The Canadaland Guide to Canada

by Jesse Brown, Vicky Mochama, Nick Zarzycki

Do you think of Canada as that “nice” country with free health care, majestic woodlands, and polite people?

Think again.

The CANADALAND Guide to Canada (Published in America) is an outrageous exposé of Canada’s secrets, scandals, and occasional awkward lapses in proper etiquette.

Inside, you’ll find illustrations, maps, quizzes, and charts that answer the most pressing questions about Canadian history, politics, and culture, such as:

-Canadian cuisine and sexuality: Do they exist?
-What does “sorry” actually mean?
-Justin Bieber, Rob Ford, Malcolm Gladwell: Why?
-What is Québec?
-Should I f*** the prime minister?

This absurd guide digs up everything from buried rage to buried oil, uncovering Canada’s bizarre history and shocking present. One thing is certain: you’ll never look at a Canadian the same way again.

Genres: Nonfiction, Canada, Humor, History, Politics, Cultural, Comedy

256 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2017

Reviews

[Brandon Forsyth · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a very fitting way, this is like an inferior (and cognizant of it) AMERICA: THE BOOK.
There's a lot of interesting and funny stuff here, and it's inspired me to look into some elements of Canada's history that I'm ignorant of (Camp 210 whaaaaat?), but the whole thing is too broad to have anything really hit home. It's high on snark, but low on value.
I'm also confused about who this book is written for: half of it reads like it's seriously written as an exercise in illusion-shattering for Americans considering fleeing Trumpland, but the other half is super insider stuff, like making fun of Diefenbaker and CBC personalities (the book is actually at its best when it skewers Canadian media). Still, despite the haphazard structure, it's worth a read for the iconclast-history-they-didn't-let-you-read angle.

[Patrick Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the Canadaland podcast. I think it often examines topics that go overlooked and asks some important questions.

This doesn't. This is so completely cynical and sarcastic and hateful that I get the impression Brown genuinely doesn't like a thing about Canada. I don't think I'm missing the joke; there are 10-12 genuinely funny jokes in this book, and there's a ton of lesser-known historical facts that are worth spreading. But it literally says nothing positive about an entire country and every single person or group of people therein. It's like Brown is finally unleashing all his nastiest hot takes and massaged them into a thinly-veiled "satire" to avoid any legal issues. Hilarious.

Maybe I'm just getting too old to see the humour in that. Better lean into it and buy myself a Conservative Party membership, I guess.

[Laima · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t really like this book. It was snarky and not funny. The individual topics didn’t cover much information or detail. The layout reminds me of something a fourth grader would submit as a research project. Good work for a 9 year old but that’s about it. I don’t recommend wasting your time or money on this book.

[C.D. King · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tries really hard to make you feel ashamed to be Canadian. Canada is known as a polite and progressive country, and while that's generally true, we also have A LOT of skeletons in our closet. This book takes all of them out and shakes them in your face for the world to see. It dispenses a lot of myths about Canada that other countries have been parroting for so long that we've started to believe them ourselves.

Some of these stories are just silly. Like when American Civil War Veterans invaded Canada in 1866, the head of our military and soon-to-be first Prime Minister, John A. MacDonald, spent the entire battle drunk in his office. Or the fact that in the early days, the government tricked people into moving here by never mentioning the weather or the word "snow" in their immigration material.

Some of the stories are also horrifying. For example, did you know the Indian Act was actually the inspiration for South African government's apartheid policy?

It just goes on and on like that. Page after page of hundreds of short stories, facts and quotes, just hitting you like a machine gun full of Tim Hortons donuts. It's hilarious and cringe-worthy, but it's almost too much. I had to take breaks from it a few times because it was an onslaught of information overload. It's probably better to be read in snippets and funny chunks instead of trying to power through in one sitting. Much like a fine poutine, one cannot gorge oneself too deeply lest one risk throwing up all over the place (I think I screwed up that metaphor, but you get my point).

The level of sarcasm is orbital, which kind of actually distracts from the sheer ridiculousness and extreme unbelievability of some of the true stories. My one complaint is that Brown tries to be a bit too cheeky at times; the stories are over-the-top and funny by themselves, his snide remarks and sarcasm actually made me question which parts were actually true and which were his exaggeration, which led me to have to look up a few of the crazier-sounding facts. Which, come to think of it, may have been his point.

All in all, this is a terrific reference that every Canadian should read. So should every non-Canadian actually. God knows we can stand to be taken down a peg or three; we spend enough time mocking Americans that it's only fair we take a good hard look at ourselves, too.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who this book is for:
Young, sarcastic, caustic persons who have lived (or currently live) in Canada and enjoy SNL.
Or friends of the authors.

Who this book is NOT for:
Sunday school teachers, grandmothers, anyone looking for an honest guidebook on Canadian culture, older, respectful Canadians.

It's clever, snarky and rude. If you're into that sort of thing, carry on and enjoy!
Parts of it were truly funny to me, having lived near and visited Canada most of my life. But there was a lot of it that made me want to apologize to Canada and its people for even having this book in my house.
It was a Goodreads giveaway and this is my honest review.
*now looking for an individual in the first category mentioned to pass this little book on to*

[Ronnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

This is a quick, funny read, scathing and vitriolic but still funny enough to illicit a bark of laughter every few pages. It doesn't really get into depth on any topic, but it's not meant to. Lots of interesting historical tidbits that have been lost to time (or buried deep).

Overall, an enjoyable read.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read it simply for the cover. Not for those who don't enjoy crude humour, but if you do it's worth a look. Yep, I snickered a time or two at the inside, and not so inside jokes.

[Madeleine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a delightful book to read as an ex-pat who has some distance from Canadian culture but also misses it dearly. It was fun to rediscover nuggets of Canadian history that I learned years ago in high school civics and history classes and read some facts that were new to me. As a Canadaland supporter, I think it's important to question national myths and consider how history is presented. Though some parts of the book, such as a series on the disingenuousness of the word "sorry" and a section on Lululemon ("totally not a cult!") were funny, the cynical tone was grating after a while. Universities are "world-class adult daycare centres," Canadian animals are "mostly vermin," geography is "99 percent miserable tundra," and famous musicians are "whiny losers." This would probably make Jesse Brown cringe, but the book made me want to re-read a chapter of Anne of Green Gables. There were also many typos and inconsistent spelling of John A. Macdonald's name.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really quite disappointing. I either missed the humour the author was attempting to convey, or the book was just not funny. Either way I was anxious to read this book and bitterly disappointed.

[Joshua Bertram · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jesse Brown's media criticism and political observations are frequently astute and, frankly, indispensable in the role Canadaland plays in the media landscape in this country. But he's never as clever or funny as it seems like he thinks he is. There are certainly sporadic laughs in The Canadaland Guide to Canada, like the photo of an oil company CEO overseeing the oil sands that is actually just a photo of the Eye of Sauron overlooking Mordor from The Lord of the Rings, or the section ranking the "fuckability" of Canadian Prime Minsters (I wish they had done all of them, not just a handful). We're a country that enjoys making fun of ourselves, but Brown's treatment of Canada is so glib and often the jokes are so lazy and flat, that the entire thing too often feels like a disinterested shrug. There is seemingly no logic to the organization of the book, making it confusing not just in its structure but in its value—the opening explains which parts are fact and which parts are fiction, but the book quickly dispenses with that distinction. If you want a book about how Canada is dumb on the whole and no one should care about it, maybe this is your book. But if you want something that seriously skewers the country's flaws in a genuinely funny way, stick to The Beaverton instead.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Jesse Brown's podcast ("Canadaland") and I could almost hear him as I read through this. It is hysterical at points in the way any country's history can be hilarious but the fact that we Canadians tend to have a rather strong amount of moral superiority it's great to see us taken down a peg too.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fresh take on Canada and its history, although a bit rough take on the French language.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather a scattershot effort but there is so much terrible stuff that has been done and is being done by us smug Canadians that there is more than enough material. If you aren't Canadian you would probably miss a lot of the references but there's enough here to laugh at that it remains worth giving as a gift (and a conversation starter). Not suitable for kids... Two annoying problems from the POV of an academic - no clear organization and no footnotes.

[Chris weir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mean, nasty and absolutely hilarious. No Canadian figure or personality is safe from ridicule here.

[Jifu · Rating 2 out of 5]

(This is a copy of my review from NetGalley, where I was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy of this book)

Following in the footsteps of The Onion and the Daily Show's "America (The Book)," the authors revel in irreverence from cover to cover in a take on their home country that brings both laughs and a surprising amount of information presented through its comical lens. Brown, Mochama and Zarzycki have done an excellent job of taking down the book's focus in a way that honestly helps present Canada as a far more curiously complex and personality-packed nation than many take it for (speaking as an American from down south across the border). At the very least, upon finishing this book you'll come away with the helpful reminder that nowhere is perfect; rather, every place simply has their own unique mix of bizarre histories, cultural quirks and absurd politics.

[Heather Tyminski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hilarious and cynical overview of Canadian culture. Many of us Canadians like feeling superior to the US for being more liberal and accepting. Jesse Brown's book is a great antidote for this smugness.

One of my only criticisms is that the book ends abruptly without any sort of conclusion. It would have been nice to have a section that wrapped up the thoughts and interpretarions in the book.

[Yasir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dont understand why this book is getting such bad reviews. I thought it was funny and occasionally cringe-worthy. I actually had a couple of good laughs throughout my read.

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

How I Came to Read This Book: The publisher sent me a copy to review.

The Plot: Canadaland is a popular podcast - one I'll admit I've never listened to. This is the affiliated book, which is basically a self-deprecating (to the point of vicious) look at Canada under a microscope, which takes all of the things we 'should' be proud of and dissects them by highlighting a mixture of actual less-than-pleasant facts and history tidbits alongside some clear jokes as well...at least, clear to a Canadian. I shudder at the thought Americans are reading this and thinking it's all true, cause it's definitely not.

The Good & The Bad: I've been picking away at this book in fits and spurts over the past six months. It's definitely an acquired taste; I can't say I often laughed or even smiled at it as it's got a very vitriolic tone. When the book tips into wryness or actually comes up with a clever perspective on something, then I found myself nodding at least - like their commentary on Drake, or Vancouver in general in their little 'travel guides'. I actually learnt a few things along the way too, like the fact that 80% of Canadian families with a child are actually in tact (i.e. not separated or divorced) which was a startling statistic if I'm reading it correctly.

Would I recommend this? Hm. I think most Canadians like myself would be sort of...put off or taken aback, and it's not really funny or smart enough to warrant gifting to a fellow Canuck. Giving it to a foreigner though is problematic because so much of it either glosses over reality (or focuses solely on the negatives, minor as they may be) or flat out reconstructs it, and I don't know that a non-Canadian would be able to discern the difference. It was an enjoyable enough thing to read here and there, but not laugh out loud enjoyable in any way, shape, or form.

The Bottom Line: Not smart enough to warrant a recommend; feels more caustic than clever, and if that was the aim, congrats, but it doesn't make for a very enjoyable read.

Anything Memorable?: The divorce stat above!

2018 Book Challenge?: Book #23 in 2018

[Holly · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you're looking for a funny take on Canada with the usual humble brag style then this is not the book for you. This was a very angry little book outlining most of Canada's flaws but it wasn't particularly well done. I guess it was supposed to be funny but it wasn't. There are a lot of truths in here about Canada that are unpleasant - but the vitriol wasn't an effective tool for the message.

And please save me from Canadian media people who feel the need to compare Canadian people/places/things to American people/places/things to make them more comprehensible. Just stop. We don't need to be told about "Canadian MIT" or "Canadian Obama" (although I don't think that one was in the book). Canadian people/places/things are what they are and don't need to be compared - especially when a book is geared towards Canadians - who already know Canadian shit. Calling MIT "American UofW" would make more sense contextually.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Canadaland Guide to Canada is a great bathroom book. And no, I don't mean the kind where you tear out the pages to use in case of emergencies, it's one of those books that is best perused in small amounts. It's the sort of book that I'd leave in a guest bathroom for unsuspecting visitors to pick up and chuckle at.

Written by Jesse Brown, host of the Canadaland podcast, it's a pretty good skewering of current Canada, written like and likely inspired by "America the Book." There are legitimately educational things for this non-Canadian who lives with a Canadian, and there are some nice funny bits. I think I was ultimately left with a feeling of wanting more, of wanting the funny bits expanded into something more in depth. It just feels a little too light and not quite as substantial as I wanted it to be.

[Glen Farrelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I blame the editor and/or publisher of this book. First, the audience for this book is awkwardly ill-defined as it seems to target non-Canadians yet it has too much arcane Canadianna that only long-term Canadians would know and thus be able to understand. Other reviewers have correctly noted that there is an over-abundance of snark and a lack of sufficient humour. The author(s) mix truthful (and much-needed) critique of Canada with fiction (for humour's sake) - yet mixing the two results in a reader often not knowing what is true or not. The bitter truth often comes across as fiction - and thus defuses its impact and makes for a convuluted read. A good editor should have caught these and ordered a rewrite.

[Neil Pasricha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Canada’s 150th birthday was a strange birthday to celebrate. I couldn’t put my finger on why until I read this biting, funny, satirical look at Canada’s history and culture. This is pretty much exactly Jon Stewart’s America: The Book … for Canada. If the picture of Drake cuddling a moose on the cover makes you smile then the smart, incisive writing inside will make you laugh out loud. My only qualm is that sometimes the humor gets nasty or downright cruel but he toes the fine line between satire and slapstick so beautifully in the rest of the book that I can’t really complain. Super fearless, pulling no punches, eating sacred cow burgers, and keeping every Canadian institute squarely in his bullseye, this is a must read for any current (or future) Canadian.

[Mark Altosaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise for this sounded great -- telling the dark embarrassing stories of our nation's history that we prefer to gloss over.

It takes a very flippant tone and started out rather flimsy. A lot of stuff I generally already knew, unsourced claims, and just not very much substance.

I don't know if it got better after the first few chapters, or perhaps I just had unrealistic expectations for what the book would be, but I started to find it wildly entertaining. It got me laughing out loud, and quoting parts to my wife while riding the train together. Far from annoying her: she wants to read it now too.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this book. i cackled a LOT and read a lot out loud to harass my family. but that being said, it kinda embodies the critiques it makes about canada. beige. mentioning indigenous plight for superiority points (like canada's "environmentalism") but still staying safely "white canadian" and spending 5000% more time on US relations and the Quebecois. i dunno. beige. i think it tried to highlight all these pitfalls while hitting every one in a way that just... you don't get points for lampshading.

would have enjoyed more history, though. the history was the best part :)

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a while in coming, but we're finally taking ourselves to task. Not flaunted morality disguised as self-flagellation, and not superiority dressed as south-directed snark. It's national pride that can unveil the funny, the sad, and the preposterous in ourselves to strengthen patriotism and drive self-improvement.

Buy it, have a laugh, and don't be a fusspot. And yes, Air Farce made a terrible transition from radio to television.

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a comprehensive history of Canada, or anyone who comes directly from the Canadaland podcast without looking further into this book.

I would, however, ABSOLUTELY recommend this book for anyone who wants a Cards Against Humanity-esque book on Canada. Or any Canadian looking to poke some fun at their country. It’s a bit cynical, sure, but I couldn’t stop sending screenshots to my friends of pages that made me laugh out loud. Really enjoyed it.

[Darren Hull · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really enjoy the Canadaland podcast. Unfortunately I can't say the same for this book. It feels like it was an attempt to create something similar to the Daily Show's/Colbert Report's companion pieces. However, those books were written by teams of very gifted comedic writers. This one, not so much. Comes across like an obnoxious tween who just discovered Vice. That being said, I highly recommend the Canadaland (and Oppo!) podcast if you have any interest in Canadian politics and/or media.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars.

This book, for the most part, was NOT funny. The 1.5 stars are for the couple of small chuckles. Zero laughs.

It literally sounds like an angry, resentful, petulant adult ranting about all things they dislike about a country. I guess the "published in America" should have given that away.

The sarcasm is poorly done. I found myself rolling my eyes at some of the exaggerated content. I would NOT recommend this book.

[Thiago Perrotta · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is funny overall, but it tries too hard. The beginning of the book has some intelligent humour and decent criticism in form of sarcasm (think Douglas Adams), but as it progresses the humour becomes really cheap and bad, the sarcasm increases 10x to the point of not being funny anymore. Would recommend only as a quick and light read, otherwise it’s a giant waste of time. You’ll have more fun overall by reading comments on social media.

[Matteo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun piece of Canadiana that contains a mixture of odd factoids (that are both true and fictional) and a humourous joke or two. Pokes fun of the Great White North well enough but a lot of the jokes are easy and lack any real depth.

Would recommend picking up if on sale or when it eventually lands in the bargain bin.