How the Brits see Canada

by | Oct 21, 2015 | Culture and Values

Here’s an article on how many British citizens view Canada. An interesting comentary on how we are seen in the mother country!

How the Brits see Canada

BritainWhat does the world think about us? This question is pondered by many Canadians, and often leads to us exaggerating how much anyone actually cares about our great nation. To be successful, comedians need to be on the pulse of public opinion: they represent a perfect example of what populations know and care about. Sp, I took to the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal to watch the funniest non-Canadian comedians and to make a record of what the world thinks about Canada.

It should come as no surprise that the general understanding of British comedians far surpassed that of American comics. Perhaps a greater travel distance meant that a higher standard of British comic was represented at the festival, or perhaps the greater cultural difference between the United Kingdom and the so-often-described “New World” allowed for a more insightful perspective. Although often in a tongue in cheek condescending fashion, the quick-witted Brits all had something interesting to say about Canada, whereas Americans had only little more than a lazy acknowledgement of our unique nation’s differences from our southern neighbour.

The festival was blessed by the presence of a Knight of the Realm, with Sir Patrick Stewart hosting a gala—something he made abundantly clear by coming onto the stage in a cardboard suit of armour. Sir Patrick boasted that he was tasked with overlooking Canada, Britain’s “glorified guesthouse”, in the name of the Queen. After poking fun at us in his opening bit, Stewart would go on to make the sharpest of political jokes among the non-Canuck comics. Stewart began the political section of his act by stating that he had been a long-time supporter and volunteer for Britain’s Labour Party, which he explained to his audience “is a lot like you Liberal Party without the dim-witted pretty boy”. Prime Minister Stephen Harper was roasted for being an example of what Stewart saw as a Canadian inferiority complex asking “what the shit is that Canada… Are you trying to prove that you have the biggest dicks by electing the biggest dick?”

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