When Americans say Canadians are polite, is that meant as a compliment?

Question

Or maybe politeness is not what Americans want since it might be enforced by bullying and they don't want to be bullied?

MattGaiser · Accepted Answer

It has a lot of potential meanings. There is often an implied “but” that follows after, depending on the context.
A common one is that Canadians are polite but not warm.
Another that comes up, especially in the context of Americans, is that Canadians are polite, but won’t push to win.

AnimalMuppet · Answer

I think it's at least a bit of a compliment, since the majority of Americans (or so I think?) view politeness as a positive, even if they don't practice it much themselves.But I think it's mostly just an observation: "Hey, that's really different!"

pinewurst · Answer

As a USian who frequently visits Canada, I definitely see it as praise. I don't find Canadians any less warm than USians either.

PaulHoule · Answer

Being a Canadian means never having to say you&rsquo;re sorey (s.i.c.)

yuppie_scum · Answer

Yes. Don&rsquo;t read too much into it.

tboyd47 · Answer

No.

johntiger1 · Answer

Explain

When Americans say Canadians are polite, is that meant as a compliment?

Or maybe politeness is not what Americans want since it might be enforced by bullying and they don't want to be bullied?

It has a lot of potential meanings. There is often an implied “but” that follows after, depending on the context.
A common one is that Canadians are polite but not warm.
Another that comes up, especially in the context of Americans, is that Canadians are polite, but won’t push to win.

I think it's at least a bit of a compliment, since the majority of Americans (or so I think?) view politeness as a positive, even if they don't practice it much themselves.
But I think it's mostly just an observation: "Hey, that's really different!"

As a USian who frequently visits Canada, I definitely see it as praise. I don't find Canadians any less warm than USians either.

Being a Canadian means never having to say you’re sorey (s.i.c.)

Yes. Don’t read too much into it.

No.

Explain

When Americans say Canadians are polite, is that meant as a compliment?

Or maybe politeness is not what Americans want since it might be enforced by bullying and they don't want to be bullied?

It has a lot of potential meanings. There is often an implied “but” that follows after, depending on the context.A common one is that Canadians are polite but not warm.Another that comes up, especially in the context of Americans, is that Canadians are polite, but won’t push to win.

I think it's at least a bit of a compliment, since the majority of Americans (or so I think?) view politeness as a positive, even if they don't practice it much themselves.But I think it's mostly just an observation: "Hey, that's really different!"

As a USian who frequently visits Canada, I definitely see it as praise. I don't find Canadians any less warm than USians either.

Being a Canadian means never having to say you’re sorey (s.i.c.)

Yes. Don’t read too much into it.

No.

Explain

It has a lot of potential meanings. There is often an implied “but” that follows after, depending on the context.
A common one is that Canadians are polite but not warm.
Another that comes up, especially in the context of Americans, is that Canadians are polite, but won’t push to win.

I think it's at least a bit of a compliment, since the majority of Americans (or so I think?) view politeness as a positive, even if they don't practice it much themselves.
But I think it's mostly just an observation: "Hey, that's really different!"