Speaking of hockey, any time Canada loses a hockey game on an international stage, it’s best to keep quiet about the whole thing. Do you think that Brazilians were eager to discuss Germany’s 7-1 thumping of them at this years FIFA World Cup quarterfinals? Enough said.
Canadians are a modest bunch, and we blush easily under the spotlight. That’s why it’s unnecessary to bring up conversations comparing us to Americans. We get it: we’re friendlier, smarter, have better health care and more maple syrup than our friends to the south – so there’s really no reason to draw up silly comparisons between the two of us.
I’m actually going to go ahead and break the second rule of this article, by making one serious note on a distinctive difference between Canada and the United States.It's simply this: religion and politics just aren’t as big of a deal in Canada as they are in the United States. While 76 percent of the Canadian population identify with being apart of a religious group, you won’t find much in the way of religion intervening with federal jurisdiction or spurring heated debates for that matter. Same with politics: most people consider these topics more or less of a private opinion, and simply don’t bring them up in conversation all too often.
The Quebec Sovereignty Movement is a political campaign that advocates for independent autonomy for the Canadian province of Quebec. The movement first emerged with the formation of the Parti Québécois, a Quebec provincial political party, in the late 1960s. Yes, that’s right: this crusade for an independent Quebec has lasted nearly 50 years now, with many Canadians feeling slightly annoyed by all the constant bickering coming out of it. At this point, I think most of us don’t care either way if Quebec leaves us or not! This is definitely a topic to stay away from.
Asking about the weather is usually a desperate and awkward last-ditch conversation topic in most places around the world – but it’s especially bad in Canada. The answers are always: “yes, it’s cold out”, “yes, there’s a lot of snow this year (just like there is every year)” and “yes, you can use WD-40 to free up your frozen pant zipper”.