soviet canuckistan

  Pat Buchanan

"Soviet Canuckistan" is an unflattering epithet for Canada, used by Pat Buchanan on October 31, 2002, on his television show on MSNBC in which he denounced Canadians as anti-American and the country as a haven for terrorists. He was reacting to a warning that had been issued by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs that Canadians born in Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, and Syria should be cautious travelling to the United States. The warning had been issued because of a U.S. law requiring photos and fingerprints of Canadian citizens born in those countries and visiting the U.S., and because U.S. authorities had deported Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen of Syrian descent, to Syria some weeks previous while he was changing planes in New York City. Following Buchanan's comment, many Canadians proudly adopted Soviet Canucki stan as an ironic, humorous self-reference. Some Canadians (primarily Albertans) also use the term less proudly, to express dislike for the Canadian political system and leadership. Buchanan has a history of unflattering references to Canada, having said in 1990 that if Canada were to break apart due to the failure of the Meech Lake constitutional accord, "America would pick up the pieces." He said two years after that "for most Americans, Canada is sort of like a case of latent arthritis. We really don't think about it, unless it acts up."

Soviet Canuckistan

See also