Canadians have garnered a stereotype of being exceedingly polite..Known for their welcoming attitude and over-apologizing, politeness is seen as a cultural norm and a point of pride, especially out West..Now a new survey suggests the opposite may be true, with half of the ten rudest cities in Canada in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and even Manitoba. And no, Vancouver didn’t even make the list..According language-learning website Preply, Coquitlam is the rudest city in Western Canada, followed by Surrey and Regina. Edmonton and Winnipeg rounded out the Top 10..“In Coquitlam — the second rudest city in Canada, according to our research — you’re more likely to encounter residents talking on the phone at the checkout or even spitting in public!” Preply said in a release..The good news is the worst city overall was Vaughan in the GTA. In fact, all the rest were in Ontario: Brampton was third; Windsor was fifth; Thunder Bay sixth; and Sudbury ninth..Preply surveyed 1,500 people in 44 of the country’s largest cities to determine the results, which were then ranked based on common rude behaviours such as how often they swear. .On that front, Canadians cuss on average nine times a day. People in Burlington utter 15 profanities a day, but Regina wasn’t far behind at 13. In fact, the Queen City was the only Western metropolis to earn the distinction of more than 10 cusses a day..More ladies than gentlemen claim they “never swear” — at 23% of women versus 18% of men..Other rude behaviours included: ‘being absorbed by phone in public (Vaughan); ‘being noisy in public’ (Winnipeg); ‘not letting people merge in traffic’ (Regina); ‘not slowing down near pedestrians’ (Saanich); and ‘not picking up dog doo’ (Guelph).."I'm sorry” is also known to be a staple of the Canuckistanian vernacular. According to the study, the average Canadian says ‘sorry’ or apologizes nine times per day, but not one Western city made the list..That number was as high as 18 times per day in Burlington (perhaps making up for swearing so often). Next came Oakville, with 15 daily apologies. Longueuil and Guelph followed, apologizing 14 times per day each..On the bright side, the survey also asked respondents: “Do you think that the stereotype of Canadians being polite is accurate?”.Gosh darn, four in five agree that Canadians are indeed polite people.
