Great thread birdwatcher.
I for one think a big part of the problem is the fact that most Americans know very little about Canada, and a lot of Canadians resent this.
I hear so many Canadians say "why don't they know more about us? We know so much about them". Truth its, we are exposed to far more things American, than they are to Canadian things.
TV shows, movies, magazines etc. are far more American content than Canadian, so we naturally will learn more about the US.
I never take it personally because it is just the way things are. Case in point. I was born and raised in Toronto. Spent over 30 years in the greater Toronto area and basically knew very little about any other cities in Ontario. Had no exposure to them, and therefore, no real interest.
Around an hour northeast of Toronto is an area I always knew as "cottage country". I thought it was strictly cottages up that way, and it seriously never occurred to me that people actually lived up here. (nor did I really care). Well, for around 13 years I have lived up "there" and now realize OF COURSE people live and work here. The world does NOT revolve around Toronto, or Montreal, or Vancouver, but it seems to, to the people who live there. It's just human nature.....just the way it is.
I know I'm not the only Torontonian who felt, or feels that way. I think Canadians need to ease up a bit, and stop taking it so personally. So what if a lot of Americans don't realize that we don't live in igloos, or aren't all tundra and have don't have polar bears in our yards. It's not their fault as they're not exposed to many things Canadian.
Canadians have to stop feeling like the "invisible" little brother, or the poor cousin. We have a great country but we have to realize that things are different in Canada. As much as we are the same, we are different.
I read some stats recently and although I forget the exact numbers, it's something like 95% of Canadians live within 200 miles of the US border. Our population is something like 1/10 of the USA, yet our land mass is larger. We still need to "fund" this whole country, with a much smaller tax base.
I have found that if you explain to most American buyers, the deal with how their parcel must go through Canada Post, then US Customs, the USPS, that they will understand that it's not going to get there as fast as a parcel being mailed within the US. I have had a few "impatient" buyers but I get the impression that it's more of a personality thing, than an American thing.
I personally LOVE Canada, and I LOVE the USA. I would love to know what the answers are, but truthfully, I think it's more of a personality thing. I would have to say that 99% of the Americans I've met are great. I've never had a real "them against us" experience.