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Are Canadians "nice"?

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  1. #1

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    Are Canadians "nice"?

    Quote Originally Posted by gardabble:
    If you are thinking about living in Canada, here are stuff you need to know.

    Benefits living in Canada:
    1. Political Freedom
    2. Clean environment no pollution
    3. Health care is free, has other govt benefits like old age pension, welfare and other govt assistance.
    4 Second largest country in the world. Lots of places to explore from East to West.
    5. Close to the USA.
    6. Friendly people.

    Bad things living in Canada
    1. Its cold except for Lower Mainland BC
    2. High Taxes, unless you are really good and finding tax shelters
    3. Job market is very competitive and tight. You see allot of degree holders working in service sector jobs like restaurants and taxis.
    4. Your foreign credentials are not recognized in Canada forces you to waste time to retake same tests to get Canadian credentials.
    1. Climate in the southern part of Vancouver Island (I.e. around Victoria) is also not bad, more mild, less rainy and more sunny than Vancouver. As for Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, the climate is relatively mild compared to the rest of Canada, that is true. But, its six months of rain and no sun from fall through winter. That can be a bit...depressing.

    2. Friendly people. Yes...certainly compared to HK and the US. But that friendliness can be rather superficial...as in it's only skin-deep. Beneath their smile they might be cursing you.

    3. No pollution? Well...that depends. Parts of Canada is actually contaminated from heavy metals through oil, mining and other related industries (primary resource extraction is still a very important economic sector in Canada, this aspect it shares with Australia).

  2. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by Coolboy:

    2. Friendly people. Yes...certainly compared to HK and the US. But that friendliness can be rather superficial...as in it's only skin-deep. Beneath their smile they might be cursing you.
    I never really understand this criticism. Being superficially kind and respectful to random people you don't know is a good thing. Generally speaking these societies are much more pleasant to live in.

  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt30:
    I never really understand this criticism. Being superficially kind and respectful to random people you don't know is a good thing. Generally speaking these societies are much more pleasant to live in.
    But...would it be preferable to have honesty over fake plesantries? In Canada, a lot of times people may express perfunctory greetings to you, but when it comes time when you really need help and assistance...would they extend a hand? If they are your real friends, sure. But just some stranger on the street? Well...I am not so sure in all cases. You see, that is the real test of compassion and empathy, not merely surface-level polite greetings.

    I mean, someone may normally be a bit gruff and rough around the edges but actually has a heart of gold and come to your aid vs someone who is seemingly courteous but will stick out a leg to trip you over. That's what I am talking about.
    Last edited by Coolboy; 21-05-2021 at 10:24 AM.

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Coolboy:
    But...would it be preferable to have honesty over fake plesantries? In Canada, a lot of times people may express perfunctory greetings to you, but when it comes time when you really need help and assistance...would they extend a hand? If they are your real friends, sure. But just some stranger on the street? Well...I am not so sure in all cases. You see, that is the real test of compassion and empathy, not merely surface-level polite greetings.

    I mean, someone may normally be a bit gruff and rough around the edges but actually has a heart of gold and come to your aid vs someone who is seemingly courteous but will stick out a leg to trip you over. That's what I am talking about.
    I think if you really needed help and assistance you are much more likely to find it in Canada. Canada has some of the most generous social programs in the world.

    An extreme comparison would be Japan and China. Japanese tend to be extremely polite, considerate in public, follow the rules. Some people will say that they are being "fake" and maybe they are. This is still more preferable than a "real" society such as China where there is zero consideration given to strangers.

    I think HKers are pretty good about this. Given how over crowded the city is, I still find people to be quite considerate.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Coolboy:
    3. No pollution? Well...that depends. Parts of Canada is actually contaminated from heavy metals through oil, mining and other related industries (primary resource extraction is still a very important economic sector in Canada, this aspect it shares with Australia).
    This seems a bit clutching at straws. It's the 2nd largest country on earth, of course it has some contaminated parts. That's like saying that whilst space is mostly empty, it also has some big chunky bits floating around in it.

    (I used to live there- other comments about the people have been covered better than I could put it.)
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt30:
    I think if you really needed help and assistance you are much more likely to find it in Canada. Canada has some of the most generous social programs in the world.

    An extreme comparison would be Japan and China. Japanese tend to be extremely polite, considerate in public, follow the rules. Some people will say that they are being "fake" and maybe they are. This is still more preferable than a "real" society such as China where there is zero consideration given to strangers.

    I think HKers are pretty good about this. Given how over crowded the city is, I still find people to be quite considerate.
    You are talking about social assistance programs, stuff like welfare and pensions. I'm talking about human interaction on a more basic day-to-day level. When you are out walking on the streets, buying groceries, stuff like that.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by jgl:
    This seems a bit clutching at straws. It's the 2nd largest country on earth, of course it has some contaminated parts. That's like saying that whilst space is mostly empty, it also has some big chunky bits floating around in it.

    (I used to live there- other comments about the people have been covered better than I could put it.)
    I lived there for a bit too, coming from the US originally, I do get a feel of the anti-americanism that is just hidden under the surface in Canadian society.

    As for pollution, how is that clutching at straws? I'm being accurate. Some HK locals think everything in Canada is pristine and untouched by pollution. Er.. no. Certainly it's far far cleaner than China. But it's far from perfect. Canada has been accused of being a laggard on cutting fossil fuel emissions for example. No doubt the powerful oil industry in Alberta has a role there.

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    I've only been to Canada once - to Vancouver/Victoria a few years ago - but I did have a couple of incidents with locals who were pleasingly helpful. In one case, a bus driver let us ride for free because we were going to the ferry port - a ferry ticket includes free bus transfers, but a bus ticket doesn't include a ferry ride. In the other case, we were going up on the cable car to the ski resort on Grouse Mountain, and a completely random person walked up to us and said "I'm a member, and I can bring in 2 friends for half price - would you like to be my friends today?", just for the sake of being nice to a couple of tourists. I was impressed...


  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Coolboy:
    I lived there for a bit too, coming from the US originally, I do get a feel of the anti-americanism that is just hidden under the surface in Canadian society.
    I get what you're saying but my take is any anti-americanism is just skip deep. I'd say it's closer to a sibling rivalty than anything nefarious. Just look at the way Americans make fun of how certain Canadians pronounce "hooOOUuse" instead of "house"; or "oOOUut" instead of "out" (or at least it certainly sounds that way).

    The only times it gets really nasty and serious is when the Canucks lose the Stanley Cup finals.
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  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by seirin:
    I get what you're saying but my take is any anti-americanism is just skip deep. I'd say it's closer to a sibling rivalty than anything nefarious. Just look at the way Americans make fun of how certain Canadians pronounce "hooOOUuse" instead of "house"; or "oOOUut" instead of "out" (or at least it certainly sounds that way).

    The only times it gets really nasty and serious is when the Canucks lose the Stanley Cup finals.
    Yes, in most cases its just gentle ribbing. But there are times when its not. Hockey like you mention is one example. Hockey is religion in Canada, you don't want to mess with that. Another instance is identity. Never ever say to a Canadian that they are just like Americans. They will drop all pretense of Canadian politeness right then and there.
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