Canada - what comes to mind...

In a word...when you hear the name: Canada, what immediately comes to mind?

I suppose all countries and their people go through identity crisis' at some point. Here in Canada it seems a way of life.

In all seriousness, what do YOU think?

You don't have to be Canadian to respond... much of a country's official "image" comes from how it is viewed by the outside world in addition to the views and opinions of it's people.


Seeing as one line posts won't be allowed (I think)...let's hear your top 3 associations when you think - CANADA.

C'mon...do it...might be enlightening.

Originally posted by justgeneric
I suppose all countries and their people go through identity crisis' at some point. Here in Canada it seems a way of life.

What exactly are you talking about here?

Originally posted by justgeneric
You don't have to be Canadian to respond... much of a country's official "image" comes from how it is viewed by the outside world in addition to the views and opinions of it's people.

People may think what they want. I believe our official image comes from the Canadians themselves.

Originally posted by justgeneric
Seeing as one line posts won't be allowed (I think)...let's hear your top 3 associations when you think - CANADA.

One liners are forgiveable on BTS so you have nothing to worry about.

What do I think of when I think of Canada?

Proud, Freedom, Compassion, Beautiful, Open-Minded, Forgiveness.

Hunting and fishing..

I have this distorted view of Canada. I see it as all country and no city life. Even tho I know better.. I think it comes from being a kid and only going to the country.

Sovereign, Young, Potential.

Sub one picture for each word and presto a 3000 word post... I'd also add "At-Risk", "Multicultural" and "Woefully-understaffed".

Victor K.

Originally posted by V Kaminski
Sovereign, Young, Potential.

Well said.

Now whats this all abooot!!!!!!!


[edit on 24-9-2006 by Faint]

Thanks, it's kind of a thing I'm working on...

I asked a few people I know what they thought Canada's "identity" was...and damned if they could give me a short sweet answer.

I heard...it's complex, or "we're not american", or "what do you mean?"

You see, many countries have a sort of "slogan"...I checked Canada's Tourism Commission and you know what ours is...GET THIS:

Discover Our True Nature

Now...the majority of people might not automatically get the image of Canada as a naturally beautiful country (as the "slogan implies").

Tongue in cheek it could be quite a hillarious thing if you like to play on words.

I get visions of Canadians in the masses parading around in fish net stocking, smoking a big fatty, while plotting some big conspiracyagainst GE or The Crown Corporation...

Seriously though, Identity is what we view ourselves as a nation as... a creed, a slogan, something that immediately comes to mind as being synonymous with Canada...we don't have any one thing...what we get is several paragraphs or a three minute digression about Americans and how we're NOT like them.

USA has - Home of the Brave, In God We Trust and as Neil Diamond coined it best: Land of liberty, of thee I sing...

Australia has: The Land Down Under - and really cool accents and everything ending in the "ee" sound - barby, cricky, Matey...

So...Canada as the second largest country (remember africa is not a country but a continent - same with Russia)...we "should" have a synonymous word or slogan.

I know this has been debated in Canada since the "way way back ages" but really...

What is Canada's Identity - all encompassing.

YOu say Canada


I think

Yukon
boreal forests
222's


Canada:
Gold, Green, and pain free!

[edit on 24-9-2006 by spacedoubt]

How about The "green" Country.

i think of the "O, Canada" Disney CircleVision 360 movie in the Canadian Pavillion at Epcot Center with that great song half in English and half in French about Canada.

It really is a beautiful country.

[edit on 9/24/2006 by djohnsto77]

For me Canada and expescially Vancouver has a human face and her name was Judith. I'll never forget you or the Great white north and the warmth and love you showed me.

Take off eh... wanna go to Tim's for a maple syrup cruller? Shoot some pucks at the garage door? Or go to the Legion and not have a smoke and swill a draught?

No, let's go to the curling sheet and get loaded eh, their bar's better and has a bigger screen - got FOX too. See those two last week beatin' on each other with the brooms... boy did he ever piss her off eh... No, it wasn't shot rock dummy... he went over the hack line. What your Arctic-Cat won't start? Here get a boost off the battery of my Ski-Doo. Oh, they yanked your license eh, OK.

Let's go... down to the dam and fish smelts and get eatin' alive by black-flies and keep warm with Screech. Hey no, I know, let's get drunk and ride our sleds across the Lake after dark! OPP can't pull us over that easy with the boat eh... if we get 'em goin' real fast maybe we can make it to the Kee to Bala... you got enough gas? Here pour some laquer-thinners in the tank. Doughnuts? Smokes? Toques? Glad we got OHIP... there's beer at the Kee eh? Who's playin' - The Hip and Blue Rodeo... when's Bedouin Sound Clash coming back?... them guys are funny... remember the Max Webster concert?... dude you were wasted - Ralph-Klein-wasted.

You looked so funny hanging off the balcony by your gotchies with those American's in the big boat playin' tetherball with you an' playin' air guitar... and singing Closer To The Heart... if you weren't my brother I'd disown you eh. No. I'm more like Ricky, you're more like Bubbs. Julian? No way - he can't be gay - dude stop that...

No. Stop. Don't drink the laquers big dummy-ugly... we got more CC - drink that... No. You'll be sorry. I'll be lookin' for you on a different label? No. You'll be lookin' for me on a different label... hey let's go to the Chinese food place - Mrs. Lee does this thing with the back-bacon eh... Yeah, the bacon balls... want onel? Mmmmm, yeah with the apricot breading... here. I got two in my sled's dash-box only a couple-a-three days old... of course Bobby Orr was better than Gretzky, you're right they ain't Gordie Howe... No. You take off. Stop punching me or I'll tell Mom and your wife... Mom still doesn't know you failed Grade 13 calculus. Gimme that cruller it's mine - I'm bleeding - OK - drop the gloves and I'm gonna whip a Tie Domi on you. You're no Brett Hart - I'm Tiger Geet Singh... Oh sorry, sorry, I call neutral corners, I didn't mean to get you in the Ed Grimley's... it's drivin you mental I'm must say! You hurl funny - how do you get it to come out your nose like that?

Any resemblance to person(s) real or fictious is entirely co-incidental... LOL.

Victor K.

[edit on 24-9-2006 by V Kaminski]

[edit on 24-9-2006 by V Kaminski]

Went for the first time recently and loved it.

Big, open spaces, nice people, felt safe compared to the UK, surprisingly nice beer, a PITA if you want a cigarette, not bad food, and pleasingly non-American.

Originally posted by Strangerous
Went for the first time recently and loved it.

Big, open spaces, nice people, felt safe compared to the UK, surprisingly nice beer, a PITA if you want a cigarette, not bad food, and pleasingly non-American.

Where did you visit?

Montreal is probably the most scenic city as well as a killer party scene with exceptionally "friendly" females.

Vancover is picturesque, though parts of it are grody, run down, and crack infested.

Toronto is, well, Green. Lot's and Lots of Green in our city. Good shows(not as good as Broadway, but it's up there). Urban populace, without the Urban rudeness. One of the most diverse cities in the world, last time I heard we had over 150 Nationalities living here, with tons of Ethnic "old country" style restaurants(Greek Town in the east end(Broadview and Danforth) is where the best food is at ). Bit of a homelessness problem due to anti-anti-poverty legistlation in the 90s, and in the winter our streets looks simply awefull if we don't have much snow on the ground cuz our street cleaning equipment doesn't work in temperatures below 10 celcius.

[edit on 24-9-2006 by sardion2000]

[edit on 24-9-2006 by sardion2000]

Originally posted by justgeneric
In a word...when you hear the name: Canada, what immediately comes to mind?
Seeing as one line posts won't be allowed (I think)...let's hear your top 3 associations when you think - CANADA.

i think of...

Bears
Budz
Igloos

my best friend is in Kelowna, BC; will go there someday soon...

In a word...when you hear the name: Canada, what immediately comes to mind?

COLD

I think of this

To be honest the first thing that comes into my head if I were asked the question Canada - what comes to mind... would be Canadians, as the amusing advert says they can sow their flag proudly on their backpack, they seem to me at least to be a nation thats doing more good than bad unlike some nations I could name.

Cheers Canada for setting us all an example to follow

Originally posted by sardion2000

Vancover is picturesque, though parts of it are grody, run down, and crack infested.

Toronto is, well, Green. Lot's and Lots of Green in our city. [edit on 24-9-2006 by sardion2000]

Crack infested??? No more than other cities pal! Toronto green? Its a concrete jungle compared to Vancouver!

They dont call this Province Beautiful British Columbia for nothing!!!!




McP

The crack, infested remarks, I was only talking about parts of vancover. I have quite a bit of family living out there as well as having visited there myself a few times in the past and have seen these area's and let me tell you, the per capita rate is far higher then it is in Toronto. If you didn't notice, I bitched much more about my city then any of the other ones on my list so lets not argue okay? I was more then fair...

As for the concrete jungle remark, it only looks that way when viewed from the water front(which was completely ruined by poor building codes). Our downtown is pretty small. You want concrete jungle, go to newyork.

When looking from the top of the CN Tower, the amount of green spaces both to the east and the west is immense. Don't take my word for it, come and take a look. I also said we didn't have more then any other place, we just have more for a city of our size.

[edit on 24-9-2006 by sardion2000]

[edit on 24-9-2006 by sardion2000]

Thanks and keep 'em coming...

UK Wizard, you know those Molson's comercials are damn good huh?

For the Vancouver lovers, I can't agree more (both the negative and the positive) both a beautiful place and an ugle place at times and certain areas.

I startrt to see that Canada is diverse, not just in it's inhabitants and but in the images it generates...

Montreal (planning a visit next summer) is as I am told absolutely beautiful.

Toronto, prides itself on it parks and greenery as well as it's architecture.

Victor...I think nearly all of those have been spoken in American films yes? LOL...either that or you have been to the eastern coastal cities...

The real concrete jungle in Canada is Calgary...it's a very dusty, dry pine filled city. I lived there my whole live before moving to vancouver to raise my kid. Never go back I say...

I guess in my old(er) age I am starting to realize that I really don't know much about this country...and the fact that canada, while recognizable and explainable to the inside and outside world...still has no particular "catch phrase"

Three words to sum up Canada.

Tolerant
Open-minded (I know that's two but it's my thread)
Progressive

True North Strong and Free is pretty good but that's not the official slogan...

Like I said keep 'em coming, the input is awesome...and not one Dudley dooright comment as yet...I am impressed.