Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There never seems to be a recognition that there is a North American culture - a North American English-influenced culture, to be precise and the US isn't the only one with a claim on that. It's not surprising that the US and English Canada has a lot of similarities. It's a little hard to have a conversation on Canadian culture when everything that anyone on the Anglo side of things has to say about it, is flat-out dismissed as not being a culture. It's like the Anglo side of things is constantly being forced into a negative affirmation, ie, We are not American, but I don't see that anyone arguing the opposite side of things leaves them any choice.
And I'm actually not identifying with English Canadian culture.
ETA: In fact, the more I hear about French versus Anglo, the less I know where I fit in in Canada.
I think the highlighted part can be explained by the fact that too often people give dubious examples of allegedly ''Canadian'' cultural contributions, like X-Files, Avatar, Saturday Night Live...
I mean, I worked in the cultural field in both anglophone and francophone Canada. I know Anglo-Canadian culture. If you give me Stan Rogers, Red Green, Air Farce, I'se the By, Anne of Green Gables, Jiggs Dinner, etc., I'll give you all of that as Anglo-Canadian culture. But the thing is that most of them remain on the margins of the mainstream most of the time.
Why are way more Albertans aware of grits than they are of Jiggs dinner?
Why is it that hardly anyone outside of PEI can hum a few of the tunes from Anne of Green Gables the Musical? They should! They're catchy!
There *is* stuff out there. But as I said, it remains almost like a hidden secret.
And the mainstream ''national'' (sic) culture is made up of you-know-what.
Overall, yes American pay little or no attention to Canada. However, for Vancouver and Seattle, it might be a little different. Seattle news shows and Seattle newspapers often carry weekend travel ideas for BC. The local PBS station in Seattle covers some Vancouver and BC stuff.
The amount of people from Seattle and Vancouver switching places on long weekends is fairly large. You talk to most people in Vancouver, and they've been to Seattle, and many when I'm in Seattle say they've been to Vancouver or Victoria. it's rare to find anyone who hasn't been to Vancouver. If they haven't they are usually new to Seattle.
I know years ago when the King Tut exhibit was coming to Seattle they advertised in Vancouver. Many people here go to concerts and shows in Seattle and vice versa as well.
Sure. But that's not the same as the Seattle Times and local TV stations treating Vancouver news as ''local''. They don't report on news conferences by the mayor of Vancouver, or on everyday BC provincial politics. (I doubt they even give a mention to the results when you guys have elections.)
If Canadians wanted to, they could run American cultural productions out of Canada within a couple of weeks by simply not giving American companies their money. Instead, Canadians have shown time and again that in a general sense they greatly prefer American cultural productions to their own, possibly to a greater extent than any other foreign society on earth.
You talk about "American cultural productions" as if they are vastly different than those produced here in Canada. Can you please explain what the differences are between "American cultural productions" and "Canadian cultural productions" please? While you are at it, you can also explain the differences between American and Canadian culture for us as well... and please do so without referencing hockey, Tim Hortons or those ridiculous "Joe Canadian" ads from the 90's.
I have lived in Canada for the entire 43 years I have been on this planet, and have spent quite a lot of vacation time in all parts of the U.S. My experience has been that Toronto has a lot more in common with NYC and Chicago than it does Kapuskasing or Halifax, and people from Gander, NL have far more in common with people in the Deep South than they do those in Toronto or Vancouver. However, we share many cultural similarities with all parts of Canada and the U.S., even if that culture varies quite a bit from place to place. At the end of the day, we drive the same cars, listen to the same music, celebrate the same major holidays, watch the same programming, wear the same clothes, eat the same foods, vacation in the same places and generally have the same hopes for the future. As such, it is amusing to listen to those of you who seem to think we are somehow different.
I would add that I actually think that Canada could get even more Americanized than it already is, and Quebec could even become more distinct from the ROC than it already is, and it would still make sociological sense to have a geopolitical space called ''Canada'' that is separate from the U.S.
As far as I'm concerned, if Canadians feel they are a different nation from Americans, and that they should be a separate country, then nobody else can say otherwise. It's something every nation decides for itself.
I think the highlighted part can be explained by the fact that too often people give dubious examples of allegedly ''Canadian'' cultural contributions, like X-Files, Avatar, Saturday Night Live...
I mean, I worked in the cultural field in both anglophone and francophone Canada. I know Anglo-Canadian culture. If you give me Stan Rogers, Red Green, Air Farce, I'se the By, Anne of Green Gables, Jiggs Dinner, etc., I'll give you all of that as Anglo-Canadian culture. But the thing is that most of them remain on the margins of the mainstream most of the time.
Why are way more Albertans aware of grits than they are of Jiggs dinner?
Why is it that hardly anyone outside of PEI can hum a few of the tunes from Anne of Green Gables the Musical? They should! They're catchy!
There *is* stuff out there. But as I said, it remains almost like a hidden secret.
And the mainstream ''national'' (sic) culture is made up of you-know-what.
Ah AJ - you're in your comfort zone talking about this endlessly aren't ya
Sorry just had to say that man.. I don't actually entirely disagree with you as a matter of fact. I just find it fascinating that you relish this discussion to the extent you do.. Its like you're playing whack a mole..
There never seems to be a recognition that there is a North American culture - a North American English-influenced culture, to be precise and the US isn't the only one with a claim on that. It's not surprising that the US and English Canada has a lot of similarities. It's a little hard to have a conversation on Canadian culture when everything that anyone on the Anglo side of things has to say about it, is flat-out dismissed as not being a culture. It's like the Anglo side of things is constantly being forced into a negative affirmation, ie, We are not American, but I don't see that anyone arguing the opposite side of things leaves them any choice.
.
Job security isn't any better in Canada? Really? I thought Canada didn't have the at-will employment policy. And do the employers evaluate each of the worker's e.g. analytical skills, management skills, etc. on a scale?(as seen from the film "Wanted")
You can absolutely get fired in Canada for any reason other than discrimination, or health related exactly like the US...
Union shops could be obviously different, again the same as the US....
You can absolutely get fired in Canada for any reason other than discrimination, or health related exactly like the US...
Union shops could be obviously different, again the same as the US....
True, sort of. But employment law in Canada is not "exactly like the US."
You can be fired for any reason, but your employer must provide "notice," or if you prefer, severance pay, according to the employment standards legislation. They cannot fire you, and leave you with nothing, as in "at will" states. Firing for "just cause" on the spot is permitted, but it must fulfil the parameters for "just cause." See the employment standards code of the applicable province, and the caselaw, for more details.
Union shops are different, for good reason: because the union has a contract with the employer. Still, a reading of the contract will indicate when management can terminate a unionized employee, and when it cannot, and how the grievance procedure works.
~ CS
(who, as an employment lawyer, has represented clients in employment and union matters)
Why are way more Albertans aware of grits than they are of Jiggs dinner?
Jiggs dinner is a traditional Sunday dinner that is popular in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is hardly eaten anywhere outside that province. Alberta is 5500 kms away from Port-aux-Basques, the westernmost port in Newfoundland. By comparison, I'd hazard to guess that it is also very likely that far more Albertans have traveled down south to destinations like Florida and Texas where grits are a popular food item, than have visited The Rock where they may have tried a traditional Jiggs dinner.
I've been to Newfoundland three times and have eaten Jiggs dinner, fish and brewis with scrunchions and wild game like moose and turrs. However, had I never visited the island I would never have heard of these meals. Likewise, I would never have tried or likely even heard of sausage gravy and biscuits, grits or chicken fried steak had I never traveled south of the border.
Personally, I fail to understand what you find so surprising like this.
Jiggs dinner is a traditional Sunday dinner that is popular in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is hardly eaten anywhere outside that province.
Exactly. Our Quebec friends seem to fail to understand that "English Canada" is not one monolithic culture--it is many, some of which are incomprehensible to other parts of Canada.
French Quebecers seem very comfortable in asserting that they have a unique culture. Fair enough, and they do. But why do they feel that English Canada has to follow their mould, to be all alike, from coast to coast to coast? Why can variances not exist across 8000 km? They certainly do in the US, in Australia, and even in the UK (try to tell a Scotsman that he is English, for example).
Why do Quebecers fail to understand that English Canada can be many cultures? Why do they feel it must be just one?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
