Canada: 35mpg by 2020– or Better!
Most Canadians define themselves primarily as "Not Americans". Think about it. Once you boil away the bizarre obsession with the mediocre offerings at Tim Horton's, the love of all things hockey and the regional slangs, you get generally overweight folks who go to Blockbuster on Friday, Costco or Wal-Mart on Saturday and wherever the game is playing on Sunday. It's fitting that on the heels of the U.S. Congress' recent adoption of the 35 mpg by 2020 legislation, Canadian transport Minister Lawrence Cannon fired off (geddit?) a proposal for new Canadian fuel efficiency standards for… 2020. "Now, we welcome the U.S. goal," he graciously opined (via CTV). "But we are committed to developing a made-in-Canada standard that achieves, at minimum, that target benchmarked against a stringent dominant North American standard." Though Cannon calls it a "Made in Canada" solution, the proposal follows a long-established trend of Canadian pols waiting for America (California?) to do something, and then outright copying it– once America has forced everyone to adapt and the legislation has become moot anyway. To wit, earlier this year, the province of Québec announced it was considering adopting California's emission standards. It's the right thing to do, eh?
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The reason why Tim Hortons is so endeared with Canadians was because it was the first chain to sell quality coffee before Starbuck's, Blenz, etc... I can't attest to Dunkin' Donuts coffee as I haven't tried it but from what I've heard, it used to be on par with Folgers and Maxwell House (ie: shit). That said, the donuts at Tim's are crap.
I'm slightly embarassed for my fellow Canadians, because Tim Horton's coffee is utter garbage. The fact they've attained near-religious status in my country (more so the farther east you travel) speaks poorly of us. I've heard that their coffee is quite good with cream and sugar, but since I drink coffee and not merely a vessel for other ingredients, I can't stomach the swill. Storminvormin: your theory doesn't wash in Vancouver, where Tim's was an utter non-entity until long after Starbucks had brought coffee culture to the masses. They have since become sickeningly popular.
A correction to Dean's comment about Tim's being good with cream and sugar. It is barely tolerable with double cream and double sugar (hence the term double- double). Awful stuff, just awful.
I can think of many other differences about Canadians, other than those mentioned by Samir. - Toronto is the fourth largest city in North America, and over 50 percent of its population was born outside of Canada. -18 year olds can order a beer. -Higher education is much more affordable -You don't have to wait 20 hours to be seen by an ER room doctor if you've had a heart attack -They didn't elect G.W.Bush, twice! -You can smoke a joint in a B.C. bar and not get busted -In Quebec, they like to drive around with a dead moose on their car, to show off. -Maple syrup is real. -They may or may not be more overweight than people in the U.S., but they appear to have a longer, healthier life. -It is pretty safe in most places. -They have some great writers and musicians.