I am not a psychologist but I am sure I am not the only one who has witnessed a certain smugness towards Americans that goes back many decades, probably back to the second World War.
It's rooted in a national inferiority complex held by old stock Canadians, deep down they wish to be part of the world's hegemonic nation but because they aren't, they would prefer to feed their internal narcissism.
However, that's just a symptom, a manifestation of a juvenile mindset.
What makes Canada great? I can tell you the truth about that. It's the people who came before us. The ones who settled and built our towns and cities. The families and neighbourhoods and 'communities' < this word has been obfuscated and bastardized so much that I have to clarify.
Communities = the people who live next to one another in physical proximity and have an interdependency on each other to survive and thrive. Life is a team sport. Living in a giant unsettled country was rough, especially at the start. I can't even fathom the hardship because I am the product of a domesticated world where someone else has already done the hard work.
It's a gradual process but I believe it began in the early 20th century - as technology increased rapidly, the amount of work and effort required to sustain ourselves decreased. Don't get me wrong, some of this technology is fantastic. Antibiotics saved many lives. Motor vehicles allowed the common person to travel everywhere in relative comfort. Agricultural technology made food easier to access. The telephone allowed us to talk to anyone in the world in real time.
The question is, what kind of people does this new world produce? We all know life can still be harsh by nature, but all of these technological advances allowed a majority of the population to be softer than their parents and grandparents. Because they don't see the value in community anymore (I can get in my car and get food at the supermarket) they stop nurturing those bonds. They start to care less about family and their neighbours, because quite frankly they can be annoying and I don't see any need to get along with them, I can get everything I need on my own.
Now apply that across two or three more generations, and start adding in even more ridiculous technology. The internet made information cheap and accessible. Social media basically destroyed local community in favour of the dreaded 'online community', which is only real insofar as the technology remains. Take that technology away and that 'community' evaporates.
Long story short, we are a nation of entitled petulant children who really have no idea who we are, where we came from and no idea where we are going. We expect the 'government' to be our parents and clothe and feed us because so many of us don't even understand that for centuries we as a people did that for ourselves.
They see such little value in their Canadian neighbours that they think nothing will change when the third world outbreeds the old stock. Their own ignorance prevents them from understanding that the third world still understands community - they come from places of hardship, so they know the value of sticking together as an ethnic group and working for the good of THEIR people.
It's no wonder that old stock Canadians don't understand this because it's become a foreign concept. Now if you will please excuse me, I am hungry so I am going to order McDonalds on Skip the Dishes even though it will cost $40 and my stove and fridge work perfectly fine.