But as far as the rest of the world is concerned, we are best known for embracing US culture and throwing it back in its face. Politely.

Our national identity, if we have one, could be said to be low self-esteem, or at the very least chronic insecurity. We have no real ‘star system’ of our own because deep down we truly believe that, to quote Mike Myers, “We’re not worthy”. For a Canadian to be considered a star in Canada he or she must first succeed in the US. None of which applies to French Canada, which avidly supports and celebrates its culture – particularly comedy. It is surely no coincidence that the world’s largest annual comedy festival is held in French-speaking Montreal, Quebec.

Cold comforts

So what is it that makes us so hilarious?

According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, the first major work of purely Canadian humour was Presbyterian minister Thomas McCulloch’s satirical Letters of Mephibosheth Stepsure, which ran from1821 to 1823 in the Halifax weekly Acadian Recorder. They have been described by the critic Northrop Frye as "quiet, observant” and “deeply conservative in a human sense”.