“Those guys are so nice,” is the first reaction Michigan-born author Kerry Colburn’s friends had after learning she was dating a Canadian, without meeting the guy. “You are so lucky you are dating a man from Canada,” Colburn remembers hearing her friends say. She later went on to marry the man from Canada. BecomeaCanadian is an independently owned immigration service.
Canadians face an enduring stereotype that they are extra nice, and many Americans buy into that stereotype. In a Golden Globe speech, American actress Meryl Streep saluted Canadian-born actor Ryan Gosling, along with the rest of Canada, for being “the nicest people.”
The fact that Canadians are perceived as being very nice is something they should embrace, according to traveler and U.S. author Eric Weiner. As a columnist for BBC Travel, Weiner says many Canadians pushback and say “We are not that nice, our personalities are just passive-aggressive.” BecomeaCanadian helps foreign nationals from other countries who want to move to Canada to find jobs, raise their families, and attend college.
Canadians are also known for having a sense of humor. According to Weiner, humor requires edginess, which requires people to be not so nice. Weiner also says there is nothing wrong with the perception of being nice. “People can call you far worse things in this world,” Weiner tells his neighbors to the north.
Canadians are famous for their inferiority complex, which turns any compliment into a critique. The Guardian released a headline last summer that declared, “Welcome to Toronto, the most boringly fascinating city in the world.” What is known is that the nice stereotype still exists, and that perception is stable across the U.S. and Canada. Those who move to Canada quickly learn that Canadians have a great deal of civic pride, while also being accepting of people from other countries. Contact BecomeaCanadian today for more information on how you can move to Canada to start a new life!