The Economist on Canada

This is the best summary of the social culture of Anglophone Canada, particularly its Ontario branch, that I have ever seen.

My favorite bullet points are:

"Risk-taking and unconventional thinking do not tend to be the norm. In general, expect your business contacts to be cautious, and to value organisation and detail."

"Many Canadians nurture both inferiority and superiority complexes about America. Tread carefully."

The last one is particularly true. Living beside the US is not always easy and Canadians generally handle it with good humor (or humour if you prefer), but it is wise not to tease them overmuch or to press them too hard about the (very large) differences in how the Canadian health care system gets talked about in Canada when Americans are and are not present to listen.

Oh, and Canadians do indeed celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday, and they do so, appropriately enough, by drinking lots of beer in what they call the "May two-four" weekend, where the two-four refers to both the date and the number of cans of beer.