Debunking Myths About Canada/Canadians

Debunking Canadian Myths

There’s a lot of misinformation about Canada out there, largely thanks to the way we are portrayed in the media. I’m going to set the record straight on a few common myths about Canada and Canadians.

1. We all know how to build an igloo. FALSE. Building an igloo is seriously tough work and very few Canadians would be able to do it even with proper instruction. Years ago, I was in the Northern Canadian equivalent of Scouts and was shown how to build an igloo. I was shocked to know it’s not all hard packed snow, but blocks of ice! It was hard work and at the  end of the day I barely finished half of my igloo and it collapsed anyway.
2. Everyone in Quebec speaks French. FALSE. Not only are there purely English-speaking people in Quebec, there are also an abundance of bilingual and multilingual Quebecois.
3. The national sport of Canada is Hockey. TECHNICALLY FALSE. Any Canadian trivia buff worth their salt knows our official national sport is Lacrosse, a game invented by Aboriginal tribes. Hockey is technically our “national pastime”. However, really good Canadian trivia buffs know that in 1994 the Federal Government worked out a way to make both Lacrosse and Hockey our official National Sport. Lacrosse is out National summer sport. Hockey is our National winter sport. Ta-da!
4. All of our police are red-jacket wearing Mounties. FALSE. We have other police forces who wear blue-type uniforms etc. Also, Mounties only wear red for special occasions as the red uniform is their “dress uniform”. Many Canadians only see Mounties in red on American TV shows or while watching the “Musical Ride”.
5. Canadians have a strong, weird accent. FALSE-ISH. Well, I have never heard any Canadians speak in the accent adopted by movies such as Strange Brew. However, it sounds as though it may have been based on the regional accents of those living in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. However, it has still been over-rendered and made ridiculous for comedic purposes on TV and in film.
6. All Canadians are white and speak English. FALSE. Canada is a multicultural country. People of all races, ethnicities, and walks of life live here. Only in pop culture do you see this false homogenized view of Canada. If you look at the real make-up of this country, it is very diverse.
7. Toronto is the capital of Canada. FALSE. Ottawa is the capital of Canada. However, the big TO does have some special things about it even if it isn’t the political center of the Canadian universe. Toronto is the largest Canadian city and the capital of its Province, Ontario.
8. Most Canadian Aboriginals live on rural reservations far from civilization and still hunt for food. FALSE. The majority of Canada’s Aboriginal population live in urban centers these days and buy their food from the supermarket.
9. Most Canadian roads outside the city aren’t paved. HMMMM FALSE-ISH… Yes, we have gravel roads and dirt roads, and even winter-only roads with ice bridges, but most official roads shown on the maps are paved. Of course, there are always very rural range roads and unofficial roads that won’t be paved, but chances are most places you want to drive to in Canada are accessible via paved roads.
10.  All Canadians love the current healthcare system. FALSE. For years, there have been factions in every Province who want to open up healthcare to two-tier and/or privatized solutions. No issue is without both sides of the coin in Canada, as in all other countries.
11.  Canada has no entertainment industry. FALSE. A surprising number of your favourite celebrities are Canadians. Many move to the USA for more opportunities as their careers grow, but there is an industry here where they make their debuts. Ex. Nina Dobrev (of Vampire Diaries fame) is a Canadian citizen (and a Bulgarian immigrant!) who used to act in the popular Canadian teen-soap/drama “Degrassi”.