Obama hasn't changed the view of Americans Canadians have.

[Joanne98]

TORONTO — What a difference a president makes. Well not that much actually, according to a new poll on Canadian attitudes toward Americans.

The survey to be released Monday suggests Canadians view U.S. President Barack Obama far more favourably and with considerably less contempt than they did his predecessor, George W. Bush.

At the same time, according to the poll, Obama has had little by way of a halo effect: Canadians view Americans in much the same light as they did four years ago, when Bush was at the height of his presidential reign.

"There are underlying, enduring currents of skepticism, distrust and even perhaps anti-Americanism in Canada which (Obama's) election has not fundamentally changed," said Andrew Cohen, president of the Historica-Dominion Institute.

The Innovative Research poll for the institute, which coincides with the first anniversary of Obama's milestone election as the first black president in the U.S., finds 86 per cent of Canadians asked view him favourably.

Just seven per cent don't like what they see.

By contrast, a similar poll in November 2005 indicated that 73 per cent didn't like Bush. Only 21 per cent viewed him positively.

Obama was viewed "very favourably" by almost one in two Canadians, compared to just one in 20 feeling that way toward Bush, according to the poll obtained by The Canadian Press.

However, the White House incumbent has had little effect on how Canadians feel toward Americans.

"People have a slightly more positive view of the U.S (under Obama)," Simon McDougall, senior consultant with Innovative Research, said from Montreal.

"But really, the big story is that it hasn't changed that much what they think of the country."

Under Obama, 71 per cent indicated a favourable view of Americans, just three points higher than under Bush in 2005.

Similarly, Obama's popularity appeared to have had little influence on whether Canadians see the United States as a force for good in the world.

Canadians split almost down the middle on that question - with Quebecers holding the most jaundiced view.

Asked whether they feel at home in the U.S., 48 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they did, while 40 per cent said they did not.

Cohen called that surprising "given all that we have in common as two peoples."

Among Canadians, Quebecers in particular, are likely to feel out of place in the United States, with only one in three saying they feel at home south of the border.

The roiling debate over health care in the United States appears to have made Canadians feel even better about their own system.

In 2005, 71 per cent of Canadians said they would get better care here in case of serious illness. That pecentage has now grown to 77 per cent.

continued>>>
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gjTA8jRTpGxuPHpjpbTzPGNAfswQ

I know a lot of the elites thought that Obama would help improve our image in the world. The world likes Obama it's true but ever since Americans re-elected George Bush in 2004 their attitudes have changed about the PEOPLE who live here.

I said at the time that it would never be the same. The rest of the world figured out that we have a BIGGER problem than just our goverment, which they used to blame for everything while liking our people. For the first time they took a hard look at the TEABAGGERS! The Sarah Palin Taliban mob EEK!

They didn't know anything about our screwed up crazy right-wing. But they do NOW!

I'm predicting these poll results will show up everywhere epecially since the whole world watched our haters on TV having temper tantrums all summer.

The genie is out of the bottle. About 25% of the white people in this country are EVIL and everybody knows it now. If the elites want to fix that they'll have to put them all in FEMA death camps.

I'm available to volunteer for that job if anybody needs me!

[treestar]

1. If they like Obama, why do we get no credit for electing him?

Dopey Canadians ;)

[Posteritatis]

3. Going by the numbers there, the population as a whole got decent credit anyway

I keep a dim view of the United States and a considerably brighter one of Americans in general - I'm aware of too many similarities with Canadians to be anything other than a hypocrite if I went into the reflexive anti-Americanism that is sadly popular in places here. My reaction to the populace for electing (and reelecting) Bush was more a "what are you thinking?! than a disdain of the people in general.

Putting Obama and Biden in office instead of McFossil and Doomhair felt more like a relief than anything else, a case of generally decent people coming back to their own senses instead of people who suck suddenly being replaced with people who don't (at the voter level, that is).

[stevedeshazer]

2. Canada has real news.

It's not surprising they feel this way.

The stuff broadcast in US newspapers, radio and TV just fill people's heads with garbage.

[Posteritatis]

4. And our prime minister refuses to follow said news!

Sooooo want an election...

[treestar]

21. I was thinking of following US news only from the outside

With the internet, it's easy, like reading the BBC. What's a good Canuck news source?

If there any equivalent of Faux Noise? Anybody like Rush Limp on the radio?

[XemaSab]

5. Too Close for Comfort

http://img.amazon.ca/images/I/410D2F0RFBL._SL500_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-big,TopRight,35,-73_OU15_AA240_.jpg

[Justitia]

6. A bit misleading - the numbers are still very high - 71%. I feel lucky for that.

Surely our Canadian neighbors see all the crazy down here like we do, yet, a comfortable majority still like us.

Hell, I live in TX and I certainly don't like 71% of my own fellow Lone Staters! The remaining % definitely comprises our RW politicians.

[Bonn1997]

34. I noticed that too. Good point.

[hfojvt]

53. really, the Cohen quote is just stupid

the article starts out saying that "apparently most Canadians still hate Americans" which is exactly backwards. Many Canadians disliked Bush, but didn't transfer that to Americans.

Now if we could only get some DUers to stop transferring their hatred of Bush and Republicans onto Texans, Kansans, Carolinians, Virginians, and Alabamans.

[imdjh]

7. I'm surprised at how good the numbers are. Neighboring countries often have a playful animosity.

The genie is out of the bottle. About 25% of the white people in this country are EVIL and everybody knows it now. If the elites want to fix that they'll have to put them all in FEMA death camps.


I can honestly say that I have never heard a Canadian express concern about evil white people, or about evil black people here. Mind you, I don't go to bars, so the only Canadians I come across are in well behaved situations, like the hospital and Bingo.

[AllentownJake]

8. They live next door

They know us better, warts and all than they know us in other countries.

[PDJane]

9. Part of the problem is that we know Americans.

We all have friends and relatives south of the border, and sometimes, familiarity breeds contempt.

We know our own political system leaves much to be desired, but we've decided at least a third of you are completely insane. We don't do the religious stuff so well, either, except in places like Alberta. We like science taught to our children, thank you. We are quite well acquainted with the fringe; the Phelps clan, don't ask, don't tell, military rapes, secret wars, and we understand quite well that when your resources run out and the dollar deflates, you will be looking north of the border to what we have.

There are a number of us who realize that we're living next door to a nuclear armed rogue state.

[crim son]

10. Yep.

I am guessing the numbers have been somewhat consistent through several presidencies. Born and raised in Canada I know how many Canadians view the U.S. and it's citizenry & it isn't really flattering.

[tyne]

11. All it really shows is

that Canada simply didn't like Bush. Weird to think anyone thought that Canadians also disliked Americans. Well, cons and repubs think that way...but they're just paranoid and hate everybody.

[Justitia]

13. Well, since we're all friends here...

being Canadian must be like living in a loft apartment over a really great party!

Funny you should call us a "rogue state"....I recall last December Canada was very "pro-rogue", you know, when your monarch went prorogue and unilaterally shut your government down.

Bringing your entire country to a standstill at a queens whim sounds a bit insane to us non-monarchists.

And it didn't take one third, only one woman.

Fancy that.

[PDJane]

18. Actually, that was done by Michelle Jean

at the request of the Prime Minister. It had to do with the intent to present a motion of non-confidence, and the intention of the sleazy Harper to hold onto power.

[Justitia]

24. yes, your unelected GG, appointed by the Queen, cowed to your unelected Prime Minister

for the first time in Canadian history, silencing the voice of Canadians in an utterly undemocratic fashion.

I'm fully aware of how the will of the Canadian people was unilaterally usurped by a tyrannical abuse of power.

Sounds roguish enough.

[PDJane]

25. not much further afield than the installation of GWBush,

or the usurpation of power of that administration.

The GG did so at the requestn of an elected prime minister, not on behalf of the queen. It was an interesting and very unusual maneuver and it was questionable according to the constitution, but it worked. Whether the GG is elected or not had very little to do with the desired outcome. I prefer, by the way, an unelected senate, which has a tendency to dampen the worst excesses of the house of commons, and prefer the parliamentary procedure to yours....and we have a social democracy, which I also prefer.

I realize that the Queen as titular head of state is completely beyond the average American; Canadians are split about half and half on the preference for the Queen as theoretical head of state.

Harper has taken a number of steps that are much like the Bush cabal's tactics, and I would prefer to see him out of power.

[Justitia]

30. Your prime minister is not elected. And the GG's "rubber stamp" is predicated on the confidence of ...

the House. Obviously your PM did NOT have the confidence of the House, so your single, unelected representative of the Crown withdrew your government without the will of the majority of your countrymen.

You may prefer the parliamentary style to the American style, but we do not have individual monarchs with the ability to swoop in and squash our government like a bug - so obviously I prefer our system.

I also find it preferable to choose my head of government and choose my head of state - not by accident of birth.

Additionally, I find it preferable not to allow an unchecked minority party (with it's unelected head) to determine the course of my country.

Yes, it is "completely beyond" us average Americans as to why you Canadians like being subjects, but we're rebellious that way (see: American Revolution).

But really, if you hadn't so breezily insulted us collectively on an American politics board, "rogue state", "completely insane" and all that, we wouldn't have had this stimulating conversation on the idiosyncrasies of the Canadian Parliamentary system - fascinating!

[PDJane]

35. You've worked hard, as a people, at being disliked.

I would also point out that your head of state is not elected either, in most cases; Bush certainly was not elected. He was installed. Corporations have elected every head of state since Kennedy, at least. Moreover, you have a secret government in the CIA.

Yes, Harper is head of a minority government. His party gained slightly more seats than the other parties, and he's forced to gain votes from other parties to stay in power. That is the check on his power....that he has to have enough votes from the other parties to stay in power. That means that he has to do things that will gain those votes, no matter how much he dislikes it.

Yes, last year's maneuver was undemocratic. I would point out that the Patriot Act was profoundly undemocratic as well......perhaps anti-democratic.

The Queen is a figurehead, and has no actual power. The very last time she did anything profoundly anti-democratic was at the urging of her prime minister and the US government, who wanted the Chagos Islands for an air base, but 'cleansed' of the entire population. At that point, she used an obscure rule to overrule the court decision demanding compensation for the island residents. That was overturned in court, but the residents may go back to everywhere except the main island, which is where most of them came from...the US still has a large air base there.

The GG is another figurehead, and has no serious power either. She's been criticized lately for interference and outspokennes. She likely will have a curtailed career because of it.

As for the 'insult'...it happens to be a fact of life that the difference between what Americans believe their government is doing and what it is actually doing in the world is a triumph of disinformation. Combine that with the rampant nationalism, and it happens that Americans tend to get insulted really easily.

[Justitia]

36. Wow, rude, offensive AND nuts! Conspiracy theorists obviously not limited to USA.

I get to punch a ballot w/my head of state's name on it - do you?

Under your system, we could have President Michael Steele - yikes.

Harper has a check on power? The only check on Harper's power is your Queen - you know - your head of state and official executive?
He managed to get her representative to summarily overrule whatever preference your other parties may have had for a coalition.

The Patriot Act, although I disagreed with it, at least came from elected representatives (our congress) who are accountable to the citizenry and may be removed from their jobs (and many since have).
It may also be repealed by our Congress as our Congress is not deferential to the Executive, but an independent legislative body.
And our Congress cannot be thrown out by the Executive - unlike your system that lets the PM throw representatives out at will. That is completely "anti-democratic" in the extreme!

I love how you try to diminish the role of the monarchy in your government. If she is only a "figurehead" with no "actual power", why don't you get rid of her?
Oh, that's right - YOU CAN'T.
Ditto on the GG - NOT UP TO YOU.
And your Prime Minister? - Not your riding, eh?

Tell me, do your armed services swear allegiance to Canada or to The Queen??
Our armed services pledge their loyalty to our Constitution - not a monarch absent across an ocean.
Whose crest do they wear on their uniforms? And your police?
That's a whole lot of reverence for a position that allegedly means little to your nation's identity.

And the GG shut down your government without your consent, to protect a political player, in total secrecy and unencumbered by responsibility for an explanation.
By Fiat.

All these "figureheads", with "no serious power", including you, who cannot pick your own head of government or state.
Who, exactly, is running Canada?
Oh yes, a RW minority party that hardly a fraction of your country supports.
Now, that's democracy - Canadian style!

No thanks.

Your ineptitude at governing yourself is only surpassed by your rudeness to an American forum on which you are a guest.
I, apparently the American that "works hard at being disliked", would never dream of barging onto a Canadian political forum and shitting all over my hosts.

You should have learned some manners from your British overlords.

[PDJane]

38. Actually, you're being offensive........

and ignorant of your own system, as well as ours. I get to mark a ballot, have it hand counted, checked and double-checked, and we have results faster than you do........because the electoral commission is a government department which must report to the parliament and the heads of all parties.

Our elections are not the spectacles that yours are, and the Prime Minister is not, the way the President tends to be, campaigning for a second term from his first days in office. There isn't as much money involved, and that's not a bad thing. The election season is short, and sweet, and usually, although not always, more polite. We don't have term limits, either.....and that has both good and bad points. It means that our Prime Minister could die in office, but it also means that we, the people, would have to want it to be that way.

Harper's check on power is that he has to get some agreement to get his agenda passed.....you know, what your President has been trying to do. In fact, a great deal of social legislation has been passed by minority governments....because they have to have something to get support on.

Why don't we get rid of the Queen? We're rather fond of her, as a figurehead and a distraction. At some point, we will, I have no doubt. She is irrelevant and expensive, but I think she represents stability, especially for the WWII and Great Depression generation.

Truthfully, from your screed, you don't have a clue about our political system. The post was about the way that Canadians look at the US, and we've had enough interference in our internal affairs and various CIA experiments that we are very wary of the US in general. We have a right to be.

[Justitia]

39. yes, but on your ballot, do you get to pick your own head of state? You fail to answer.

Of course, I know the answer. Just as I know to whom your armed services pledge their allegiance to. And it's not Canada.

Sure you get to mark a ballot - but for what extent of your government? Nothing beyond your riding - how provincial and limited.
That would certainly account for the lack of "spectacle".

Yes, I know you don't have term limits - so much for checks and balances. You don't get to pick them and you can't tell them how long they can stay.
Powerless all around.

Harper can call elections whenever he likes, he has no mandate from the citizens to obey.
He appoints Senators, yet another anti-democratic, unelected political position in Canada.
Americans choose their own Senators. No House of Lords here.

At least you recognize that you have no hand in the governance - it IS Harper's agenda - he sets it, unlike our representative system where the People's Agenda is set by Congress.
Harper can block member's bills - absolutely unthinkable in the American system, we have division of power in our Constitution.
Harper can tell members how to vote, and he can throw them out if they don't vote his way - tyranny.
Harper can govern by "Order in Council" - no such maneuver in American politics.

Keep your Queen - as if you had a choice, ha.

If you are so contemptuous of the US and Americans, why are you so invested in our political system?
Why are you posting on this board?
Possibly because you are so impotent in directing your own government, you search for political engagement across the border?

Silly Canadians....always enthralled by us Americans and for those among them who don't like us, you just can't quite get over us, can you?

Enjoy your voyeurism, but be sure to bring your passport with the British Crown of the Reigning Monarch on it if you want to visit :hi:

[PDJane]

40. Well, it's rather like sleeping with an elephant, you know........

It's very hard to ignore the American presence; for starters, you won't let us! We get a steady diet of your media and your 'news'.

Do we feel superior? Sometimes, but that's because you make it entirely easy at times.

And no, we don't mark the ballot for the head of state.......but we know who that person is when we mark the ballot. It is a different system. It has the advantage of making sure that the Prime Minister doesn't have to deal with a congress that will fight him every step of the way, like Clinton. The unelected senate works as a balance, keeping really egregious legislation from being passed, and that works in a different way than the US senate.

Canadians tend not to be so sensitive about criticism; that is due to the fact that we don't have the same kind of rampant nationalism ingrained at birth, and you've simply been proving the point. It's amusing.

And you know, that business of the queen's symbol on the passport? That badge is the Canadian symbol. It is not the British coat of arms. Like all heraldic badges, it shares some symbols, but it is definitely not the Queen's. Please look at both badges and try to see the differences. Under that particular rationale, every single coat of arms in the world is the Queen's coat of arms. By the way, that passport gets Canadians into more countries without a visa, too...since we're a member of the Commonwealth.

[Justitia]

41. So, here you are again, slamming Americans. Your gall is limitless.

As is the lack of graciousness.

You feel superior to Americans? Ahhh, how cute.
You are enslaved to the tyranny of a RW minority until your Prime Minister literally drops dead, you are ruled by a regent - how, exactly, are you "superior"?
You are a powerless cog in a gear that is moved by the nation to your south.

I am duly impressed however with your ability to rationalize your feckless native position.
I get it - you are politically irrelevant to your country and you like it that way!
You like having no say in your governance!
You like having a RW minority in dominance over you with no end in sight!
You like being dictated to by an unaccountable representative of the Queen in secrecy!
You like being ruled by an absent monarch, with all the royal trappings of class & status by birth!

Fealty is a virtue to you!

To an American, this is an anathema.
Your acquiescence to such a system is repugnant to us.

You may feel "superior" to us, but to us, you just look LAZY.

Self-governance is hard work - boo hoo!
We don't want to pick our own Senators or Congress - that takes so much time, so many elections! So much incivility and TV commercials!

You accuse Americans of "nationalism" only because you are content to be ruled by your betters.

"Heraldic badges"??? whatever, it has a fucking CROWN on it - making you nothing but a subject.

I am a citizen.

[Flaneur]

43. The Ugly American rears its head again.

[Justitia]

46. This is an American political board. It's rude to crap all over someone else's country.

That is what is ugly. Keep your insults to yourself or voice them in your own country.

[PDJane]

44. And part of a selfish, greedy system.....

But it's a fine way to denigrate the rest of the world, of course. It's rather like religion, no? A fine way to excuse stealing resources.

As for fealty to the queen? I don't know that anyone feels that kind of fealty to the queen, specifically, but she is part of the state organization. Oddly enough, Price Charles and Camilla are travelling the country at the moment. I have a friend who calls them Jug Ears and the Bag Lady, but I digress. It's interesting, though, that you would pick on the Queen as a symbol for all that is wrong in the world, since the kind of privilege and unearned wealth that she represents is rampant south of the border! In fact, it seems to be an aim of the majority of the moneyed class there. Pay the peons as little as possible, deprive them of a share of the commons, including health care, and if they are starving, are there no prisons?

Interesting..........

[Justitia]

48. Do all Canadians troll American political boards insulting their citizens - or just you?

Your Queen seems like a nice enough lady, I have no problem with her.
I just prefer not being ruled by a monarch.
You are there, I am here.

The greater issue is when a foreign national inserts themselves into a domestic American environment and then proceeds to demean us.
Why do you do that?
Are you completely blind as to how offensive that is?

Shall I come to your hometown and tell you all what fucking morons I think you are?

You were looking for it and you got it.

[PDJane]

49. No, we all don't do it..........

just the ones who have time on our hands and too many American relatives and friends and ex-pats.

Yeah, I know it can be offensive...but it's a taste of your own medicine, you know. I suspect, if you really look at it, it might be a salutory lesson, eh? And yes, I get enough of the business of Americans telling me what's wrong with me, my city, and my country....

For instance, just this year:

The woman in the Eaton's centre with a southern accent who wanted directions.......and asked me, with a snarl, if I spoke English. It seems that she was rude enough that most people were telling her that they didn't speak her language and moving on.
The gentleman who seemed to think that giving out Aemrican cigarettes would win him friends.
The gentleman whom I saved from being abused.......he was telling a young woman that she shouldn't be dating a black man or having his children, and almost got himself cold cocked....the young woman in question is married to the young man. They live in my building. The young man would not have hit him, but the bystanders would have!
The gentleman who told me that America was the freest nation on earth...and like you, seemed to think I lived in a fiefdom. And yes, that's quite offensive when you haven't a clue how the political system works.
I have been informed that the food is different (it's not, by the way.......we have all the same restaurant chains that you do, along with a few you don't. There's three Starbuck's coffee joints in the Eaton's centre.) and that the person can't find anything they want to eat. (I will have to admit, however, that grits aren't a breakfast staple here.)

I am also going to point out, if you haven't figured it out already, that I'm mostly yanking your chain. If you haven't figured that out, then I will tell you that you take yourself much too seriously.

[Justitia]

54. So, as an idle pleasure, you scream at the neighbors. Lovely.

Do your "American relatives and friends and ex-pats" know what low regard you hold them in?

You may think you are giving Americans, via me personally, a "taste of our own medicine", but really, you are just convincing me that you are a classless person.
Who happens to be Canadian.

Sorry you have had such awful experiences with Americans, does that justify your behavior as an Ugly Canadian in this American forum?
I promise not to hold all of Canada responsible for your lousy attitude.

The difference between YOU and ME (superseding our nationalities) is that I would NEVER insert myself into a forum populated by citizens of a foreign nation and then thrash them and their country. It's really bad form.

"Yanking my chain"? Is that Canuck for "being an ass"?

[PDJane]

56. I'm not screaming at the neighbours........

and if this is strictly an American board, then perhaps you shouldn't have taken fees......I make no secret of being a Canadian.

You take criticism much too personally.


And yanking your chain is just a Canadian way of saying that I wanted to see where the conversation, half joking, would go.

The answer is, where it usually goes with someone who is much too full of themselves!

[Justitia]

57. God Bless Canadians! Even the spiteful, nasty ones - each & every one!

Your country is physically beautiful and I can get there on Amtrak.

We can practice our high school french in Montreal!

You have pretty architecture.

Prince Edward Island is pastorally idyllic and births fabulous oysters!

One of my favorite photos is of my Grandmother in front of the lighthouse on Peggy's Cove.

Alright, I confess, I've only been to the Maritimes.

Where people were very friendly and the food was really good.

Signed me,
The Magnanimous American

[PDJane]

64. OK, I admit to being a bit nasty at times........

And with a really vile sense of humour.

I have had wonderful times in the US, and some interesting times.....probably my favourite was the woman who insisted on giving me, the atheist, a faith healing in a Georgia washroom. Oh, yeah, and the woman who nearly trampled me when I pointed out the wolf spider in the Florida wildlife preserve.

It is what it is, but it's hard to take personally.......

[TwilightGardener]

60. Have to give you a thumbs up.

Good defense.

[Flaneur]

42. Are you serious? Please climb down off your high horse.

If you really think the American political system is so peachy keen, just look around you. Most of us want out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Ain't happening. Most of us want single payer health care. Ain't happening.

Our political system is badly broken, and getting all superior about parliamentary systems...well, you should have the shame and the decency to keep your mouth shut.

[Justitia]

45. idiotic. I should be "ashamed" and "keep my mouth shut"?

When we're being collectively insulted left and right by some rude person in another country on an American political board?

Would you post on a Canadian political board about how badly Canadians suck?

What a tool.

[treestar]

16. Do you have illegal aliens in great numbers?

I'm sure there are some, but I was wondering if some of the Mexican illegal immigrants don't stop in the US and continue farther.

This occurred to me for some reason with your saying you don't have the religious nuts, except a few in Alberta. Not having them in great numbers makes me envious.

[PDJane]

17. We do get some Mexican migrants........

not many. The cold weather and the immigration system are discouraging.

It's a difference in attitude, especially in the urban areas, which is where most of our population is. Healthcare is considered a right. Unfortunately, we do have the right in power at the moment, and there has been some attitude creep; we do have a problem with the money creeping from the bottom to the top, although it's not quite as bad as it is there. We do have a number of parties, including a 'wildrose' party, which is a western far right thing.

Gays aren't considered pariahs here, and we do have hate crimes legislation; that's why Mr. Phelps and his crew get stopped at the border, although they've been known to sneak across.

We speak the same language, we watch many of the same TV shows, and the differences are subtle, but they are there.

[NeedleCast]

58. How Silly

If we were a "nuclear armed rogue state," there wouldn't be a Canada.

[geek tragedy]

61. 71% of Canadians like people from the US.

So, the problem is that you don't know how to read a poll.

[TwilightGardener]

12. In turn, Jon Stewart once said in reply to a Canadian's question about

what Americans REALLY think of Canada: "We don't." LOL. We've heard it's cold and they invented hockey or something.

[TexasObserver]

28. What he said is absolutely true.

I love Canadians, but they obsess about the USA, and in their minds, there is this great cultural battle going on, with a scorecard only Canadians keep.

Most Canadians live very close to the USA, and the power of the US influence is almost overwhelming. They have laws and regs to protect Canadian artists of all kinds over American or other artists. Their TV and radio must have a certain level of Canadian content, and each song is rated for Canadian content based upon such factors as who wrote it and who performed it. A song gets points or loses points on both those.

If an American beats a Canadian in the Olympics, no one in America remembers the guy beat a Canadian. But if a Canadian beats an American in the Olympics, they'll talk about it for decades.

The US and Canada are like siblings, and the US is the older, more successful sibling, but also more flawed. Canada is like the younger, who has a good soul and good values, but is still jealous of what the older sibling has accomplished or enjoys.

Canada is great, but if you want to see TV that really sucks, go to Canada. It's like the crap on American TV, only worse, and with lower production values.

[TwilightGardener]

31. The sibling analogy is a good one. I don't think I've ever seen

Canadian TV except for The Red Green Show and whatever program Bob and Doug McKenzie were on, back in the 80's.

[TexasObserver]

33. I've been there on business many, many times.

And count many Canadians among my friends.

You never find out how much Canadians really resent Americans until you get to know some well enough for them to tell you. We're loud, we're arrogant, we're self involved, and we think it's our job to be in charge of world events.

[TwilightGardener]

59. And they're right, to some extent. We can be loud, brash, arrogant--

but that's the legacy one would expect from a country that kicked the mighty British Empire's ass--twice. As opposed to a country that was never quite able to.

[TexasObserver]

62. All true.

One night I was over in Niagra having dinner at a really nice place with some Canadian business associates when some rep from the Crown showed up to dine with a group. He had the entire security force and entourage. The Canadians were abuzz about the presence of this representative of the Crown. Americans, of course, think the whole notion of caring about the Crown is kind of silly and long outdated.

Some Canadians really take that stuff seriously. They are part of the British Empire, even though an independent state. They have the Queen on their money. They do not like it, however if you say "damn nice of yall to have George Washington on yer money, too!"

[proteus_lives]

50. The sibling comparison is spot-on.

Our relationship has always been "Big brother-Little Brother."

Homer Simpson said it best in a episode where he meets the Queen of England. "America is one of England's children. We shouldn't fight. Sure, we're not as well-behaved as our goody-two shoes brother Canada, whose never had a girlfriend...I'm just saying."

[TexasObserver]

63. Oh, so true.

The thing is I love Canada and Canadians. If only they were our 51st state. Or better yet, added about ten more states. That would tip the balance of power for health care and getting out of wars.

But I love kidding them the way I used to love kidding my sisters.

Any time you're with a bunch of Canadians in Canada, one of them is going to be a real USA hater, and he or she will want you to defend some political action of "you Americans!" I usually try to out do them. "You're right. Bush and Cheney both should be tried for War Crimes. Rumsfeld and Wolfy, too." Or, "I agree. Health care is a right. It should be free. And the health care industry should be dismantled."

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

14. I don't trust many "Quebecers", who don't trust the average Canadian anyway.

Many of them are no different that the Lou Dobbs crowd who want everyone speaking "Amurikan", they want everyone talking French.

[PDJane]

19. And a very arcane French..........

it's a kind of Basque French that has been bastardized.

[smirkymonkey]

47. And they're the rudest skiers on the planet...

they blatantly cut in front of you in lift lines, and ski on top of your skis to do it. Then they cut you off again when you are going down the slopes. So not worth the beautiful scenery and cultural experience. I've skied all over the world, and have never met any ruder fellow skiers.

[PDJane]

65. so I've been told......

[annabanana]

15. Canada is like Family. They know us to well to be repulsed by

our worst behavior (allowing B*sh to get the White House) or too impressed by our best (our ability to elect Obama). She's like a smarter, better behaved older sister.. You know, the one that didn't run away from home.

[proteus_lives]

51. You mean the sister that never left home and still nurses old mom and the cats?

She's dowdy and resents little sister America for her Independence, career and power? She resents America and her career while she sits at home and has tea with mum and the rest of the spinsters?

Yep, that's Canada alright.

[Raine]

20. I'm not that surprised after

they got a look at the RW nut-cases here who've been showing their ugly selves after Obama got elected. :-(

[G_j]

22. The same applies to me, but I'm an American. nt

[eridani]

23. The 48% who feel comfortable visiting the US--

--are probably in better health than the ones who don't.

[Shagbark Hickory]

26. My favourability rating of the American Public has also declined since the nutbaggers emerged .

I can easily see how this would not be effected.

When you watch people protest in the streets so that they won't have healthcare, it really makes one wonder what the hell is wrong with them.

[Gwendolyn]

27. It's kind of normal for French Canadians to not feel at home in the US.

Them speaking French and all, and having a completely different culture kind of have an impact. That's not necessarily a negative finding. Nor is it a negative for an English speaking Canadian either for that matter. There are cultural differences, and even if Canadians love to visit or stay the winter, there's nothing like "home."

[depakid]

29. Being "right next door" Canadians tend to know all too well the way many if not most Americans are

Other nations further away, not so much.

[marmar]

32. Canadians hold a more favorable view of Americans than I do, and I'm American.....

..... kind of. I live near the border and half the change in my pocket is Canadian. ..... and I watch Peter Mansbridge deliver the news more often than I do Brian Williams.

[MellowDem]

37. Seriously?

"The genie is out of the bottle. About 25% of the white people in this country are EVIL and everybody knows it now."

First of all, can we stop with the bigotry? And the use of "good" and "evil"? It's a little juvenile. The truth is, I could give a shit what a country's population thinks about Americans as a people. Noone can judge a whole country's population so it's a rather idiotic question anyways. Feelings towards government are the only really important indicator.

[proteus_lives]

52. Really?

"About 25% of the white people in this country are EVIL and everybody knows it now."

:eyes:

Are you that bigoted? That dim?

[JonQ]

55. I've heard quite a few complaints against people from quebec

from my canadian friends.

So for this bit: Among Canadians, Quebecers in particular, are likely to feel out of place in the United States, with only one in three saying they feel at home south of the border.

I'd like to see a follow up study to see if they feel out of place in canada as well.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

66. alot of things have "Not Fundamentally Changed"

Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, US Economy dragging down the world etc. etc.

that being said, I actually live in Canada, I have American stamped on my forehead and I have yet to encounter any tangible amount of anti-Americanism.

I don't quite follow the "feel out of place" question, I feel pretty out of place just about anywhere east of the Rocky Mountains - North America is pretty fucking big and most people will feel out of place many places in their homeland.