By Randy Boswell

A new survey shows that fewer than half of all Americans can name Canada’s capital and that close to two-thirds of our neighbours to the south admit they learned nothing about this country’s history in school.

The survey commissioned by the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies, part of the organization’s broader probe of cross-border attitudes ahead of next year’s bicentennial of the War of 1812, suggests younger Americans are the least informed about Canada and that the subject may be slipping further down the list of teaching priorities in the U.S.

More than 1,000 Americans were asked, among other questions, if they knew the name of Canada’s capital. About 48% of those surveyed said they did, while the rest said they didn’t know or were “not sure” where the capital was.
The respondents were not asked to prove that they knew Ottawa was Canada’s capital.

The age group least confident that they could name the capital was the youngest; just 29 per cent of respondents aged 18 to 20 said they knew the answer, compared with 58% of those 75 and older.

The 1,048 Americans were also asked: “Did you learn anything about the history of Canada in school?”

Just 36% of those surveyed — and only 12% of those aged 18 to 20 — answered yes.

On the same question about Canadian geography, 57% of those surveyed — but only 29% of the youngest cohort of respondents — said they learned something in school about the big country north of the U.S.

The survey was completed on March 1 by the U.S. public opinion research firm ORC International. The web-based poll is deemed to have a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

About half of those surveyed — 50.2% — said they could name the nearest Canadian land border point to their home. But again, the youngest respondents were least likely (34%) to claim such knowledge.

“I genuinely do think there’s a decline in the teaching about Canada in U.S. education,” said ACS executive director Jack Jedwab. “I think we need to make the War of 1812 more of an opportunity to explore our historic relationship.”

He said that while war remembrance tends to emphasize the “patriotic fervour” of who won and who lost, the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 can also be interpreted as the last significant conflict between Canada and the U.S. and the beginning of “200 years of peaceful coexistence.”

While Canada is generally acknowledged in the U.S. to be that country’s closest ally and most important trading partner, noted Jedwab, there is also a perception that other areas, such as the Middle East and China, are ultimately more important to strategic American interests.

He said the upcoming bicentennial provides a good opportunity “to explore the important interconnectedness of our histories and how we’ve evolved together.”

Increasing the number of Americans who know where Canada’s government is headquartered, he added, might be a side benefit of such efforts.

Postmedia News

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I´m sort of a Canadianphile. Ignoring the obvious Anti Americanism in Canada, its a very beautiful country.

The capital is Ottawa.

Canada is the 2nd largest country on the planet.

The Prime Minister is Stevie Harper.

Its a constitutional monarchy.

I´m sort of a Canadianphile. Ignoring the obvious Anti Americanism in Canada, its a very beautiful country.

The capital is Ottawa.

Canada is the 2nd largest country on the planet.

The Prime Minister is Stevie Harper.

Its a constitutional monarchy.

what's even sadder is that both peoples seem ignorant of their own country's history and geography as well.

They’re the sort of scores that drive high-school history teachers to drink. When NEWSWEEK recently asked 1,000 U.S. citizens to take America’s official citizenship test, 29 percent couldn’t name the vice president. Seventy-three percent couldn’t correctly say why we fought the Cold War. Forty-four percent were unable to define the Bill of Rights. And 6 percent couldn’t even circle Independence Day on a calendar.

Also I think the PM likes to be addressed as Steven.