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Beorn
10-24-2009, 09:53 PM
Back in 1982 when I was the Star's bureau chief in Ottawa, I met Lord Moran, who then was the British high commissioner to Canada.
Our meeting was cordial, but I got the distinct impression that Lord Moran, whose real name is John Wilson, was completely bored with our session, as well as with Ottawa, Canada and Canadians as a whole.
From his pompous attitude, which stuffy Brits like Lord Moran carry off so well, it was clear he saw most Canadians as inferior colonials with limited talents and even less curiosity.

Turns out my first impression was right, as evidenced by a 1984 dispatch that Lord Moran, who was high commissioner from 1981 to 1984, sent to London on his departure from Ottawa.
The letter, obtained by the BBC from the British Foreign Office under Freedom of Information legislation and made public earlier this week, trashes Canadians in general, our politicians, especially the late Pierre Trudeau, our writers, actors and even our skiers.
Reading the six-page letter, titled "Final Impressions of Canada," reminded me of that meeting with Lord Moran.

It also made me wonder why, if top British diplomats like him hold us in such low esteem, Canada continues to cling to its British colonial roots, complete with having us acknowledge Queen Elizabeth as "the Queen of Canada."
It's a question Canadians should be asking during the coming 11-day visit to Canada by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, which starts Nov. 2.
When his 83-year-old mother eventually dies, Charles will become "the King of Canada."

Now, Charles may be a decent guy on some level, but I doubt many Canadians want him as our "king."
Those who do are likely part of the tiny pro-monarchist set who see everything British, especially culture and royalty, as superior.
For them, Wilson, now 85, could be a poster boy.
Born into an aristocratic family, he is still a member of the House of Lords. But this is a lord with an attitude of superiority all too pervasive among British upper classes.

In his final letter, Lord Moran wrote dismissively of Canadians, all the while boasting of how much better life was in the homeland.
"One does not encounter here the ferocious competition of talent that takes place in the United Kingdom ... Anyone who is even moderately good at what they do – in literature, the theatre, skiing or whatever – tends to become a national figure, and anyone who stands out at all from the crowd tends to be praised to the skies and given the Order of Canada at once."
Did his lordship never read a book by Margaret Atwood? Or see a play with Christopher Plummer?

To the delight of today's right-wing bloggers, he hated Trudeau.
"He has never entirely shaken off his past as a well-to-do hippie and draft dodger," Wilson wrote. "He is an odd fish and his own worst enemy, and on the whole I think his influence on Canada in the past 16 years has been detrimental."
He said the level of debate in the Commons was terrible and added that "the majority of Canadian ministers are unimpressive and a few we have found frankly bizarre."

And he tut-tutted that the Canadian public "tends to shrug its shoulders when the press or television report yet another scandal."
I hope Lord Moran was properly outraged by the scandals that rocked Britain this year when dozens of MPs were found to have used public money for their personal expenses, such as cleaning their moats.
Lord Moran was partly correct, though, when he said Canadians are sensitive to "any expressed or implied British sneers about Canada as `boring,' and perhaps somewhat lacking in self-confidence."
That's because many Canadians are indeed offended when snobbish, class-ridden British nobility tell us folks in "the colonies" that we aren't up to their standards.

We don't need to take any lessons from silly British diplomats.
What we do need is mutual respect from Britain and its official representatives. That's the minimum we should expect from London in return for having Canadians pledge allegiance to their Queen.
If we can't get even that, then we should tell the Queen and Prince Charles that we are cutting all our outdated colonial ties to the monarchy and Britain, and that we will start acting like a fully independent country in the 21st century.


Source (http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/713923)

007
10-24-2009, 09:56 PM
Probably because it's part of Canada's heritage, tradition and history. What are they supposed to do, pretend they came into being some other way?

Beorn
10-24-2009, 09:59 PM
Colonial supporters of the British establishment smack of heart broken, romantically jilted people.

Óttar
10-24-2009, 10:00 PM
The more appropriate question is, "Why wouldn't they?" What's a mystery however is why Canada isn't considered a dominion of the UK, when new citizens have to swear an oath of loyalty to the Crown and the British Monarch is the Head of State. That's damn close to the definition of a Dominion (swearing an oath of loyalty to the Crown to be a parliament member.)

007
10-24-2009, 10:17 PM
It was called the Dominion of Canada until recently, however the Oath of Allegiance is to the Queen of Canada, not the British monarch

Óttar
10-24-2009, 10:30 PM
however the Oath of Allegiance is to the Queen of Canada, not the British monarch
:rolleyes: No wonder people hate lawyers.

Post #666! :yippee

:evil

Sol Invictus
10-24-2009, 10:32 PM
IMO it's the only true Canadian thing about Canada. The Canadian parliament, in bed with the NWO did everything they could to detach themselves from their British Colonial heritage by scrapping the old Red Ensign, changing the national anthem, and underwent a complete makeover because the immigrants and the French (not all, but alot) were too upset over having the Union Jack superimposed over the flag, and saw that as bigoted and to a degree, racist.

Canada has a glorious history that was pretty much altogether forgotten, and replaced with the 'new face' of Canada, where everyone is welcome, and everyone is Canadian. The Maple Leaf replaces the true symbols on the old flag of the founding settler peoples of the land (Irish, Scots, French, English) and now we're told that the only true Canadian thing is to accept everyone and everything and make them part of the ongoing history of Canada. Such bullshit if you ask me.

Tony
10-24-2009, 10:57 PM
I always thought of Canada as the Scandinavia of North America that is a scarcely populated area , a land made up uf Nordics mostly blue eyed and blonde , an advanced society , environmentally focused and with fully equality between men and women , well it seems it has been this way a looong time ago.

007
10-24-2009, 11:00 PM
:rolleyes: No wonder people hate lawyers.

Post #666! :yippee

:evil

So sue me, it's a different office.

Treffie
10-24-2009, 11:01 PM
I always thought of Canada as the Scandinavia of North America that is a scarcely populated area , a land made up uf Nordics mostly blue eyed and blonde , an advanced society , environmentally focused and with fully equality between men and women , well it seems it has been this way a looong time ago.

How come Canada would have been blonde and blue eyed, when most of the original colonists were made up of what is British and French stock? :confused:

Tony
10-24-2009, 11:04 PM
How come Canada would have been blonde and blue eyed, when most of the original colonists were made up of what is British and French stock? :confused:
I was a kid...
btw I think many colonials were also from Russia Ukraine and Scandinavia as well.

Mesrine
10-24-2009, 11:13 PM
Canada is to the USA what Belgium is to France (except for the size, but it's almost irrelevant since Canadians live concentrated in the South of their country, near the border): they send their successful actors, comedians and singers to their big neighbour. :D

007
10-24-2009, 11:22 PM
Colonial supporters of the British establishment smack of heart broken, romantically jilted people.

http://www.cdomuseum.be/PHOTOS/16_POIGNARDS/a.%20L'histoire%20du%20poignard/Placement%2000.jpg


WTF you talkin about, Willis?

The Lawspeaker
12-08-2009, 06:23 AM
I always wondered why Canada did not join the revolt of 1776 and would not (now in 200x) join the United States. They seem to have a lot in common including much of the same roots.
Can a Canuck or a Yankee tell me about the differences between you two ?

g1awwAgU_t8

Other then this ? ;)

Aemma
12-08-2009, 06:25 AM
:eek: Tristan for crying out loud! You have been on this board here with me for how long and you ask this question? Gods give me strength!! :D

Can you tell me what the difference is between a Dutch and a German person? Can you tell me what the difference is between a Spaniard and a Portuguese person? Can you tell me what the difference is between a Scottish and an Irish person?

Ack! I canna believe my bloody eyes!!



I always wondered why Canada would not join the 1776 revolt (now in 200x) and join the United States. They seem to have a lot in common including much of the same roots.
Can a Canuck or a Yankee tell me about the differences between you two ?

g1awwAgU_t8

Other then this ? ;)

The Lawspeaker
12-08-2009, 06:29 AM
:eek: Tristan for crying out loud! You have been on this board here with me for how long and you ask this question? Gods give me strength!! :D
Yes :D. I wonder because other then the usual stuff I know little about Canadian culture. And for untrained European ears Canadian English sounds a lot like American English (I can hear some subtle differences).

You have the same roots as the Americans (at least the British Canadians).


Can you tell me what the difference is between a Dutch and a German person?

First of all the language. Dutch and German are related but not the same and they are not even mutually intelligible (they were already rather separate in the Middle Ages).
The Dutch culture has been one that was (since the 17th century) quite devoid of the influence of the nobility and perhaps a bit more uncouth and egalitarian.
We have different cuisines, different histories, different forms of art, different architecture (different everything) and we did not really sprang from the same source. A

Aemma
12-08-2009, 06:31 AM
Yes :D. I wonder because other then the usual stuff I know little about Canadian culture. And for untrained European ears Canadian English sounds a lot like American English (I can hear some subtle differences).

You have the same roots as the Americans (at least the British Canadians).

I'll elaborate later! I need some sleep now. But oh my gods man! I need to educate you! LOL :D

The Lawspeaker
12-08-2009, 06:33 AM
I'll elaborate later! I need some sleep now. But oh my gods man! I need to educate you! LOL :D
Please do. Because I know so little about you guys. :D Sweet dreams

ikki
12-08-2009, 07:51 AM
Please do. Because I know so little about you guys. :D Sweet dreams

In short:

whimps in the north who would rather take 1 euro today than 100 with 90% certaintly tomorrow

whereas the southern rebels are uncouth, rash, dangerous and have no sense of responsibility


That and the nasty restrictions the southern ones kept on erecting, making it all too good business to stay out and smuggle booze in instead.
Think it was the gangsters that got rich on booze in the 20s? 100 billion annual trade (1 dollar then = 20-80 now).. nah, the whisky came from canada :p
All of which resulted in gangsterism, all very much present today.

Allenson
12-08-2009, 12:57 PM
How come Canada would have been blonde and blue eyed, when most of the original colonists were made up of what is British and French stock? :confused:

Because of the tremendous drain of the Nordic/Anglo-Saxon aspect of the Old World population during colonial times. Ya know, wanderlust & whatnot. That's why you're all so swarthy over there now. ;)

The Lawspeaker
05-29-2011, 03:10 AM
So.. yes - I am still wondering: What are the major differences in culture between Canadians and Americans ?

From a Canadian point of view, please.

Grumpy Cat
05-29-2011, 03:32 AM
So.. yes - I am still wondering: What are the major differences in culture between Canadians and Americans ?

From a Canadian point of view, please.

Canadians aren't as selfish, greedy, or consumerist. Of course, that sometimes translates into something bad. Shit is more expensive up here because we don't buy as much shit. You'll go broke if you want to be well-dressed in Canada. That's why we all head South when we need new clothes lol.

Also, our economy didn't tank in 2008 like the US did because we don't all want to live in McMansions and sure as hell won't fall for a sub-prime mortgage to buy one.

In fact, most Canadians prefer old houses to McMansions. This is I guess because Canadians value heritage more than status and this shows up in their taste in houses. They want the old Victorian style like what their ancestors would have lived in.

Albion
06-09-2011, 03:51 PM
that was pretty much altogether forgotten, and replaced with the 'new face' of Canada, where everyone is welcome, and everyone is Canadian.

I really hate this, when it is the French and British who settled the country and made it what it is, the latter day Canadians. And now all this is glossed over simply to make some 3rd world immigrant feel as if they belong when the contribute very little and rake in the benefits of living in such a country. Its disgusting. :(