I cannot believe I have waited so long to post this video! First, a little information: "I am Canadian" was the slogan of Molson Canadian, a beer brewed by the Canadian company Molson. In 2000, this advertisement aired, celebrating the meaning of being Canadian. Overnight, the country was in love. Within a few days, many Canadians had memorized the entire commercial. It's funny, but it was the first time in my life I had seen Canadians get really patriotic!
How many stereotypes (of Canadians or Americans) did you recognize in this advertisement?
Hey I'm not a lumber jack or a fur trader. I don't live in an igloo, or eat blubber, or own a dogsled, And I don't know Jimmy, Sally, or Suzy from Canada, Although I'm certain they're really, really nice.
I have a Prime Minister, not a President. I speak English and French, not American. I pronounce it "about", not "a boot". I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack. I believe in peacekeeping, not policing, Diversity, not assimilation, And that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal. A toque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch, And it is pronounced "zed", not "zee", "zed". Canada is the second-largest landmass, The first nation of hockey, And the best part of North America! My name is Joe, and I AM CANADIAN!
Ironically, Molson was taken over by the American beer company Coors in 2005, and the slogan "I am Canadian" was quietly retired. The beer itself still exists, although it's not particularly good!
Helen Gordon McPherson, a Canadian writer, made the following perceptive observation about Canadian "identity":
Canadians have been so busy explaining to the Americans that we aren't British, and to the British that we aren't Americans that we haven't had time to become Canadians.
It has been said that Canadians define ourselves more by negation (what we aren't) than by affirmation (what we are). This is somewhat analogous to describing yourself as someone who doesn't like horror movies, doesn't play tennis, and doesn't speak Russian - kind of strange, right? What do you think? Is what you aren't just as important as what you are?
One of the most frequent questions I (and other Canadians) get asked while traveling abroad is, "How does Canada feel about the United States?" As you can imagine, this is a very difficult question to answer. Our two countries are joined by over 300 years of history, as well as innumerable social and economic factors. But if I have to give a brief answer, I like to use a quote from Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Canada's prime minister from 1968-1984. In a 1969 speech to the Press Club in Washington D.C., Trudeau said:
Living next to [the United States] is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.
I like it because it's a great summary. For better or worse, Canada is affected by everything the United States does. It doesn't mean we can't be friendly and cooperative, it just means the relationship between our two countries is confusing, ambiguous, and sometimes tense.
