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I don't know how one can say this with so much certainty.
Agreed... One thing I would NEVER do as a Canadian is joke about something like this.. The only thing that i've gained from that whole discussion is that there is a sentiment in the west that if Quebec separated from Canada, the rest of the country would love to just give Ontario (The Dark Sith of the Universe) the boot.. its double speak in my mind - on the one hand the idea of Separation pains a person but on the other so willing to just kick a member of the family to the curb if another decides to leave.. They say, it would pain them if member A leaves the family - but if that happens screw member B we'll kick em to the curb first chance we get... Yeah and how is member B supposed to feel about the family with such talk...hmmmmm..
Even though " Cablevision " arrived in the 6o's we didn't get it until about 1974 or so. Up until then the only US programming I saw ( besides visits to grandma in California ) was Ed Sullivan on CBC I believe, Gunsmoke as well, Walt Disney on Sundays ...can't really remember much more, except as you mention cartoons and US movies.
Mister Dressup, Chez Helene, Let's Go, Razzle Dazzle, All Star Wrestling ( live from the PNE in Vancouver ), Hymn Sing, Juiliette and of course Don Messer's Jubilee.
We also didn't have an antenna so no KVOS for us until cable.
Hey Nat, are you saying you just didn't have cablevision until 1974 at your house? Because it was available in Vancouver before that. I think you're quite a bit younger than me so maybe it's a bit before your time? but Vancouver had the beginnings of cablevision by 1958 and in 1962 was when Vancouver Cablevision Ltd. became a big deal in the Vancouver Greater Metro area. At that time I visited Vancouver every summer and I remember seeing American broadcasts on cablevision in Vancouver in the mid 1960's, one of my favorite shows was Star Trek which first aired in 1966 and was an immediate big hit.
In B.C., Syd Welsh started up a new company connected to his father’s heating, plumbing and electrical business, called Fred Welsh Home Appliances. Recognizing the need for signal distribution in order to sell television sets, he installed a master antenna system on a luxury apartment building and changed the company name to Fred Welsh Antenna Systems Ltd. By 1958, Welsh launched Pacific Cablevision Ltd. to own the cable systems he had been building under contract for others.
Also in Vancouver, CJOR radio station owner George Chandler launched Tru Vu Television to provide cable service, and successfully negotiated a pole attachment agreement with B.C. Telephone. By 1962, Pacific Cablevision purchased Tru Vu and became Vancouver Cablevision Ltd.
Most any Canadian under the age of 50 would have been exposed to several American TV stations growing up. In addition to all of the American programming carried by Canadian stations. I was in elementary school in the 70s (not in Quebec) and the TV shows we talked about were very predominantly American. At least 80-90% of them.
American programs have been a big part of the Canadian TV diet since the beginning. When the first CBC TV station in English was launched in Toronto in 1953, it took about four months for it to be linked by a wire from Buffalo so it could broadcast American shows at the same time as the US networks.
Well, Canadians have aboot a dozen words Americans don't use, and they sing some strange songs... I even hear they have some people who speak another whole language, almost seems like a foreign country...
Seriously though, with the cultural variations throughout the US and Canada, most Canadians and Americans are very similar, but some places may be fairly different, I'm thinking Appalachia, the Deep South, maybe somewhere like Boston, Miama, etc. Places like Minneapolis, Seattle, Maine, North Dakota are all very similar to the northern bordering neighbors.
Just like out southern neighbors, Brownsville isn't so different from Matamoros. But they are both significantly different from say Minneapolis.
An example I like to use is a friend of mine when I was younger was from Calgary, I went years without knowing he was Canadian, and I never would have guessed. One day I was hanging out at his house and there were Canadian passports on his table, I was confused at first, then I opened it up and saw his picture, that was the first I knew he and his family weren't American, and it was never a big deal, never talked about again. I knew they weren't from around here because they moved here when I was in high school, but I never thought too much about where they came from.
Well, Canadians have aboot a dozen words Americans don't use, and they sing some strange songs... I even hear they have some people who speak another whole language, almost seems like a foreign country...
Seriously though, with the cultural variations throughout the US and Canada, most Canadians and Americans are very similar, but some places may be fairly different, I'm thinking Appalachia, the Deep South, maybe somewhere like Boston, Miama, etc. Places like Minneapolis, Seattle, Maine, North Dakota are all very similar to the northern bordering neighbors.
Just like out southern neighbors, Brownsville isn't so different from Matamoros. But they are both significantly different from say Minneapolis.
An example I like to use is a friend of mine when I was younger was from Calgary, I went years without knowing he was Canadian, and I never would have guessed. One day I was hanging out at his house and there were Canadian passports on his table, I was confused at first, then I opened it up and saw his picture, that was the first I knew he and his family weren't American, and it was never a big deal, never talked about again. I knew they weren't from around here because they moved here when I was in high school, but I never thought too much about where they came from.
First of all no one says aboot, that's a stereotype. I'm sure Americans have a dozen more words we don't use either (Ya'll, yinz, ruff (roof) cawffee (coffee) sarry (sorry) and I could go on and on). We have two Provinces that speak French and some neighbouring counties in English speaking provinces where some French carries over but we are a predominately English speaking country. What is with some Americans and french? You guys had ****new orleans*** which was a French speaking multicultural city for years until the turn of the century. It's a rich culture.
Hmmm I think don't think we're all that similar to Minnesota or North Dakota, aren't those states conservative and have some type of Lutheran religious culture? We're somewhat similar to Boston in our political outlook but more progressive.
An example I like to use is a friend of mine when I was younger was from Calgary, I went years without knowing he was Canadian, and I never would have guessed. One day I was hanging out at his house and there were Canadian passports on his table, I was confused at first, then I opened it up and saw his picture, that was the first I knew he and his family weren't American, and it was never a big deal, never talked about again. I knew they weren't from around here because they moved here when I was in high school, but I never thought too much about where they came from.
Funny, I had the same experience in high school with a kid from Calgary. I went several weeks with no clue that he was "foreign" until one day he mentioned having to update his green card (or something along those lines) for work. I was so confused. Why would an American need a green card!? In another more recent case, I befriended a guy who weeks later turned out to be from Oakville, Ontario. I hadn't the slightest inkling that he was supposed to be "foreign" either. The significant thing about this case is that I had lived in Canada.
So when I read these threads about the similarities between Canadians and Americans, my mind is already made up. I would call English Canadians essentially the same group of people, but with a different self-perception of who they think they are and want to be. They are constantly indoctrinated from childhood to think of themselves as Canadians, and in school they learn the moral virtues of Canadians compared to the decadence of Americans. In a similar fashion, Americans are raised to believe that freedom and equality set Americans apart. In reality, these values are heavily overexaggerated on both sides of the border, and blur the reality of Canadians and Americans sharing a common culture. In practice, English Canadians possess a localized version of American culture, much like that which exists in Texas, New England, the deep South, or the Mid-Atlantic.
You're also starting to see shows co-produced by Canadian companies (CBC) such as the Tudors for example. I think there are certainly more and more exceptions as you call it.... but sure, Canada has a ton of talent that has been sort of sucked in by the U.S black hole and assimilated into Americana.. How can we expect otherwise, especially if they are from English Canada... What would happen to Quebec's culture if it were bordered by France on steroids? It also probably doesn't help we've kind of got a hate on for one another - Netwit showed that with comments regarding Ontario so if all is how stated, we don't really support one another we kind of marginalize, divide and exclude.
Imagine if all English Canadian actors, writers other artists stayed here and helped grow English Canadian culture - it would be far more formidable but they go where the money is and where they will have a greater chance of monetary and ultimately career success. Ontario boy James Cameron is responsible for the 1 and 2 top grossing films of all time - Avatar and Titanic practically noone even knows he is Canadian born and bred.. How many times have we heard oh I didn't know so and so on so and so was Canadian etc etc.
Hey - we still have Farley Mowatt, Stephen Leacock, Robertson Davies and Margaret Atwood among others so its not like we are bereft when it comes to writers either.
First of all no one says aboot, that's a stereotype. I'm sure Americans have a dozen more words we don't use either (Ya'll, yinz, ruff (roof) cawffee (coffee) sarry (sorry) and I could go on and on). We have two Provinces that speak French and some neighbouring counties in English speaking provinces where some French carries over but we are a predominately English speaking country. What is with some Americans and french? You guys had ****new orleans*** which was a French speaking multicultural city for years until the turn of the century. It's a rich culture.
Hmmm I think don't think we're all that similar to Minnesota or North Dakota, aren't those states conservative and have some type of Lutheran religious culture? We're somewhat similar to Boston in our political outlook but more progressive.
lol, yeah, it probably is a stereotype, btw, what's yinz? The rest I get though, but Ya'll is definitely regional and not a national word. But yes, I say ruff, cawfee, and sarry! When you have to start nitpicking about specific words and accents, I think that shows just how similar the cultures are.
I've been to Winnipeg a few times, and my wifes best friend lives in Edmonton. Sarry, but I really don't see any big difference. Not saying there is not such a thing as Canadian culture, it's just very similar. My point was places like Calgary, Winnipeg, Edmonton have more in common with Minneapolis then Montreal.
Canadian look at the US, especially the midwest and see us as backwards and you don't want to admit that most of your country is similar. But in reality, the midwest is not backwards at all, Iowa and Minnesota have led the way in many politically progressive ways. The US is more conservative then Canada, but I wouldn't say Canada is extremely more progressive or liberal. The US has regions more progressive then anywhere in Canada. The US and Canada are both very diverse countries, but I stick to my belief that the majority of our people share a common culture.
First of all no one says aboot, that's a stereotype. I'm sure Americans have a dozen more words we don't use either (Ya'll, yinz, ruff (roof) cawffee (coffee) sarry (sorry) and I could go on and on). We have two Provinces that speak French and some neighbouring counties in English speaking provinces where some French carries over but we are a predominately English speaking country. What is with some Americans and french? You guys had ****new orleans*** which was a French speaking multicultural city for years until the turn of the century. It's a rich culture.
Hmmm I think don't think we're all that similar to Minnesota or North Dakota, aren't those states conservative and have some type of Lutheran religious culture? We're somewhat similar to Boston in our political outlook but more progressive.
Ahh you are that person, welcome back
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When you have to start nitpicking about specific words and accents, I think that shows just how similar the cultures are.