I Am Canadian was a series of Canadian television commercials aired in the early 2000s advertising the Canadian brand of Molson beer in Canada; the commercials also aired in the United States. The premise, using patriotism as a platform, was a man named Joe, an average Canadian, standing in a theatre, with a cinema screen behind him showing different images relating to Canadian culture; Joe proceeded to give a speech about what is it to be a Canadian, and what Canadians are not, as some aspects get confused with US culture.
It was performed by actor Jeff Douglas. The commercial won an advertising industry Gold Quill award in 2001.
Joe's speech—more commonly called Joe's rant—went like this:
- Hey.
- I'm not a lumberjack, or a fur trader, and I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber, or own a dog sled, and I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada, although I'm certain they're really, really nice.
- I have a Prime Minister, not a President. I speak English and French, not American, and I pronounce it 'about', not 'a boot'.
- I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack. I believe in peacekeeping, not policing; diversity, not assimilation; and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal.
- A touque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch, and it is pronounced zed: not zee – zed!!'
- Canada is the second largest land mass! The first nation of hockey! And the best part of North America!
- My name is Joe!! And I am Canadian!
- ... Thank you.
Parodies
The success of I Am Canadian in Canada led to many parodies of the advertisement. The best known of these was Toronto radio station Edge 102's I Am Not Canadian, featuring a Quebec separatist.
William Shatner performed his own variation on the idea in a Just for Laughs appearance. He announced to the world: "I am not a Starfleet commander, ...or T.J. Hooker." The rant continues, making fun of Trekkies and his own typecasting as James T. Kirk. During the course of the piece, Shatner states that his beer of preference is Molson's competitor Labatt.
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