09T19:24:45Z")
> [@The Flying Dutchman](#): > > Oh Gee, lets make it a little tougher What was the first capitol, not capital, of Upper Canada ? Except we don’t have capitols. In our capital cities, we have Parliaments, Houses of Parliament, Provincial Parliaments, Legislatures, Palais législatifs, or Assemblées nationales, but capitols? Nope. That’s for you republican folks down south, inspired by the Roman Republic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-americans-can-name-the-capital-of-canada/330170.md?page=3)