I Am Canadian was the slogan of Molson Canadian beer from 1994 until 1999 (via ad agencies Maclaren Lintas, then MacLaren McCann), and between 2000 and 2005 (by

Bensimon Byrne Bensimon Byrne is Canada's largest independent advertising agency, based in Toronto, Canada. History The company was founded in 1994 by Jack Bensimon and Peter Byrne with Eaton’s department store as its first client. The firm later acquired ...

). It was also the subject of a popular ad campaign centred on

Canadian patriotism Canadianism () or Canadian patriotism () is patriotism involving the cultural attachment of Canadians to Canada as their homeland. In contemporary times, this patriotism has increasingly centred on the principles of official bilingualism and ...

and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

, the most famous examples of which are "The Rant" and "The Anthem". The ads aired in both English Canada and the United States. In 2005, shortly after Molson's merger with American brewer Coors, it announced it was retiring the "I Am Canadian" campaign. In 2017, Molson's "red beer fridge" ad, created in 2013 for its "I Am Canadian" campaign, had a resurgence in social media in response to the United States

Trump travel ban As President of the United States, Donald Trump has taken several executive order, executive actions restricting entry into the United States by certain foreign nationals. His First presidency of Donald Trump, first-term travel bans predominan ...

. In 2025, "The Rant" ad created in 2000 experienced a resurgence in social media as Canadian patriotism heightened during the trade war with the United States. In March 2025, a new updated version of the commercial, directly addressing the trade war and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's threats to annex Canada as the

51st state "51st state" is a phrase used in the United States of America to refer to the idea of adding an additional state to the current 50-state Union. Proposals for a 51st state may include granting statehood to one of the U.S. territories or Washing ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, was released to YouTube.Stewart Lewis
"'We are Canadian': Joe Canada returns with a rallying cry for the country"
''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

'', March 5, 2025.

"The Rant"

In March 2000, using nationalism as a platform, the ad starred a man named Joe: an average Canadian, standing in a movie theatre, with a cinema screen behind him showing different images relating to

Canadian culture The culture of Canada embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, humour, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Canadians. Throughout Canada's history, its culture has been influenced firstly by its indigenous cultu ...

. Joe proceeds to give a speech about what is it to be a Canadian and what it is not to be a Canadian, making particular efforts to distinguish himself both from common Canadian stereotypes of Americans ("I believe in peacekeeping, not policing") and common American stereotypes of Canadians ("I don't live in an igloo," "I say 'about,' not 'aboot'") and noting the

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

, the national animal of Canada ("is a proud and Noble animal"). It was performed by Nova Scotian/Canadian actor

Jeff Douglas Jeffrey Lloyd Douglas (born June 8, 1971) is a Canadian actor and broadcaster, best known as the cohost of CBC Radio One's daily news program '' As It Happens'' from 2011 to 2019. He has hosted the mainland Nova Scotia afternoon show ''Mainstreet' ...

and directed by an American, Kevin Donovan, but written by a Canadian, Glen Hunt. The commercial won local, national and international success. The ad was tested live in front of movie goers in theatres in Ottawa and deemed successful enough to run on-air. It was the work of the public relations agency Thornley Fallis together with Molson that helped garner local, national and International awards. Director Kelly Swinney(Donovan) and team won the Canadian Public Relations award, the national Gold Quill award and the International Public Relations award in 2001. In 2002,

John Robert Colombo John Robert Colombo, CM (born March 24, 1936) is a Canadian writer, editor, and poet. He has published over 200 titles, including major anthologies and reference works. Early life Colombo was born in Kitchener, Ontario, in 1936. He attended ...

included the Rant in the ''

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

Treasury of Popular Canadian Poems and Songs''. Colombo acknowledged that it was unusual to include the text of a beer commercial in a poetry collection, but emphasized that "the open-minded reader will respond to the power of the words that express a human need to affirm an identity in the face of ignorance and indifference," and compared it to the works of

Christopher Smart Christopher Smart (11 April 1722 – 20 May 1771) was an English poet. He was a major contributor to two popular magazines, ''The Midwife'' and ''The Student'', and a friend to influential cultural icons like Samuel Johnson and Henry Fiel ...

, Ebenezer Elliot, and

Vachel Lindsay Nicholas Vachel Lindsay (; November 10, 1879 – December 5, 1931) was an American poet. He is considered a founder of modern ''singing poetry,'' as he referred to it, in which verses are meant to be sung or chanted. Early years Lindsay was born ...

.The Penguin treasury of popular Canadian poems and songs, edited by

, published 2002 by

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

We are Canadian

An update to the popular version was released in 2025 with a central message that Canada will not submit to the United States, especially in light of President Trump's recent threats to impose tariffs and suggest that Canada could become the

. The ad again features Jeff Douglas who expresses national pride and emphasizes Canada's identity, mentioning various aspects of

Canadian values Canadian values are the perceived commonly shared ethical and human values of Canadians.Douglas Baer, Edward Grabb, and William Johnston, "National character, regional culture, and the values of Canadians and Americans." ''Canadian Review of Soci ...

, including kindness and

universal healthcare Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured right to health, access to health care. It is genera ...

with a mix of humour and serious patriotic tugs. The ad showcases a mix of national stereotypes that build from modesty to a powerful declaration of Canadian spirit. It invokes pride in Canada as a large and unique country known for its contributions to

yoga pants Yoga pants are high- denier hosiery reaching from ankle to waist, originally designed for yoga as exercise and first sold in 1998 by Lululemon, a company founded for that purpose. They were initially made of a mix of nylon and Lycra; more spec ...

Poutine Poutine () is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a hot brown gravy. It emerged in Quebec in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, though its exact origins are uncertain, and there are several competing claims regar ...

, Ketchup chip,

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, and national unity. The renewed interest stems from Trump's comments, inspiring a wave of patriotism among

Canadians Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

Parodies

The popularity of "I Am Canadian" in Canada led to many parodies of the advertisement. Several radio stations have produced provincial variations on the theme. These include ''I am an Albertan'', ''I am a British Columbian'', ''I am a Newfoundlander'', and ''I Am Not Canadian'', the last of which focused on the

Quebec sovereignty movement The Quebec sovereignty movement (French: ''mouvement souverainiste du Québec'', ) is a political movement advocating for Quebec's independence from Canada. Proponents argue that Quebecers form a distinct nation with a unique culture, language, ...

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

performed his own variation on the idea in a Just for Laughs appearance. He announced to the world: "I am not a

Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduct ...

commander, ...or

T.J. Hooker ''T. J. Hooker'' is an American police drama television program starring William Shatner in the title role as a 15-year veteran police sergeant. The series premiered as a mid-season replacement on March 13, 1982, on ABC and ran on the network u ...

." The rant continues, making fun of

Trekkie A Trekkie (a portmanteau of "trek" and "junkie") or Trekker is a fan of the ''Star Trek'' franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise. The show developed a following shortly after it premiered, with the first fanzi ...

s and his own

typecasting In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...

as James T. Kirk, as well as Molson itself ("I drink

Labatt's Labatt Brewing Company Limited () is a Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned brewery headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1847, Labatt is the largest brewer in Canada. In 1995, it was purchased by Belgian brewer Interbrew. In 2004, Interb ...

, not Romulan ale!"). Weasel, the lead character of '' I Am Weasel'', parodied the advertisement in a promotional ad for the series' home,

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

. The ad later aired on a similar Canadian outlet,

Teletoon Cartoon Network (formerly Teletoon) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts animated series aimed at children and teenagers. It was launched on October 17 ...

. During the 2002 Swiss National Exposition, the

Swiss National Bank The Swiss National Bank (SNB; ; ; ; ) is the central bank of Switzerland, responsible for the nation's monetary policy and the sole issuer of Swiss franc banknotes. The primary goal of its mandate is to ensure price stability, while taking econ ...

pavilion featured an "Ich bin Schweizer" adaptation of the ad, using stereotypes held by Germans about the Swiss. At the Juno Awards of 2022, actor and host

Simu Liu Simu Liu ( ; ; born 19 April 1989) is a Canadian actor. He rose to prominence by starring as Shang-Chi in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' (2021). Liu was born in Harbin and raised in Ontario. ...

opened the ceremony with an updated riff on the "I Am Canadian" ad, highlighting contemporary signifiers such as multicultural food, runaway housing prices and the legalization of marijuana.David Friend
"Juno Awards celebrate Avril Lavigne, Deborah Cox and host Simu Liu’s many talents"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', May 15, 2022.

Trivia

This commercial premiered during the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, which, in that year, included

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

singing the song " Blame Canada", a satirical song from the movie '' South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.''

"The Anthem"

This ad features famous moments from Canadian history (including the pounding of the Last Spike and the raising of the Maple Leaf flag), as well as a variety of average Canadians (including

), singing a song extolling the virtues of Canada and its citizens.

References

External links

"The Rant" (YouTube)

"We Are Canadian" aka "The Rant 2025" (YouTube)

"The Anthem" (YouTube)
Canadian advertising slogans 1994 quotations Advertising campaigns Beer advertising Canadian television commercials Canadian identity Molson Coors Beverage Company