Posted on 03/15/2004 8:04:42 AM PST by albertabound
Mar. 14, 2004. 04:02 PM
Canadians call U.S. best pal - Yanks pick Brits: Poll
MONTREAL (CP) — The best-friend relationship that Canada and the United States once enjoyed might have become more of a one-way affair.
While 50 per cent of Canadians in a recent Leger Marketing poll said the United States was Canada's "best friend," only 20 per cent of American respondents in the same survey felt likewise about their northern neighbour.
Britain, which has forged even closer political ties with the United States in recent years, topped the best-friend list for 62 per cent of Americans.
Twenty-five per cent of Canadians chose Britain as their country's best buddy.
The poll also suggested that 68 per cent of Canadians thought the two countries were very different, while 29 per cent believed they were very much alike.
Among Americans, the numbers were reversed — 61 per cent said the countries were very much alike, compared with 31 per cent who said they were very different.
The poll of 1,501 Canadians and 1,035 Americans was conducted Feb. 17-22. The Canadian numbers are considered accurate within 2.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, while the margin of error for the U.S. sample is three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
One keen observer of Canadian-U.S. relations said he wasn't surprised at the findings of the two questions because Canada is not on the radar screen of the average American on a daily basis.
"The average American hears about Britain all the time," said Harold Waller, chair of McGill University's North American Studies Program.
"He hears about (British Prime Minister) Tony Blair, he's aware of the fact they fought the war together in Iraq, that they've been allies for years and years."
Waller said Canadians know a lot more about their southern neighbour than Americans do about them.
"Americans know almost nothing about Canada and Canadians," he said in an interview. "They simply assume that things are pretty much the same here.
"They don't see any Canadian TV. They don't see any programs about Canada. Canada only makes the news in the U.S. when something big happens like an election or disaster.
"Canadians on the other hand, because they know about the U.S., they're more sensitive to the differences between the two countries."
An American who follows the relationship admitted that "U.S. knowledge of Canadians is little bit limited."
But Christopher Sands, senior associate with the Canada Project for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Canadians may have been doing their patriotic duty in emphasizing the differences between the two countries.
"Scratch the surface, I think we're fundamentally quite similar but that's a very uncomfortable answer for a country that's sort of searching for definitions of itself," Sands said from Washington, D.C.
As for the friends angle, Sands said there is no surprise that Britain was way out in the lead among Americans.
"The American public has accepted that, post-Sept. 11, allies have to be looked at by what they do, not what they say.
"And suddenly, there's this sense that when we were in a crunch, when we needed people, Britain could be counted on."
Sands also had an interesting take on his compatriots' general knowledge of the world.
"If you did a Family Feud-style poll and you said `Other than the United States, name countries,' the average American could probably get to 12," he said. "Britain's definitely one of them. But if you ask them England against Scotland, you start puzzling them."
As I said, "No doubt room for improvement".
I believe we're both in the same canoe. The bow paddler and the stern paddler have different functions but they better coordinate their actions because we're in some hellish rapids with both of us in danger of capsize.
Don't guess; read. Or, get someone that can read to do it for you, Eh!!.
I have provided the entire national history of Canada on this very thread.
Yes...both in the same canoe.
We paddle, we repair, we gaurd, we protect, we sacrifice; you ride, you eat, you spit on us & our children.
Yes...both in the same canoe.
You are a credit to your skool.
The Canadians I've served with are outstanding, conservative individualists. Outside of the military, I don't know. Mainstream Canadian press hates Alberta and treats people from their the same way our press treats conservatives. Canadian news leads with UN stories and now Sesame Street has Kofii ANnan as the guest almost everyday.
A Canadian tales a stand against insult.
Now, that is rich.
It is not generally known that virtually all of the Canadians serving in combat during WW II were volunteers.
Because of opposition to Canada's involvement in the war Canada had no draft until very late in the conflict, and even then draftees were by law exempt from posting out of the country.
So when one speaks of Canadian valor one is only referring to some — mostly non-French — Canadians.
That it angers me would be mysterious to any without a spine. Spare me your show of indignation.
What reaction, to the insults from you fools, did you expect?
What do they want ?....
Canada is like France.. "They are there whenever THEY need US"..
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.