Canada

Yes. If you are from the United States, you might not get welcomed as warmly as you once were. There is an occasional racist, but overall, Canadians are very welcoming.

Remember… “planning on traveling to Canada” is like saying you’re planning on traveling to Europe… it’s a BIG place that spans four time zones and has all sorts of people.

So you’re likely to spot some bigots, but there’s also plenty of welcoming people. Part of it depends on where you go. In general, cities are more multicultural and a little of more rural areas used to be very white, with indigenous reservations in the most unexpected places.

Beside that, Alberta is “Little Texas” and BC isn’t that different from Washington and Oregon states. Manitoba is really friendly, Quebec tends to be welcoming in the cities and culturally insular in many of the rural areas. All the east coast provinces tend to be really friendly. The territories are very sparsely populated, so other people are treated like a gift OR like something the person is trying to avoid — race doesn’t tend to come into it.

If they're not, you let me know. I'll thump 'em a good one for you.

I only speak for most Canadians, but we're the greatest fucking country in the world, and we love all colours, sizes, types....

ymmv, eh!

Seriously, though, there are assholes everywhere but you're unlikey to encounter them. We're an extremely polite, helpful, accomodating and accepting society, so carry on!

Yes. If you're out east, there's a ton of black people. Out west, less so. Either way people will be friendly.

Lol as a minority that's born here and lived in cities across the countr: Canada definitely has racism still. We are very diverse; especially in the bigger cities of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

I recently travelled to NB and witnessed some racism. Wasn't anything too bad. I've had worse. But you'll find more ignorance than hate. Hate looms it's ugly head depending on where you go and what minority you are. I think for the most part, you'll be okay, you might get weird comments here and there, but most people will be nice as a general rule of thumb.

Canada is very welcoming and people are friendly. After living abroad for a decade I can say it pretty confidently. Nowhere is perfect but the level of racism in Canada is very low compared to the things I’ve seen in Europe and Asia.

Not sure how it is where you’re from but don’t get caught thinking because Canada is safe that you can be careless with your stuff, don’t let your guard down with personal belongings. Don’t leave your things unattended in cafes or shops, don’t leave your mobile phone on the table, and especially don’t leave anything in your car if rent a car. Canada is safe but there is still a lot of petty theft... you won’t get mugged but someone might try to swipe your backpack at a cafe when you aren’t looking.

Canadians are generally more passive in their racism.

I would say Canadians are more polite than friendly. Too polite to be really friendly a lot of the time.

Depending on where you're coming from, you might have a different idea of what friendly is. While nearly all Canadians will treat any foreigners with kindness and respect, we don't tend to go out of our way to talk to and be hospitable towards strangers as much as people in a lot of other countries do. Especially in big cities.

In Toronto you'll find Canadians that are all sorts of colours names and sizes, and a restaurant somewhere that serves your home country's cuisine. Most people in the city don't care.

The closer to the urban centre you are the less you are likely to be judged for looking foreign, though that chance is very small to begin with. If something racist gets shouted at you in public here, people are going to look down and walk away, look with disgust at the person making that remark, or tell them off.

Outside of the city, bigots are still the vast minority, but there may be more subtle ways you could be looked at differently, well-intentioned but largely due to the unfamiliarity with outside cultures.

You will be just fine. Enjoy yourself here.

I’d say generally yes. Of course, there are still assholes like in any country.

Cities are generally quite multicultural with people from everywhere. Every major Canadian city I’ve visited has seemed to be quite friendly.

I’ve seen people say to avoid Alberta in this thread. Generally, unless you are going to Middle of Nowhere, Alberta where their yearly tourism consists of a single person stopping by to get gas, you’ll be perfectly fine.

Most areas are a mixed bag of all colours, and nobody cares. You may still encounter a racist or two, but it is not overt racism like the USA is displaying right now.

Not saying you can't find openly racist people in the country, especially some very rural areas, but the chance of running into people who aren't friendly to visiting foreigners of any appearance is extremely low. Canada is quite multicultural, especially in the major cities where you wouldn't even garner a second glance from people.

In my experience, foreigners are so ubiquitous there the locals barely notice

Maybe you'll be treated differently if you struggle speaking English (or French if visiting Quebec) but your post implies that's not an issue

Of course, if you're moving instead of visiting the answer a bit more nuanced as the cost of living crisis there is very real

it's fine. The only difference I've seen is how some other Canadians are treating Americans now. just a bit more cold towards them. Other than that specific thing it's not an issue.

I would say that Canadians are friendly especially from other countries. But it depends, and it's a massive asterisks on It Depends*.

In general Canadians keep to themselves and don't like starting things. So we are either very friendly or at a bare minimum indifferent. Depending on the individual they may say things behind your back. (I've found some people here to be passive aggressive).

However the further away from cities you get, the more people who you'll find that are not so friendly. They won't be actively hostile towards you but you may feel unwelcomed. The company I work with has a multinational workforce that assist older people in rural communities. And while most will not say it to their face (I hope). The racist/sexists/homophobic phrases I've heard come out from their mouths was surprising to me and is disgusting. This is sadly true for both rural Southern Ontario and the Maritime Provence's.

I can't say much about the larger urban areas. From what I've heard, and seen blasted on social media, some people bring their baggage with them when they come to Canada. But outside of the rare aggressive/dangerous drivers in the cities, I haven't witnessed it myself.

In general be respectful, be kind, and don't go too far off the beaten tourist trail and you'll be fine.

Don’t be American or Indian and you’re fine.

We've got a "range" but most fall into friendly category. People will stop to help you when you're stuck.

Nobody will know you're a traveller unless you tell them. And most likely they will welcome you if you do tell them.

I doubt appearance will factor significantly in most places. Where in Canada were you planning to travel to?

Also, which country are you from? We're rather cross with America right now so if you're from there then there might be some additional coaching I'd suggest.

Stay away from Alberta and you should be safe.

Like everywhere except maybe an uncontacted island we have racism, but I'm not sure what country would have less. Multiculturalism is part of our national ethos.

I’ll say depend on where you’ll go

If you go in most major cities you’ll probably be fine