Why I Hate Canadians [Paperback]

Will Ferguson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1999

First published in 1997, this hilarious book launched satirist Will Ferguson's career. Challenging the notion that Canadians are “nice,” the book asks, “Do we as Canadians deserve a country so great?” Tackling subjects from Canada's favorite inbred royals to the mighty beaver as national icon, from sex in a canoe to all-Canadian "superhero" Captain Canuck, Ferguson rampages across the cultural landscape. The book also provides a fast-paced, opinionated overview of telling moments in Canadian history, including its run-amok Mounties and “fun-loving days” of the country's (unacknowledged) slave trade.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Douglas & Mcintyre Ltd (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550546007
• ISBN-13: 978-1550546002
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #623,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a deeper look at canadians, January 26, 2004

By 

"spaceprincess12" (Ottawa, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why I Hate Canadians (Paperback)

There's something very refreshing about the way Will Ferguson looks at Canadians. Here is a writer who isn't afraid to tackle both sides of our national character -- to acknowledge the bad along with the good. Like any other country in the world, we've got plenty of black spots on our record ... and we're terribly bad at admitting that they exist.

Ferguson raises a number of questions about our national fixations and delusions. Why do we think we're so nice, and why are we so proud of it? Why are we so obsessed with how much land we've got? Why do we persist in claiming that "Superman is Canadian!"? And when are we going to stop constantly comparing ourselves to the United States?

If you are Canadian, or if you know a lot of Canadians, odds are that you will find yourself, over and over again, shaking your head, laughing out loud, and saying to yourself, "that's so true!" The frank, honest humour in Ferguson's writing makes the terrible truth about ourselves surprisingly easy to accept.

Despite the title, it's quite clear that Ferguson is, in his own way, very patriotic. This book is not all about saying "Canadians suck." We have it in us to be a great people, and there are plenty of things we really SHOULD be proud of. Ferguson doesn't hesitate to point these things out. We are one of the few countries in the world to be born without a bloody revolution. We are the founders of peacekeeping and the home of multiculturalism. So why is it that we always point to the fact that we're not American when we want to demonstrate how great we are?

"Canada is Canada," says Ferguson. "You can't understand it. Don't try." But try he does, and succeeds better than any other writer I've read.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A funny, wise work of genius, May 13, 2000

By 

"thisnicknameisnottaken" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why I Hate Canadians (Paperback)

This was given to me by a Canadian, and I'm eternally in her debt as a result, because this is one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read. Ranging from laugh-out-loud funny to non-schmaltzy poignance, this is Will Ferguson at his best: dismantling myth piece by piece to give us a better view of what really lies at Canada's heart.

A Canadian himself, Will decries Canadian 'niceness', skewers Canadian attitudes towards America, despairs at the country's politics, and (in my favourite section) takes a merciless and hilarious look at Canadian popular culture. He doesn't hate Canadians - he loves them, and it shows.

Beautifully written, insightful, touching, and entertaining, this book should be read by everyone interested in what nationhood really means.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why I Agree With Will Ferguson, November 15, 2002

By 

Pierce (Edmonton, AB, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why I Hate Canadians (Paperback)

It's about time somebody asked the right questions, poking holes in all of the delusions that Canadians base their identity upon. If you define your identity as a Canadian by negation (I am not American, I am not British, I am not that cold, I don't live in an igloo) then this book may offend you deeply.
The author is not entirely insensitive. In fact, he's probably more proudly Canadian for the right reasons than any of us. It is our delusions that he attacks and, as is evident in our beer commercials, our delusions are held onto fiercely.
Ghandi said, "I like your Christ, just not your Christians."
Ferguson seems to say, "I love Canada, but I hate Canadians."
Are we worthy of the beautiful country we live in?
Are we as "nice" as we think we are?
Hockey, The Royal Family, Beer, Guns, keeping the Americans out, the French in, and making the Natives disappear. All of the nastier sides of Canadianism, Ferguson brings to the surface and forces us to face the demons of past and present.
Definately worth the read.
If you get a chance, check out Ferguson's article in a recent Maclean's. Camping with his son in the great Canadian wilderness.