They like to describe themselves that way. I live near the border, so a lot of American Bernie Sanders followers who love the idea of Government health care will also praise Canadians as "polite" and "laid back."
I'm agnostic about it. have met all types. French Canadians are definitely different from Anglo Canadians. Canada, in particular Southern Ontario / GTA, also has so many immigrants, particularly South Asian/Pakis, that there isn't really a "canadian character" or culture there anymore. In those places "Canadian Culture" has simply become like a duty-free at in Dubai or Amsterdam airports - people from everywhere, traveling in their own groups, there simply for the materialism.
and don’t get me started on their driving lol- we use a major turnpike that runs into canada- so lots of canadian drivers on the road- Wowsers- but to be fair- boston drivers aint much better- the advice in boston is ‘never buy a new vehicle- it won’t last long’ - if you ever drive through boston- look at the vehicles- many are dented, scraped etc- doesn’t pay to buy new- lol