Canadians are taking issue with their country being described as “bone-chillingly cold” after the New York Times suggested Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s potential move to Canada could bring some “razzle dazzle” to the nation.
Following an announcement from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex about their intention to step back from the roles as senior members of the British royal family and to split their time between the United Kingdom and North America, the New York Times claimed on Saturday, “Many Canadians are giddy at the prospect that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could be moving to Canada, injecting some razzle dazzle to the sprawling, bone-chillingly cold country.”
Many Canadians are giddy at the prospect that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could be moving to Canada, injecting some razzle dazzle to the sprawling, bone-chillingly cold country. https://t.co/3HH575a6EK
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) January 11, 2020
The paper’s tweet was met with pushback from Canadians who said it shows Americans’ lack of understanding about our neighbors to the north.
“Ummmm, we do have summer. Also no @realDonaldTrump, a huge plus,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Plenty of parts of the US are colder than where I live in Canada. As for “dazzle dazzle”, Americans are so used to it from scandal after scandal in their own country, they seem to think life without constitutional crisis is boring,” another wrote, “Get out.”
A third user fired back, “« Bone-chillingly country »? Seriously? This is what gives Americans a bad rap for being clueless about anything but themselves.”
Others pointed out the timing of the tweet, which came a day after Iran admitted to accidentally shooting down a passenger plane carrying 63 Canadians as it fired off rounds of ballistic missiles at military bases house American troops in Iraq. All 176 people on board died in the incident.
“We lost 63 Canadians this week in the fog of war caused by a reckless President. No one is giddy,” someone replied.
“Most Canadians aren’t at all giddy,” another piped up. “We don’t get excited about Royalty, we just accept that we’re connected to them via our Westminster system. Quite frankly, we’re more concerned about a flight being shot down.
Some Canadians, however, found some humor in the tweet and were able to laugh at themselves and their homeland.
Prince Harry, 35, and Markle, 38, reportedly left the rest of the royal family “in shock” with their announcement by failing to inform Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Charles of their decision ahead of time. Senior members of the family are set to meet on Monday to discuss the details of the unique arrangement.
