Are they ashamed of being Canadian?

Your two years of living in Canada over 30 years ago do not make you an expert. I live right on the Canadian border, am in Canada three days a week, and most of my friends are Canadian.

The actual definition of patriotism is "love of one's country", and while proud of their country, Canadians are refreshingly lacking in the " 'We're Number One' , put down and denigrate all other countries" patriotism found in the US. The flying of flags everywhere is not as you describe, and I don't think that I have ever seen a union jack in the 35 years I have been regularly in and out of Canada.

The vacations that my friends have taken have largely been to Florida, Cuba, and the Bahamas. Those of lesser means tend to vacation more locally.

The accents are definitely there in the show. When I visit down south, I am often asked if I am Canadian, because I have the accent to some extent myself. Perhaps they just don't fit the sterotype you recall from "Strange Brew".

I think Canada is probably quite a bit different from your experiences in 1984.

Your two years of living in Canada over 30 years ago do not make you an expert. I live right on the Canadian border, am in Canada three days a week, and most of my friends are Canadian.

The actual definition of patriotism is "love of one's country", and while proud of their country, Canadians are refreshingly lacking in the " 'We're Number One' , put down and denigrate all other countries" patriotism found in the US. The flying of flags everywhere is not as you describe, and I don't think that I have ever seen a union jack in the 35 years I have been regularly in and out of Canada.

The vacations that my friends have taken have largely been to Florida, Cuba, and the Bahamas. Those of lesser means tend to vacation more locally.

The accents are definitely there in the show. When I visit down south, I am often asked if I am Canadian, because I have the accent to some extent myself. Perhaps they just don't fit the sterotype you recall from "Strange Brew".

I think Canada is probably quite a bit different from your experiences in 1984.

I actually am a born and bred Vancouverite where the show is filmed and set. I know that concessions are made to make the show more friendly for the international market, but on the whole I find the show to be quite Canadian. The geography is pretty accurate, they talking about real Vancouver area locations. And west coasters don't generally speak like most Americans believe Canadians speak - when I go traveling, many people assume I'm American from the way I sound. As for the comment about going to Banff - I think I know more people in my social circles that have been to Vegas than have been to Banff, the former which is much easier to get to from Vancouver than the latter. The thought of going to Banff is more a non-Canadian ideal of a Canadian vacation. I don't ever remember any of my friends saying "I want to go to Banff for my vacation", whereas many will purposefully and often go to Vegas. If Vancouverites want to do something outdoorsy as a vacation, they are more than likely to stay close to the area, like going to one of the Gulf Islands, to Whistler (if you consider hanging out in Whistler Village as outdoorsy!), or one of the more local provincial parks like Golden Ears, Manning or Cultus Lake.