TORONTO — Canada’s cool factor just went up exponentially with news of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s impending move.
In a statement made public on their official website earlier this week, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they would be stepping back as senior members of the Royal Family and balancing their time between the U.K. and Canada.
The news, though widely accepted by Canadians (bring on the Royal sightings!), was met with intense criticism by Brits and the world at large, including the New York Times, which described Canada as a veritable wasteland in a tweet posted on Saturday.
The publication wrote: “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
Ouch.
Needless to say, Canadians have some thoughts and responded in full, many calling out the Times for being insensitive during the same week of the downing of Flight 752 in Iran in which dozens of Canadians lost their lives.
“We lost 63 Canadians this week in the fog of war caused by a reckless President. No one is giddy,” wrote @BWildeGlobal.
Others played into the stereotype with classic Canadian sarcasm, like @JamesRobertsCBC who posted a pic of a pair of igloos and referred to them as typical homes in Vancouver.
But, on the bright side, our homes are toasty warm. This is where I live in downtown #Vancouver. pic.twitter.com/MvMPcSY8Nr
— JAMES ROBERTS (@JamesRobertsCBC) January 11, 2020
@DaSchwantz set the record straight with the following tweet: “It’s not about razzle dazzle it’s about believing that Canada is the best country in the world. Meghan was here for 7 years before she became royal, and most of us like her and Harry. Famous people are just people, and we have a very low tolerance for invasion of privacy.”
Many Canucks also made sure to point out that several Canadian cities are currently warmer than their U.S. counterparts. Said @AdamLockett34: “It’s 50 Fahrenheit in Toronto, 43F in Vancouver, 44F in Montreal, and 45F in Halifax, you chuckleheads…It’s 10F in Minneapolis, 4F in Bismarck, -6F in Grand Fords, 16F in Des Moines, and 18F in Kansas City.”
Take that, America!
Even a celebrity chimed in. Vancouver’s own Ryan Reynolds couldn’t help but poke fun of the situation, tweeting: “Nobody injects razzle dazzle anymore. Particularly in Canada, where they drink it.”
Nobody injects razzle dazzle anymore. Particularly in Canada, where they drink it.
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) January 12, 2020
We’re guessing he’s referring to the classic cocktail? If so, we say drink up! And here’s a toast to Harry and Meghan. Welcome to Canada!
