Over the years there have been a number of Canadians that have had some "interesting" things to say about Americans in general.
So in the spirit of fairness and equal time and good natured ribbing.
Canadians fail to make the grade on Canada Day historical quiz
By NINA CHIARELLI
TORONTO (CP) - Some 2.7 million Canadians tuned in to the CBC on April Fool's Day to watch Rick Mercer make fun of how little Americans know about Canadians.
But a Canada Day quiz is proving Canadians don't know much about themselves. It also suggests Americans are much more self-aware. The survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid showed 79 per cent of 1,000 Americans were able to sing the first line of their national anthem, while only 37 per cent of 1,003 Canadians could do the same - even though O Canada's first line and title are the same.
"Maybe Rick Mercer should stay at home," said Rudyard Griffiths, executive director of the Dominion Institute, which has been issuing Canada Day pop quizzes to gauge the average Canadian's historical knowledge for five years.
This year, Canadians and Americans were asked to answer 10 equivalent questions about their own country's history in an effort to compare the basic knowledge of each country's citizens.
More than 60 per cent of Canadians failed the 10-question survey, while only 27 per cent of Americans failed.
"The results show the basis of knowledge is just not the same," said Griffiths.
Ninety per cent of the Americans surveyed correctly identified George Washington as America's first president, but only 54 per cent of Canadians were able to name Sir John A. Macdonald as Canada's first prime minister.
Americans were also more likely to correctly identify whether their government was a representative republic or a constitutional monarchy, as well as the year their country gained legal independence.
"It challenges some of our assumptions about Americans," said Griffiths.
The results appeared even more dismal than usual, Griffiths added, because of the comparison to Americans. Canadians outscored Americans on just three out of the 10 questions, pertaining to astronauts, D-Day and past American invasions.
"When it comes to discrete factual knowledge, Americans are a light-year ahead," Griffiths said.
Most of Canadians surveyed were also unable to answer questions on which slogan is associated with Canada's Constitution (Peace, Order and Good Government) and which part of Canada's Constitution protects the rights and freedoms of Canadians (the Charter of Rights and Freedoms).
But Griffiths was quick to point out that Canadians probably won't take the results to heart.
"It's Canada Day," he said. "Have a quintessential Canadian experience this weekend."
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