Americans and Canadians culture Q&A Thread.

[declansdad]

In the 1770’s the Winter weather and smallpox were the main reason we didn’t hang onto Montreal and Quebec. Had those factors not happened, there’s a good chance we would have held onto to them. Many Canadian French wanted to help gain independence from the British and looked into joining the union from a societal perspective. The war of 1812 attack was just stupid since most up there were loyalists and we were outmatched.

That may be your opinion but it doesn't jive with what most historians say.

 

[Buzz Rules]

That may be your opinion but it doesn't jive with what most historians say.

I’ll try to find the history articles to support my statement.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Had those factors not happened, there’s a good chance we would have held onto to them.

Well, this statement could be said for ALL of history then. "If ______________ hadn't happened/we had more soldiers/the snow storm didn't hit/those guys didn't open the doors and bring the Trojan horse in/the space craft hadn't malfunctioned/the dodo hadn't gone extinct/we had more supplies/the atom bomb hadn't existed/Walt Disney did not fulfill his dream--and any number of other reasons/excuses, then LOTS of history would be different. I don't even need an article to back that up. Sure. There is always a chance that something different could have happened. I mean, maybe something different could have happened on the British (future Canada's) side as well, that would have had things boding even worse for the Americans. I can not argue with this logic.

 

[prairie_girl]

.

This isn’t worth getting points for so this is the last quote from me.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Well, this statement could be said for ALL of history then. "If ______________ hadn't happened/we had more soldiers/the snow storm didn't hit/those guys didn't open the doors and bring the Trojan horse in/the space craft hadn't malfunctioned/the dodo hadn't gone extinct/we had more supplies/the atom bomb hadn't existed/Walt Disney did not fulfill his dream--and any number of other reasons/excuses, then LOTS of history would be different. I don't even need an article to back that up. Sure. There is always a chance that something different could have happened. I mean, maybe something different could have happened on the British (future Canada's) side as well, that would have had things boding even worse for the Americans. I can not argue with this logic.

That’s my only point on the matter.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I have relatives that were born and raised families in Canada before immigrating to the U.S. After about 30 years of living in California, they moved back to retire and be with their grandchildren. They've been here for about a year, now. I asked my uncle how he's found the adjustment and I was surprised at his answer, mostly because I wouldn't have thought about it before he said it.

He said the biggest thing he noticed was how people accept what the government tells them in Canada. In the U.S., he said people are always questioning the government. He implied people were much more involved with contacting their representatives or making their voices heard in the U.S., whereas in Canada, we may gripe about things, but most people just accept the status quo.

I don't know if either opinion is right, but that was what he noticed when it came to "culture".

 

[Aladora]

How would you have held on to them? The American forces were soundly defeated in Quebec and Nova Scotia during the Revolutionary War and again during the War of 1812. In fact, the US forces weren't even able to successfully build a fort on Canadian soil during the War of 1812.

Also we set fire to the White House…

 

[Buzz Rules]

I have relatives that were born and raised families in Canada before immigrating to the U.S. After about 30 years of living in California, they moved back to retire and be with their grandchildren. They've been here for about a year, now. I asked my uncle how he's found the adjustment and I was surprised at his answer, mostly because I wouldn't have thought about it before he said it.

He said the biggest thing he noticed was how people accept what the government tells them in Canada. In the U.S., he said people are always questioning the government. He implied people were much more involved with contacting their representatives or making their voices heard in the U.S., whereas in Canada, we may gripe about things, but most people just accept the status quo.

I don't know if either opinion is right, but that was what he noticed when it came to "culture".

This is very true.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Also we set fire to the White House…

We burned your Parliament to the ground. And after the White House (it was red at the time) was burned, all the soldiers were killed that were involved by a legendary storm of epic proportions. Some called it a higher powers convenience to show justice.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My grandmother was from Nova Scotia. Lots of family still there today. She came to Boston to study Nursing in the 1910’s and never left. She spoke fluent French. A cousin researching that side of the family connected with another branch of the family who traced their roots back to France. Anyway, my family growing up visited Nova Scotia, and I remember driving up to Montreal, as well.

In light of this thread, I thought I would try to research a little bit of why student nurses were sent from Canada to study Nursing (as they sometimes were from various other countries during different times over the years such as Ireland, China, Russia and the Philippines, as examples).

Here’s what I got in the short time I had yesterday (as I am working this weekend; she was the first, that I know of, of four generations of nurses in my family).

Apparently, before there was the American Nurses Association, there was the Nurses’ Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada (1896-1901). So there was a formal association there likely due to shared camaraderie in service during wars of the 19th century.

Boston and Nova Scotia formed an alliance which exists to this day (with their still sending a tall spruce tree down to erect on the Boston Common every December, in perpetual thanks for doctors and nurses from Boston rushing up there to help with the tremendous devastation from the Halifax Explosion in 1917, as well as great financial assistance from the state of Massachusetts). It’s a nice tradition here and makes the nightly news every year.

The following year, as their community was still recovering from the Explosion, nurses from Halifax “repaid the debt” by rushing to Boston during the Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918 when that city was hit particularly hard and sent out an SOS for help. “At least 32 Nova Scotia nurses worked in Boston in the fall of 1918. Research shows at least 12 made the ultimate sacrifice, dying of the very flu they were fighting.“ This is a very interesting article about that experience, and there are many uncanny similarities to what we are seeing today from a medical standpoint. The Nurses Who Repaid Halifax’s 1917 Debt To Boston.

So somewhere in that time period, when my grandmother was a young woman, she, too, wound up in Boston, from Halifax, to answer the call to duty. I got to speak to her shortly before she passed, when I was in nursing school myself, about her experiences. It was fun to hear what she had to say - boy, I wish I could’ve recorded it! And I would definitely have some follow up questions today in light of this new (to me) information. My guess is that she either had a relative or family friend who was working in the hospital system there and they put out the word that it would be a good opportunity for her, which is what I’ve heard from other nurses I know who came from other countries to work as nurses. My friend from China was chosen as a very young girl to study science because she had excellent grades, and was one of a very few nurses chosen to come to the U.S. to work.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Also we set fire to the White House…

There is a great song on Youtube called The War of 1812 by Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie (which I will not direct link to), which covers this very topic.

 

[Buzz Rules]

There is a great song on Youtube called The War of 1812 by Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie (which I will not direct link to), which covers this very topic.

Except Canada didn’t win the war of 1812, neither did we and the British didn’t either. It was a draw on all sides. But we did get a national anthem due to the battle of Baltimore and this great song due to the battle of New Orleans.

 

[White Cat]

I have relatives that were born and raised families in Canada before immigrating to the U.S. After about 30 years of living in California, they moved back to retire and be with their grandchildren. They've been here for about a year, now. I asked my uncle how he's found the adjustment and I was surprised at his answer, mostly because I wouldn't have thought about it before he said it.

He said the biggest thing he noticed was how people accept what the government tells them in Canada. In the U.S., he said people are always questioning the government. He implied people were much more involved with contacting their representatives or making their voices heard in the U.S., whereas in Canada, we may gripe about things, but most people just accept the status quo.

I don't know if either opinion is right, but that was what he noticed when it came to "culture".

He is very correct. I mentioned this same thing on another thread and for some reason it didn’t go well. It’s something that for me was easy to see. The Canadian populace is well under control and doesn’t question very much.

 

[goofyernmost]

Oh, I know you are far now, but if you are ever closer. I would Love to go meet there for a Dunn’s smoked sandwich! I LIVE IN MONTREAL, FOR REAL

Thanks, I'll keep it in mind, but I have no plans to go up there until possibly next year. There are so many places that advertise "authentic" Montreal Smoked Meat" sandwiches down here**, but it is not even close to whatever Dunn's does to the meat to give it that flavor.

** You wouldn't believe how many border living New Englanders and upper, upper New York State people have moved down here to central North Caroline. Someone is always trying to fill a need, but none of them have been successful yet.

 

[goofyernmost]

We burned your Parliament to the ground. And after the White House (it was red at the time) was burned, all the soldiers were killed that were involved by a legendary storm of epic proportions. Some called it a higher powers convenience to show justice.

What???? White house burnt? Yes! Big storm. Yes! We don't have a Parliament so it would have been tough to burn to the ground. Capital Building was partially burnt but not completely. The big storm put out the fires and waterlogged the British or Germans whomever was doing the British dirty work at the time. But I think they just retreated and if killed it might be in some other battle.

 

[bcla]

Thanks, I'll keep it in mind, but I have no plans to go up there until possibly next year. There are so many places that advertise "authentic" Montreal Smoked Meat" sandwiches down here**, but it is not even close to whatever Dunn's does to the meat to give it that flavor.

We've got some place like that around here, although they've closed - allegedly temporarily. We also had the first US location of Smoke's Poutinerie, but that closed last year.

https://augiesmontrealdeli.com/about-us/​

Augie’s Montreal Deli is a Canadian inspired restaurant specializing in authentic Montreal Smoke Meat sandwiches and Quebecois Poutine; along with a menu of delicious salads, sides, and local craft brews. Our authentic Montreal smoke (or smoked) meat is maple and spice cured, hand rubbed, smoked, and slow roasted beef brisket that is best described as having the rich delicious flavor of pastrami and the crumbly texture of corned beef. It’s a one-of- a-kind taste served hot on locally made Metropolis Bakery deli rye with yellow (or spicy) mustard, Uncles Famous garlic dill pickles with a kick, and a side of Zack’s Zesty coleslaw (you’ve to get your veggies).​

​

We take pride in serving the most authentic poutine south of the border. Starting with triple fried red potato fries with the original St Hubert poutine gravy and real deal squeaky cheese curds from Oakdale California; it’s the what the good people of Quebec intended poutine to be.​

**********​

Our Story​

So how did Augie’s come to be? Over the years, whenever Lex went back to Montreal to visit friends and family, without fail he would return with pounds of the traditional smoked meat because, surprisingly, it could not be found in the Bay Area (or most of the US for that matter). On one particular trip home to SFO, his meat was taken by a customs officer for reasons not clearly explained (it happened to be near the time of the mad cow scare, though we think this may have been a hungry customs officer!). It was at that moment that Lex decided he would no longer live without the Montreal mainstay. He would work to create his own version of the smoked meat, and is excited to share his passion with the very culturally diverse and food-savvy San Francisco community.​

 

[goofyernmost]

Do most Canadians often say “Eh” a lot or is that a stereotype?

Opinions on this vary, apparently. Personally, I think we all say it so ubiquitously that we don't even realize how often we say it.

Having been married to and therefore lived with for 29 year along with exposure to her English family and many of their friends I can say that just aboat all of English Canadians do use the sentence ending, eh! Strangely my wife didn't but her family did. She had moved down to the states a couple of years before I met her, so she just may have beat the habit. Pretty much the rest of the English speaking folks at least in Eastern Canada use that word either consciously or unconsciously.

Fun fact! It isn't indicating a question, it is indicated the end of a statement and somewhat of a look for agreement, but that isn't really important. It's sort of an assumption that you will agree with whatever they said, but surprisingly, it doesn't seem to bother anyone if you don't.

 

[Buzz Rules]

What???? White house burnt? Yes! Big storm. Yes! We don't have a Parliament so it would have been tough to burn to the ground. Capital Building was partially burnt but not completely. The big storm put out the fires and waterlogged the British or Germans whomever was doing the British dirty work at the time. But I think they just retreated and if killed it might be in some other battle.

The U.S. burned Toronto’s parliament to the ground. The White House was burned out of revenge.

 

[Buzz Rules]

A question to French Canadians. Do most places in Montreal/Quebec speak English or is French a requirement to fully enjoy the area for a vacation?

 

[declansdad]

We burned your Parliament to the ground.

Probably one of the best thing to happen to the colony as that action solidified the populations desire to form the country of Canada.