An anthropological analysis of the stereotype of the polite Canadian that explores the origins of the stereotype and its relationship with both British and American culture.
Shoe removal: this was not assumed when I was growing up in Montreal. Until about 1960 winter boots, including child, male and female adult, were worn OVER shoes, so slushy residue could be shed at the entryway. I first encountered the unspoken expectation in Guyana,where sandals were removed upon entering.
Crosswalks: None I knew of in the Montreal in which I lived ‘til I was almost 30, when I moved to Ontario. Even after twice that long, and 40 years in Toronto, I fail to trust them! Relatively recently a traffic light, activated by a pedestrian using button on a pole on the sidewalk, was installed at many crosswalks, and even more recently, the law was changed to require a driver to stop if a pedestrian seemed about to wish to cross. Prior to that, incredibly, the pedestrian had to be on the roadbed or the driver could proceed! Why would I consider stepping onto the roadbed until I could be sure the driver would stop?!
Saskatoon had long had “scramble corners”, where one could cross a broad intersection diagonally! Terrifying! Even after an academic year there I would cross only along with other more experienced and confident pedestrians!
I often continue to do so at the “less complex” Toronto crosswalks!
Interesting! I think Quebec is definitely a cultural outlier (which, of course, is a strong part of its identity as a province). In their article on Canadian nationalism, Greg Millard and his colleagues are very explicit about the fact that they are only discussing nationalism in English-speaking Canada - likewise, I think very little of what I've written here applies to Quebec, although I've only visited a couple of times.
If I'm understanding you correctly, those 'scramble corners' are quite common here in London, so they might well be an artefact of Canada's colonial heritage as I'd never come across them before moving here. Basically, when the pedestrian light turns green, every man and his dog can cross diagonally (and straight) in any direction at a T-junction.
Actually, something that drives me nuts about Canada is how different the provincial traffic rules are. Shortly after I moved to Vancouver I had a huge car accident, because I had no clue what flashing green lights meant! Apparently, they are the source of a number of accidents because their meaning differs radically from province to province.
I have never driven in any Canadians city or province, but I do know that there is something different (I cannot say what) in rules for a driver turning on green or red in Toronto than was the case in Montreal. It definitely affected my behaviour as a pedestrian in my learning to cross streets here!
Herewith two oldish items on the topic of “Canadian niceness”. I am sure there are many more, including your thoughts and contributions, of course.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-march-31-2015-1.3016006/canadians-the-nicest-people-in-the-world-says-bbc-but-are-we-1.3016015
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/01/08/canadians-more-polite-on-twitter-than-americans-study-says.html
Shoe removal: this was not assumed when I was growing up in Montreal. Until about 1960 winter boots, including child, male and female adult, were worn OVER shoes, so slushy residue could be shed at the entryway. I first encountered the unspoken expectation in Guyana,where sandals were removed upon entering.
Crosswalks: None I knew of in the Montreal in which I lived ‘til I was almost 30, when I moved to Ontario. Even after twice that long, and 40 years in Toronto, I fail to trust them! Relatively recently a traffic light, activated by a pedestrian using button on a pole on the sidewalk, was installed at many crosswalks, and even more recently, the law was changed to require a driver to stop if a pedestrian seemed about to wish to cross. Prior to that, incredibly, the pedestrian had to be on the roadbed or the driver could proceed! Why would I consider stepping onto the roadbed until I could be sure the driver would stop?!
Saskatoon had long had “scramble corners”, where one could cross a broad intersection diagonally! Terrifying! Even after an academic year there I would cross only along with other more experienced and confident pedestrians!
I often continue to do so at the “less complex” Toronto crosswalks!
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Interesting! I think Quebec is definitely a cultural outlier (which, of course, is a strong part of its identity as a province). In their article on Canadian nationalism, Greg Millard and his colleagues are very explicit about the fact that they are only discussing nationalism in English-speaking Canada - likewise, I think very little of what I've written here applies to Quebec, although I've only visited a couple of times.
If I'm understanding you correctly, those 'scramble corners' are quite common here in London, so they might well be an artefact of Canada's colonial heritage as I'd never come across them before moving here. Basically, when the pedestrian light turns green, every man and his dog can cross diagonally (and straight) in any direction at a T-junction.
Actually, something that drives me nuts about Canada is how different the provincial traffic rules are. Shortly after I moved to Vancouver I had a huge car accident, because I had no clue what flashing green lights meant! Apparently, they are the source of a number of accidents because their meaning differs radically from province to province.
I have never driven in any Canadians city or province, but I do know that there is something different (I cannot say what) in rules for a driver turning on green or red in Toronto than was the case in Montreal. It definitely affected my behaviour as a pedestrian in my learning to cross streets here!