VIEWS FROM THE SOUTH — The Privy Council Office tasked the pollsters at Advanis with understanding the psyche of Americans (and Canadians) as the world emerged from the Trump era. Advanis called 2,000 Canadians and 1,100 Americans between December and February. The findings were published online this week. The actual findings were only published as hard-to-digest spreadsheets ( download them here!). — Top of the world: Americans trust Canadians more than anyone else on the planet. Nine in 10 respondents gave Canada solid grades, compared to 83 percent for the United Kingdom, 63 percent for Israel and 60 percent for Mexico. They gave China the cold shoulder: 72 percent of Americans distrust that country. Russia scored even worse at 73 percent. — A trust imbalance: The vibes don't go both ways. Only 62 percent of Canadians trust their closest neighbor, and only 47 percent have a positive impression of the superpower. Meanwhile, 94 percent of Americans look favorably on Canada — an opinion that's improved for one in four respondents over the past five years. No surprise that frosty relations with Trump, who was massively unpopular outside his borders, had 73 percent of Canadians feeling worse about America over the same period. — Pipelines and trade: It may have been Biden's administration that finally kiboshed the Keystone XL pipeline, but Americans actually view the project slightly more favorably than Canadians (56 percent support vs. 54 percent). And Trump's protectionist-fueled move to withdraw his country from the Trans-Pacific Partnership appears to have been offside with public opinion. Three-quarters of respondents said they'd support rejoining the trade bloc. BORDER PLAN — So much focus has been on when the U.S. will start lifting Covid restrictions at its land borders to discretionary travel. This week, more than two dozen business associations, corporations and municipal groups pressed the Biden administration to start explaining how it plans to reopen when the time does come. They sent a letter to members of U.S. Congress, urging them to direct the Department of Homeland Security to provide an operational plan for once the measures have been pared down. WELCOME TO THE NEW GUY — Biden's first ambassador to Canada still needs to be confirmed before he can move into Lornado. Last week, Corridors tasked four former envoys with offering advice to incoming telecom exec-turned-diplomat David Cohen. Now, we're handing the floor to Jordan Foisy, a comedian and writer for CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes, who offers his own welcome to Cohen. Hello new ambassador! It has been nearly two years since America had an ambassador to Canada. In case the U.S. has forgotten what makes Canada Canada, I've whipped up a little primer. I hope you enjoy the complimentary bagged milk — I imagine the embassy will hook you up. If you check out a map on your way in, the first thing you'll notice is how big this place is. It's like 108 Maines. But we're all very spread out. Basically, Canada is about taking the most beautiful drives you've ever seen to get to some of the most boring places on Earth. The Canadian experience is driving through a stunning vista filled with crashing waves and heart-stopping cliffs to get to a place called Fergus or Nelson where the only thing to do that weekend is Rob and Janine's stag and doe. There are five major cities in Canada: Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, and, despite its best efforts, Ottawa. Toronto is the biggest and most economically important, which Canadians acknowledge by loathing and hating it. Vancouver thinks it's better than the rest of the country, while Montreal is better than the rest of the country. Calgary is like a friend you love, who embarrasses you when they drink too much, and Ottawa is filled with people whose most interesting quality is being able to canoe. While trade between our nations is incredibly important, America also plays a key role in Canadian culture; namely, you tell us what it is. Canadians are awfully bad at noticing which Canadians should be famous. If it were left to us, we'd just have Walter Gretzky, Polkaroo, and the Philadelphia Cream Cheese Angel. This is where you guys come in. Nothing makes Canadians appreciate a fellow Canadian more than American fame. If they hadn't gotten big in the States, Drake would be playing teacher in a wheelchair on the new season of Degrassi and Dan Levy would still be best known as the pair of sentient eyebrows talking about The Hills on MTV Canada. (Though, heaven help you if you don't know a celebrity is Canadian. If you said something like, "Neil Young is from California," it could result in a permanent rift.) The other major contribution you make to our culture is being the source of Canadian smugness. You provide the low, low bar we feel way too good about stepping over — and for that we thank you. A quick thing about manners and customs. Canadians do say "sorry" all the time, but it's not always an apology. It's sometimes more a noise we make to navigate personal space, akin to how bats use echolocation. If I'm moving through a group of people, I'm emitting four or five "sorries" just so they know where I am and that I'm not a threat. Also, Canadians love waiting in a line unnecessarily. When I worked in a coffee shop and someone was looking at the menu, people automatically got behind that person. For no reason! In fact, I could always tell when someone was American when they just skipped to the front of an accidental line. So, I encourage you to do so! No one will say anything, but they will think up some of the most passive-aggressive burns possible. We're a complicated nation with some serious issues. But still, we think we're way better than you. Hopefully this gets you started. Remember: we're big, we're boring, and we want so badly for you to notice us. I hope this wasn't too mean. Sorry. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment