UVic History in Art Professor Says the Nature of Canadian Humour Stems from Living Next to U.S.A

Dr. Christopher Thomas, a history in art professor and authority on Canadian and American culture at the University of Victoria, says that Canada’s self-deprecating humour is partly a result of its subordinate mentality. “Modern Canadian identity largely derives from reacting to the American presence,” he says. “After the American civil war there began a tremendous spread of American wealth, power, militarism and popular culture, and here’s Canada, more or less abandoned by Britain, struggling as a nation next door.” Thomas says that subordinate societies often specialize in entertainment and humour as a way of coping, and that it’s no surprise entertainers are one of Canada’s biggest exports. “I think humour and patriotism in a country like Canada can be a form of resistance, they’re something we should be supporting. We have an irony about us, and we don’t take ourselves seriously. I think there’s even a level at which Canadians are laughing at our own need to be Canadian.”

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