Very Canadian humour
Adrian Raeside uses his cartoons to explore what makes Canada liveable.
January 14th, 2026
Adrian Raeside is the creator of the popular comic strip, The Other Coast.
“They’ll get that we [Canadians] have a great sense of humour, can laugh at ourselves and are polite and reserved (OK, we lose our sh**t at hockey games).”
Witty and sharp observation defines the work of Adrian Raeside, a New Zealand–born, BC-based cartoonist whose career spans political satire, animation, children’s books and national commentary and whose latest book, The Canada Handbook (Harbour $22.95) turns his pen toward the quirks, values and quiet strengths that shape Canadian life, drawing on decades of ferry cartoons, pet parables and political insight to celebrate a country that laughs at itself, resists bombast and finds identity in politeness, resilience and shared absurdities.
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BC BookLook: Canada is often defined in comparison to the U.S. In working on The Canada Handbook, did you find yourself thinking more about who we are—or who we’re not?
Adrian Raeside: In the late ’80’s I had the idea for a book comparing Canada to the USA called Sleeping with an Elephant, which was how Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau described Canada-US relations back in 1969. It only made it as far as a few rough pencil sketches before I got busy with other projects. When George W. Bush was elected, I picked it back up and revised it as Moving to Canada, a guide for Americans who were threatening to move to Canada to avoid four years of Bush. Then 911 happened and I put it back on the shelf. I made another start during the first Trump presidency but besides a few trade skirmishes, Canada was more or less left out of Trump’s rampages and I dropped it. Again. When Trump ran for a second term, Harbour Publishing suggested I should go back and finish the book to have it ready, as he could be re-elected. I said that wouldn’t happen. Americans wouldn’t be so crazy as to elect him for a second time. It happened and Trump immediately threatened Canada with becoming the 51st state (Who knew he could count that high?). In a panic, I looked at what I had already done and realized it was now going to be a completely different book. I threw most of it out and started from scratch to meet a tight print deadline, the result being The Canada Handbook. Although the book is celebration of everything that makes Canada and Canadians unique, due to our proximity to the USA it was impossible not to make both subtle and not-so-subtle comparisons between Canada and the USA.
BCBL: Many of the jokes in The Canada Handbook feel rooted in everyday life. Which cartoon or observation began as a real, small moment that grew into something bigger on the page?
AR: The Canadian passport. I was once going through immigration at a Europe airport and noticed a couple of people ahead of me with non-Canadian passports were getting the third-degree. At my turn, the officer glanced briefly at my Canadian passport, stamped it and waved me through without a word. That’s where the magic of a Canadian passport page came from. Although, I still got insulted by Parisian waiters.
Saying sorry. I am sorry to say, I do say sorry a lot, which is the butt of many jokes about Canadians. But really, isn’t it better to be known as a country that says sorry, rather than a country that bombs third world nations?
BCBL: You’ve created cartoons about ferries, pets, politics, and now the nation itself. What makes Canada such a rich and renewable source of comedy for you?
AR: Besides the endless source of material from ferries, Ottawa and the legislature, in what other city but Victoria will the fate of a tree outside city hall cause a borderline insurrection? When our sovereignty is threatened by another country we don’t go to war, we just stop buying their booze. We grumble about Canada’s ties to the antiquated British Monarchy but get all giddy when they turn up to do a walk-around. We happily throw political parties out of office when we tire of them and just as happily throw them back in again a few years later. (We’re either incredibly tolerant or have very short memories)
BCBL: If a newcomer to Canada read this book cover to cover, what do you hope they’d understand about the country that no citizenship guide could teach them?
AR: They’ll get that we have a great sense of humour, can laugh at ourselves and are polite and reserved (OK, we lose our sh**t at hockey games). They’ll learn handy things like how not to piss-off a Canadian, toque etiquette, unique Canadian job opportunities, how to survive a Canadian winter and regardless of the topic, every conversation will at some point include a discussion on the weather. Our politicians are on the whole, decent people who respect the electoral process and don’t take themselves too seriously. I know that because often the office of a politician will contact me requesting the original of a cartoon their boss appeared in. So they can frame it? Burn it? I’m never quite sure…
BCBL: After 47 years of observing Canadians at our best and worst, what still genuinely makes you proud to call Canada home?
AR: That it doesn’t matter where you’re from, what language you speak, your religion or your gender, Canada will make space for you and in fact, welcomes diversity.
What am I most proud of? Becoming a Canadian citizen in 1983. 9781550179538
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