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But how did the professor know these boors were Canadian? “The reason you know they’re Canadians is because Canadians mark themselves; they constantly wear items of clothing that identify them as Canadian,” he said.

Just in case the locals mistook them for Americans, Brits or Australians, the small group was “covered in maple leafs.”

Mr. Thompson was born in Winnipeg, taught at McGill University in the 1980s, spent 30 years in North Carolina and now lives in New Westminster, B.C.

He has spent much of his professional career steeped in Canadian studies, and after four decades “I see no sign that Canadians are thought of as quiet or nice.”

Among Canada’s most treasured national myths is the belief that it is a “polite” nation. Canadians are a quiet, humble and “nice” people. And for this, it is said, they are revered abroad — particularly when compared with the arrogant, “do you speak English?!” reputation of their “Ugly American” neighbours.

But Canada is also a nation of rowdy hockey fans, obnoxious backpackers, arrogant snowbirds and tightfisted tourists, all mixed in with a few doses of hefty jingoism and heavy drinking. Roll it all together, and it is easy to see why large corners of the globe have yet to be sold on the myth of the Nice Canuck.

In the distant reaches of central Europe, there are apparently enough fond feelings for Canada that the region can support a periodical on the topic: The Central European Journal of Canadian Studies.