Anti-Canadianism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anti-Canadianism represents a consistent hostility towards the government, culture, or people of Canada.
This may or may not include general anti-Western sentiment directed against Canadians. For example, Taliban attacks against Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, or the kidnapping of Canadian oilpatch workers in South America.
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[edit] Historical
One person commonly thought of as an anti-Canadian thinker was Voltaire, who is generally quoted jokingly as saying Canada was "a few acres of snow."[1] He was in fact referring to Acadia as it existed in the eighteenth century. The quote meant that Acadia, which was outside of Canada at that time, was economically worthless and the French Empire thus did not need to keep it. It is not clear from the full quote whether Voltaire was truly anti-Canadian or not. In fact, many believe Voltaire's statement to be more an indictment of conquest in general.[2]
Antipathy towards Canada dates from the days of New France, when anti-Catholic and anti-French sentiment was common in the Anglo-American colonies. American militias were vital in helping the British capture Quebec. After Canada was brought under British control, the American colonists had hoped that former French land would be given to English settlers, and English common law would be instituted. Instead the Quebec Act maintained French civil law and expanded the boundaries of the new British Province of Quebec all the way to present-day St. Louis, Missouri. The Quebec Act was one of the Intolerable Acts that helped spark the American Revolution.
[edit] Modern perceptions
- See also: Foreign relations of Canada
[edit] United States
- See also: Canada-United States relations
In the United States, Canada is often a target of conservative and right-wing commentators who hold the northern nation up as an example of what a government and society that are too liberal would look like.
"Soviet Canuckistan" is one unflattering 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.[3] However, the term has probably been around a lot longer, and was previously used by white supremacists to describe their distaste of censorship of racist and hate speech. At least one reference to the term can be found as far back as April 2001 online. [1]
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." 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."[3]
In the wake of Canada's refusal to participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as well as its turning down of the Missile Defense Plan, Ann Coulter has recently become another prominent American critical of Canadian policies. She has often, in an off-handed manner (usually during interviews) proposed extreme solutions to Canadian dissent, such as a military invasion of Canada[4], and has said that Canada should be grateful that the US "allows" it to exist on the same continent.
In 2006, right-wing American strategist Paul Weyrich said Canadians are "so liberal and hedonistic" that they have a philosophy of "cultural Marxism".[5]
Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church is strongly anti-Canadian. He operates a website entitled "God Hates Canada," criticizing gay rights in Canada.[6] Phelps is a highly controversial figure who also claims that God hates the US, homosexuals and others.
[edit] Against Quebec
There also exists a tendency in the United States to apply anti-France stereotypes to Quebec. The province is sometimes unflatteringly called "Western France", and anti-French slurs (such as "frog" or "frenchy") are applied indiscriminately by Americans to both French Canadians and people from France. Prominent examples include the controversies created by comedian Conan O'Brien and radio DJ Howard Stern when both made fun of French Quebecois.
[edit] Brazil
One place where anti-Canadian sentiment has been observed is Brazil where people boycotted Canadian goods to protest a Canadian ban of Brazilian beef imports, reportedly because of fears of mad-cow disease, but which many Brazilians believed were motivated by an unrelated trade dispute between the two nations. Canada's subsidies to aircraft manufacturer Bombardier and Brazil's subsidies to Bombardier's Brazilian rival Embraer have been a source of much tension because they are said to interfere with each others' business.[7]
[edit] Anti-Canadian Canadians
Sometimes Canadians accuse each other of being anti-Canadian: For example, Manitoba Premier Gary Doer accused the governments of Ontario and Alberta of being "anti-Canadian" due to their dislike for equalization payments. It should be noted Doer's assessment is disputed, with one Calgary Sun columnist writing, "Get a grip, Gary."[8]
[edit] From the right
Many prominent Canadian conservatives have expressed dismay at what they perceive to be recent liberal trends in society and point to Canada lagging the United States economically as a consequence. They cite this alleged economic asymmetry as a reason for what they call "brain-drain,"[9], the flight of skilled Canadian labour to the US, though the evidence for this is mostly anecdotal - as in the anecdotes made by professionals who have claimed that they were only able to practice the latest methods in their fields after leaving Canada and moving to the United States (e.g. Jim Carrey saying that he became an American because he could never have been a major movie star if he hadn't gone to the United States) - and is contradicted in certain non-cutting-edge career fields by statistics.[10] In recent years, strong economic growth in Canada has dulled this criticism, however the medical profession in particular is still thought to be a key victim of this supposed brain drain, since doctors and nurses are thought to make considerably more money in the American private health care industry than in Canada's public system.
Some anti-Canadian criticism from a few in the right of the political spectrum is coupled with proposals that the conservative province of Alberta secede from the country to form a new nation, either on its own or with other Western provinces. A separatist party obtained more than one tenth of the vote in the 1982 Albertan general election although no other separatist party in Western Canada has obtained a similar share of the vote in a provincial election before or since 1982.
[edit] From the left
As well similarly loud and forceful denunciations of Canadian government and businesses have traditionally come from the far-left of the Canadian political spectrum, for example the Communist Party of Canada, Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada and even some of the NDP. Often the criticism is that Canada too closely follows the United States lead and is acting like a 51st State.
However, other communist organizations in Canada view such a line as revisionist, anti-communist and pro-nationalist in itself. They believe the communist view of the national question in Canada should be internationalist and consider that other nationalities exist within the nation-state, such as the Quebcois, First Nations and Acadian peoples; as well as the borders being artificial boundaries put in place during the colonial period and held in place under capitalism. These views are usually held by Maoist, Trotskyite and other revolutionary groups that tend not to participate in mainstream activities such as elections. Such alternative views can be viewed as anti-Canadianism by more nationalist tendencies on both the left and right.
[edit] From minorities
[edit] Québécois
In Quebec, some people, including some within the nationalist and sovereignty movements, harbour feelings of resentment towards English Canada or the Canadian federation in general. Alleged reasons include historical injustices such as the initial British military conquest of New France and the following historic centuries-long discrimination towards French Quebecois by English Quebeckers and Canadians. Pierre Vallières wrote a notable book called Nègres blancs d'Amérique (White Niggers of America) in which the situation of French Quebecois is paralleled with that of the blacks of the south of the United States.
Also, until the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, the economy of Quebec and its high-ranking positions were controlled by the English minority in Quebec, despite the fact that the French Québecois comprised 90% of the province's population at the time. This led nationalist thinkers to denounce a colonial phenomenon that, as they believed, was at work between Canada and Quebec; some hold that residuals of this are still there in the present relationship. Journalist Normand Lester published three volumes of The Black Book of English Canada detailing events of Canadian history he saw as being crimes perpetrated by the majority on the minority.[11]
Furthermore, other current sources of rancour include the fact that English Canadians are less bilingual than Quebecois, the perception that English Canada is more conservative than Quebec and perceived paternalism and arrogance. Québeckers are also known for resenting the higher average productivity, wealth, and employment which English Canadians enjoy, thus creating intensive demands among Québecers for asymmetrical financial transfers to their province.
Up until November 27th of the year 2006, one such source of rancour was the refusal of an important part of the English Canadian population and political elite to recognize Quebec as a nation, or a "distinct society". However, a motion presented by Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper recognising Quebec as a nation was passed on that day.
Lucien Bouchard famously said that Canada wasn't a "real country" sparking outrage across Canada. He later apologized for the remark.
[edit] First Nations
As for indigenous peoples, some First Nations call Canada an illegal nation state built on stolen land.
[edit] Islamic Militants
On June 2 and June 3, 2006, police and security agencies in Ontario, Canada carried out a series of counter-terrorism raids in the Greater Toronto Area that resulted in the arrest of 17 alleged members of a purported Islamic terrorist cell. Canadian authorities and law-enforcement agencies allege the men had been planning a series of major terrorist assaults on targets in southern Ontario.
[edit] Anti-Canadianism and humour
Humorous anti-Canadianism often focuses on broadly-known attributes of Canada and Canadians (such as cold weather or public health care),[12] as the finer details of Canadian culture and politics are generally not well known outside Canada. Consequently, such humour is often made at the expense of accuracy outside Canada. However, these broad targets are more accurately caricatured within Canada itself. Such self-deprecating humour is nearly universal among Canadian humourists. In keeping with this attitude, some genuinely critical anti-Canadianisms (such as "Soviet Canuckistan") are embraced by Canadians as humorous, in defiance of the original intent.
In 2000, the comedic piece "I Am Not Canadian" premiered in Toronto, mocking English Canada and its residents from a French Canadian perspective. Ironically, "I Am Not Canadian" was based on the "I Am Canadian" Molson beer advertisements, which were designed to respond to anti-Canadianism, or at least the perceived lack of Canadian nationalistic zeal.
[edit] In popular culture
- In 1985, the Canadian-made mockumentary The Canadian Conspiracy suggested that the Canadian government was subverting the United States by taking over its media. It featured many prominent Canadians denying any knowledge of the alleged plot.
- In 1995, American director Michael Moore parodied anti-Canadianism in his film Canadian Bacon, in which the United States stages a cold war with its northern neighbour, inadvertently inspiring border raids.
- The television series South Park portrays Canadians as strange and similar looking people with flapping heads, beady eyes, and a funny way of speaking (often speaking quickly and ending sentences with "buddy" or "guy"). South Park co-creator Trey Parker has said this is because whenever he meets someone who is Canadian, they often feel inclined to say so and then end their sentence with "buddy." Everything in South Park's Canada - such as wheels and houses - are square. It is also shown that the country only has one road. This, however is a satirical view of how Americans view Canada.
- In 1999, the South Park film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut featured a fictional war between Americans and Canadians, including an anti-Canadian song, "Blame Canada."
- The television sitcom The Simpsons regularly parodies Canada and Canadians.[13]
- A 2005 promotion for the Discovery Channel show Mythbusters featured Bigfoot complaining (in a French-Canadian accent) about how the cast were exposing various myths and would eventually get to him, claiming the animosity against him was "Perhaps it is because I Am Canadian."
- In the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the character Pastor Richards makes several remarks on the in-game radio about Canadians as communist allies and secretly plotting against the U.S by saying after talking about sharing: "Kick that stuff to Russia, or Canada, or whatever!" Pastor Richards later on says: "T.V is trash, radio is trash, our newspapers are run by Canadians with an agenda."
- In the movie Dude, Where's My Car?, as the main characters come up to a scary looking property with a fence that contains several odd warning signs, Ashton Kutcher says, "Dude I'm sensing something very Canadian about this place!"
- The Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode, Final Sacrifice, mocks Canada repeatedly, because the movie was filmed in Canada. Mike remarks at one point (impersonating a character onscreen), "So, how 'bout that health care system, eh?" Servo (dressed as a Mountie) tries to have Crow and Mike sing about the good points of Canada, but they make fun of it instead. Giving into temptation, Servo sings two verses openly attacking Canada, e.g. "The destruction of Canada and all of its culture/Is by far my favorite scenario".
- Several episodes of News Radio featured humor related to Canada. These were also in jokes, related to the fact that two of the series' actors were Canadian.
[edit] References
- ^ Will Ferguson, Bastards & Boneheads: Our Glorious Leaders, Past and Present, October 1999.
- ^ Jean-Yves le Branchu, "The French Colonial Empire and the Popular Front Government," Pacific Affairs, Vol. 10, No. 2. (Jun., 1937), page 125.
- ^ a b Nancy Carr, "U.S. talk-show host Pat Buchanan calls Canada 'whining,' 'freeloading' nation," Canadian Press, November 1, 2002.
- ^ "Coulter: Canada is 'lucky we allow them to exist on the same continent'; Carlson: 'Without the U.S., Canada is essentially Honduras'," Media Matters for America, URL accessed 29 June 2006.
- ^ "Canadians 'liberal and hedonistic' but can change, U.S. right-winger says," CBCNews, 27 Jan 2006.
- ^ http://www.godhatescanada.com/.
- ^ Robert Westervelt, "Potash Firms Caught in Brazil-Canada Trade War," Chemical Week; February 28, 2001, Vol. 163 Issue 9, page 16.
- ^ Link Byfield, "Far from equal," Fri, June 16, 2006, URL accessed 20 December 2006.
- ^ Dimitry Anastakis, "Anti-American? What about anti-Canadianism?" Toronto Star, Op/Ed piece, March 27, 2003.
- ^ Herb Emery, "The Tax-Cutters" Institute for Research on Public Policy,"Policy Options", September, 1999.
- ^ Description of The Black Book of English Canada, Amazon.com, URL accessed 29 June 2006.
- ^ See 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
- ^ For example, "The Bart Wants What It Wants," "You Only Move Twice," "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo."
