The Canadian Style, a way of thinking

Canadian citizens are a mosaic of people linked to various social and ethnic values or linguistic groups. They belong to a lot of different racial and religious backgrounds. Indeed, there is a high proportion of immigrant and aboriginal identities (first nations, mixed­race people, Inuit people, etc.). The reason might be that Europeans have been populating America since 1492 and Asians arrived even before that.

Consequently, they have adopted multiculturalism as their policy for a long time. Thus, it is hard to define a typical Canadian group or culture. Anyway, they have their own particularities linked to the weather, the multiculturalism and the proximity to the USA.

Ottawa and Canadian society

This unknown city was chosen because of its location: between the English­speaking and the French­speaking (Quebec) areas, in order to reduce language tensions. Canada is a bilingual country with two official languages: French and English. Canada is 10 million kilometres long with a population of 33 million people (by way of comparison, it is twenty times bigger than France but twice as less populated). Remember that this multicultural country counts another 12 foreign languages and several native languages as well. Canada enjoys an open and relatively classless society. Most Canadians are proud of the fact that all people deserve the same rights and respect, regardless of their gender, race, religion, or cultural background. People in Canada usually despise comments that seem disrespectful to anyone with a particular background. Canadians seem more tactile than Europeans: most of the time, Canadians hug their friends to say hello (Quebeckers give a kiss). It is not usually considered objectionable to lightly touch someone on the shoulder or elbow during a discussion.

Weather

As you probably know, the winter is really cold in Canada. The temperature can reach the minus 40 Celsius degrees. So you can find a lot a of funny beanies, mittens, gloves or boots. Casual clothes as sweaters are really appreciated. Canadian people rarely judge people on physical appearance or style so feel free to dress as you like. Over there, you will discover winter sports, as ice skating on natural rivers, doing cross­country skiing on hiking trail, snow­shoeing etc.

Nature

Canadians want to take care of their health but unfortunately this country is the first producer of GMO (Genetically­Modified Organisms) in the world. A lot of Canadians are therefore vegetarians or vegans. Furthermore smoking is becoming increasingly unpopular and is not allowed in most public buildings. It is indeed forbidden to smoke within a nine metre radius surrounding any public building. Due to their geography, Canadian people love nature and large spaces. Thus, they practice lots of outdoor sports or activities as hiking, canoeing, camping, hunting, etc.

So take your winter clothes and come to visit this wonderful green country! Enjoy the seasonal delights of a place where everybody says hello in the street with a big smile. But summon up your courage because you have to follow adventurers and you could run into a bear or a wolf into the woods... it does happen!!!