quotations about Canada
He's got this thing about Canada. He says it's like America only with health care and no guns, and you can live up to your potential there and not have to worry about what society thinks or about getting sick or getting shot.
RUTH OZEKI
A Tale for the Time Being
More polar bears live in Canada than in the rest of the world combined, which raises the question, Why the hell did we choose the beaver as our national emblem? We could have had Nanuk of the North, Lord of the Arctic, as our symbol. Instead we got stuck with Squirrelly McTeeth.
WILL FERGUSON
Beautry Tips from Moose Jaw: Travels in Search of Canada
In Canada, a gay marriage is one in which the husband doesn't watch hockey.
CONAN O'BRIEN
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
There are, however, certain tell-tale signs of Canadian roots. The most obvious, of course, are saying "aboot" for about and putting eh at the end of sentences. While the modern Canadian is far too clever for that--he has long since jettisoned obvious Canadianisms--it is almost impossible to eradicate the inbred slowness, the cultural Epstein-Barr-ness. (Canadians are like computers that take hours to boot up.) The other prominent tip-off is relentless niceness; Canadians feel guilty about making the slightest impositions, and they never forget to say "please" and "thank you," even to bank machines.
STEPHEN PROBYN
"A Canadian-Spotter's Field Manual", Spy, Jan-Feb 1988
Canada is the boring second fiddle in the American symphony.
ANDREI GROMYKO
New York Herald Tribune, June 30, 1953
Canada is not the party. Its the apartment above the party.
CRAIG FERGUSON
Variety, April 28, 2008
They've got trees and mooses and sled dogs
Lots of lumber and lumberjacks and logs!
You may think that's kind of a drag
But you have to go there to get milk in a bag
They say "eh" instead of "what" or "duh"
That's the mighty power of Canada
FIVE IRON FRENZY
"Oh, Canada"
History and politics gave the United States responsibilities few would want. It accepted those responsibilities and the rest of us tagged along. And we in Canada were happy to tag along. We wanted to profit from their economy; we have. We felt free to reduce our military to inconsequence because they would protect us; they have. (In a military sense, do the Americans really need NORAD? Hardly.) We wanted to have the television and washing machines and dishwashers they have; we do. Yet we laughed at their simple-minded glitz, their ignorance of the world -- all the while heading in droves for Las Vegas and Los Angeles. We wanted the American Dream -- without the name and without the responsibilities; we have it.
NEIL BISSOONDATH
Selling Illusions: The Cult of Multiculturalism in Canada
Canada: a country so square that even the female impersonators are women.
RICHARD BRENNER
Outrageous
Canadian cities looked the way American cities did on television.
WILLIAM GIBSON
Spook Country
Canada is either an idea or it does not exist. It is either an intellectual undertaking or it is little more than a resource-rich vacuum lying in the buffer zone just north of a great empire.
JOHN RALSTON SAUL
Reflections of a Siamese Twin
With the thermometer at 30 below zero and the wind behind him, a man walking on Main Street in Winnipeg knows which side of him is which.
STEPHEN LEACOCK
My Discovery of the West
Canada is an open, welcoming country that stands by its citizens. We are a nation of millions of immigrants and refugees, of hundreds of cultures, languages and religions bound by one, unwavering, unshakable belief: we are stronger not in spite of our differences, but because of them.
JUSTIN TRUDEAU
"Justin Truedeau shut down Fox News with a pretty harsh letter", BellMedia, February 1, 2017
Canada is a country that works better in practice than in theory.
STÉPHANE DION
"One nation or many?", The Economist, November 16, 2006
In any world menu, Canada must be considered the vichyssoise of nations--it's cold, half-French, and difficult to stir.
STUART KEATE
attributed, If Ignorance Is Bliss, Why Aren't There More Happy People?
Canada has for many years been a beacon to the rest of the world for its commitment to pluralism and for its support for the multicultural richness and diversity of its peoples.
AGA KHAN IV
press release, "Aga Khan Welcomes Government of Canada's Partnership in New Global Centre for Pluralism, Ottawa, Canada", April 18, 2005
Every Canadian has a complicated relationship with the United States, whereas Americans think of Canada as the place where the weather comes from.
MARGARET ATWOOD
attributed, Trade and American Leadership
Canada is today the most successful pluralist society on the face of our globe, without any doubt in my mind... That is something unique to Canada. It is an amazing global human asset.
AGA KHAN IV
"Cadada: A model for the world", The Globe & Mail, February 2, 2002
Real Canada is where people wear sweaters for survival, not style.
MARK LEIREN-YOUNG
Never Shoot a Stampede Queen
I've been to Canada, and I've always gotten the impression that I could take the country over in about two days.
WILL FERRELL
Twitter, December 18, 2013