Canadians. The 'nicest' people in the world? Really?

Probably not that new now.
Post Reply
Message
Author
Capetonian

Canadians. The 'nicest' people in the world? Really?

#1 Post by Capetonian » Mon May 09, 2016 10:21 am

It's often said that Canadians are the 'nicest' people in the world and a recent article on the 'Beeb' reminded me of this. I'm not convinced. I've been to Canada quite a few times and whilst they're pleasant and courteous enough in general, and manage to avoid the superficial geniality of USAmericans, I've found their immigration on two occasions (once when entering YYZ by air and once into Vancouver by rail from Seattle) to be somewhat over-zealous and officious and in fact worse than the infamous US immigration which always gets such a bad press.

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/2015031 ... o-be-nicer

For me, the most unfailingly pleasant people I've met in general are the Irish, interestingly though a lot of Canadians are of Irish extraction.

I was wondering what others think.

P.S. : I'm not knocking the Canadians - they are generally lovely people, but I question them being rated as the world's 'nicest'.

User avatar
msdad2
Snr FO
Snr FO
Posts: 171
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 12:30 pm
Location: Costa del Southend
Gender:
Age: 53

Re: Canadians. The 'nicest' people in the world? Really?

#2 Post by msdad2 » Mon May 09, 2016 10:38 am

In the UK we cannot read the link - I kid you not
We're sorry but this site is not accessible from the UK as it is part of our international service and is not funded by the licence fee. It is run commercially by BBC Worldwide, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BBC, the profits made from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes. You can find out more about BBC Worldwide and its digital activities at http://www.bbcworldwide.com.


And they wonder why a lot of British resent having to pay money to the BBC.

Anyway, what about French Canadians ?
I hate Signatures!

Capetonian

Re: Canadians. The 'nicest' people in the world? Really?

#3 Post by Capetonian » Mon May 09, 2016 10:48 am

For those who can't read the link, text is below.
As an aside, I pay a BBC licence fee but can't access a lot of content whilst outside the UK, so it works both ways. Whichever way you look at it, it's stupid and unfair. BBC Worldwide is financed by government, i.e. taxpayers', money and as such I pay for it too. But I can't access BBC WW content when I'm in the UK, and I can't access BBC domestic when I'm outside the UK - but I'm paying for both.

Anyway, what about French Canadians ?

Let's not go there shall we?

By Eric Weiner

19 March 2015

Every August my family embarks on that great American ritual: the road trip. And we always head north. Canada may not be the most exotic of destinations, but sometimes, exotic is overrated. Canada tempts us with familiarity, blissfully cool weather and, most of all, a deep reservoir of niceness.

We experience Canadian nice as soon as we reach customs. The US border guards are gruff and all business. The Canadians, by contrast, are unfailingly polite, even as they grill us about the number of wine bottles we’re bringing into the country. One year, we had failed to notice that our 9-year-old daughter’s passport had expired. They, nicely, let us enter anyway. The niceness continues for our entire trip, as we encounter nice waiters, nice hotel clerks, nice strangers.

Canadian niceness is pure, and untainted by the passive-aggressive undertones found in American niceness (have a good day, or else!). It’s also abundant. Canada is to niceness as Saudi Arabia is to oil. It’s awash in the stuff, and it’s about time, I say, the rest of the world imported some. (France, Russia and the UK topped one recent list of rude countries as perceived by travellers.) Researchers have yet to analyse Canadian niceness empirically, but studies have found that Canadians, perhaps in an effort not to offend, use an overabundance of “hedge words”, such as “could be” and “not bad”. Then there is the most coveted of Canadian words: “sorry”. Canadians will apologize for anything and to anything.

“I've apologized to a tree that I walked into,” confessed Michael Valpy, a journalist and author, noting that many of his fellow citizens have done the same.

Traffic in Toronto and Montreal may be awful, but “you almost never hear a horn, even in the most frustrating traffic jams”, said Jeffrey Dvorkin, a Canadian journalism professor at the University of Toronto. Horn-honking is regarded as unnecessarily aggressive. And murder rates in Canada are low, he said, partly because “it’s quite rude to murder someone”.

The Canadian press is rife with examples of niceness in action. For instance, the National Post reported that in Edmonton, a law student, Derek Murray, left his headlights on all day. When he returned to his car, he found the battery drained and a note on his windshield. “I noticed you left your lights on,” it read. “The battery will probably not have enough charge to start your vehicle. I left a blue extension cord on the fence and … a battery charger beside the fence in the cardboard box.” The note went on to explain exactly how to jump-start the vehicle. “Good luck,” it added. In Ontario, a thief returned the goods he or she stole with $50 attached to a letter of apology. "I can't put it into words how sorry I am," the thief explained. "Please find it in your hearts to forgive the stranger who harmed you."

Canadians aren’t only polite; they’re incredibly humble too, and reluctant to take credit for even plainly heroic acts. When a gunman attacked the Canadian parliament building in October 2014, Kevin Vickers, Canada’s sergeant-at-arms, responded quickly and calmly by shooting the assailant with the handgun he keeps in his office.And while Vickers was glorified in the Canadian media, it was his humility, not his marksmanship or bravado, that was celebrated. (Canadians take great pride in their humility, an oxymoron that bothers no one.)

What explains this blizzard of humility and politeness? Taras Grescoe, a Montreal-based writer, believes Canadian niceness is born of necessity. “We're a small group of people, spread across the second-largest national territory in the world,” he said. “We've always known that, in order to survive – or just stay sane – we had to watch out for one another. The old lady down the street, the teenager at the bus stop who forgot to bring a scarf when it's 5 below. Hence our general willingness to proffer assistance rather than aggression."

Another explanation for Canadian niceness stems from the “fragment theory”. First posited by the US scholar Louis Hartz, the theory states that colonial societies such as the United States and Canada began as “fragments” of the European nations they were escaping from. These new nations remain, in effect, frozen in time. Thus, Canada retains a conservative, Tory streak – that is, with a more deferential, “nicer” nature than the one embraced by the feisty US founding fathers.

Not everyone believes this is a good thing. Valpy sees Canadian niceness as a defence mechanism, one that “stems from inferiority and an awkward awareness that our clothes don't fit properly and we always have bad haircuts and really don't do anything great.”

Also, in the land of nice, problems sometimes fester because everyone is too nice to say anything. Manjushree Thapa, a writer who recently moved to Canada from Nepal, recalls sitting in a movie theatre when the screen grew dimmer and dimmer as the projection bulb slowly burned out. The screen was almost black but no one spoke up. Exasperated, she finally prodded her Canadian partner to alert the management, which he did, reluctantly. “Niceness can silence people here,” she said.

Overall, though, she’ll take nice any day. And so will I. Life is hard enough, with plenty of jagged edges and pointy bits. Why not coat it with a glaze of politeness and humility? Politeness, at its best, is a way of honouring others, especially strangers. Politeness is the lubricant that makes social interactions run smoothly and reduces the risk of conflagrations. The world, I think, would be a better place if we were all a bit more Canadian.

Fortunately, Canadian niceness is contagious. On my annual northern migration, I find myself slowing down, saying “thank you” and “please” more often that I usually do. Maybe I go too far and cross the line from polite to unctuous. If I do, I can only say, in true Canadian fashion, I’m sorry.

Eric Weiner is a recovering malcontent and philosophical traveler. He is the author of, among other books, The Geography of Bliss and the forthcoming The Geography of Genius. Follow him on Twitter.

Sisemen

Re: Canadians. The 'nicest' people in the world? Really?

#4 Post by Sisemen » Mon May 09, 2016 12:32 pm

The Pakistanis are quite genial and helpful. If you feel cold they'll happily pour petrol over you and set light to it to warm you up.

User avatar
rgbrock1
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 3331
Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 11:52 am
Location: Pleaant Valley, New York
Gender:
Age: 66

Re: Canadians. The 'nicest' people in the world? Really?

#5 Post by rgbrock1 » Mon May 09, 2016 4:20 pm

I tend to agree with the opinion that Canadians are ONE of the nicest peoples in the world. Then again, I guess I'm biased as my father and his entire family hailed from Canada and I still have many paternal relatives living there. But any time I've ever been to O' Canada I've always felt very comfortable and "at home."
Pro Deo et Constitutione — Libertas aut Mors

User avatar
unifoxos
Capt
Capt
Posts: 959
Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 10:36 am
Location: Twycross Zoo, or thereabouts
Gender:
Age: 78

Re: Canadians. The 'nicest' people in the world? Really?

#6 Post by unifoxos » Tue May 10, 2016 6:39 am

Anyway, what about French Canadians ?


Let's not go there shall we?


Youi mean Montreal, I presume. I certainly won't be going there.
Sent from my tatty old Windoze PC.

User avatar
Alisoncc
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 4260
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 7:20 am
Location: Arrakis
Gender:
Age: 80

Re: Canadians. The 'nicest' people in the world? Really?

#7 Post by Alisoncc » Tue May 10, 2016 6:48 am

The rest of Canadians have to be nice, just to offset the frogs who are the opposite. One of my favourite people - General James Wolfe who kicked arse in Quebec. ^:)^

Alison
Rev Mother Bene Gesserit.

Sent from my PDP11/05 running RSX-11D via an ASR33 (TTY)

User avatar
rgbrock1
Chief Pilot
Chief Pilot
Posts: 3331
Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 11:52 am
Location: Pleaant Valley, New York
Gender:
Age: 66

Re: Canadians. The 'nicest' people in the world? Really?

#8 Post by rgbrock1 » Tue May 10, 2016 12:05 pm

Alisoncc wrote:The rest of Canadians have to be nice, just to offset the frogs who are the opposite. One of my favourite people - General James Wolfe who kicked arse in Quebec. ^:)^

Alison


Yes, there was General James Wolfe. And there was also General Isaac Brock who also did a bit of ass-kicking. :D
Pro Deo et Constitutione — Libertas aut Mors

Post Reply