The British government has recently declassified a large volume of correspondence from British diplomats stationed abroad. Some of these diplomats had very unflattering things to say about their host countries. One of the documents released was a memorandum on Canada written in 1984 by the British High Commissioner in Ottawa. Lord Moran spoke about the mixed legacy of Pierre Trudeau, Quebec nationalism, and the First Nations. Moran’s comments about Canada were largely neutral or even positive, but he described individual Canadians as rather “boring” and said that the lack of the fierce competitive spirit found in other countries has promoted a culture of mediocrity in Canada. He observed that, in Canada, the calibre of the people who go into politics is inferior to those who make careers in private industry. I think that this observation is absolutely correct- the calibre of people in public life in Canada has always been quite low and result is that the typical Canadian politician is poorly educated, a poor public speaker, physically unattractive, and devoid of accomplishments outside of politics.
The document also mentions Canadians’ destructive attitude to the environment, making special mention of my city, Sudbury (see paragraph 12). You can read it online.
The Past Speaks 