Good Beers, The Great Outdoors and Getting the Shift  – Happy Canada Day!

Did you know there is a Cashel in Ontario, and a Mullingar in Saskatchewan? Nope? Us neither.

Today, July 1^st, is Canada Day, and to celebrate, the folks at Molson Canadian have sent us on this fun infographic with some facts and figures about the land most of our friends seem to be packing up to head to. (Australia? So last year).

Molson Canadian’s survey of 18 to 35 year old Irish men and women has found that Canada is now the most popular place in the world for Irish considering a move abroad. The survey revealed that 43% of Irish would consider moving to Canada if they had to find work outside of Ireland. The U.S. comes a distant second at 19%, followed by Australia at 18% and the UK at 13%.

With almost 14% (4.54 million) of the country’s population claiming full or partial Irish descent it is clear the Irish are continuing to have a profound impact on Canadian society since the first Irish settlers (fishermen from Cork) are said to have travelled to Newfoundland in 1536. The survey found that a massive 77% of us know at least one Irish person living in Canada, and more than a third (34%) of us know at least three Irish people living there. 24% of respondents have already visited Canada and 56% are planning a trip in the next five years.

The survey revealed that the ultra-smooth actor Ryan Gosling is considered by Irish women to be the hottest Canadian celebrity winning 44% of the female vote, followed by actor Ryan Reynolds at a distant 23% and Canadian crooner Michael Bublé at 22%. 31% of Irish males ranked Gosling’s Notebook co-star Rachel McAdams as their most fancied, followed by Baywatch star Pamela Anderson (15%) and Lost star Evangeline Lily tying with singer Shania Twain for third, at 14% each. 

While no respondents claimed to have been romantically linked with any of the aforementioned celebrities, 15% of the Irish men surveyed say they have kissed a Canadian, compared to 11% of Irish women.

When it comes to music the survey identified a deep divide between Irish men and women, with 32% of males citing Arcade Fire as their favourite, compared to 40% of females favouring Michael Bublé. Conversely, 20% of Irish males ranked Bublé as their second favourite artist, and 17% of women chose either Arcade Fire or Alanis Morissette as their second favourite. 17% of Irish guys chose Heart of Gold singer Neil Young, compared to only 4% of females. The one thing they could agree upon was a mutual dislike of Justin Bieber, with only 1% of Irish males, and 4% of Irish females having any grá for the Canadian star.

It was a close battle between funny man Jim Carrey (38%) and Knocked Up star Seth Rogan (36%) for favourite Canadian comedian, with Austin Powers star Mike Myers coming in third at 24%. 

Almost a quarter (23%) of participants believe the most common link the Irish and Canadians share is a love for the great outdoors. This was followed by ‘hanging out with friend’s (13%), an independent spirit (12%) and sense of humour (12%). 11% cited a mutual love of sport, and a third (33%) of us believe there is truth behind the long held theory that Canada’s beloved national sport, ice hockey, emanated from hurling. 

Commonly known as Canada’s birthday, Canada Day is a Canadian national holiday that celebrates the anniversary of the July 1, 1867 enactment of the British North American Act which united three colonies into a single country called Canada within the British Empire.