'They're practically the 51st state!' How this movie predicted Canada-U.S. relations 30 years ago

Thirty years ago this spring, American filmmaker and noted Canada-phile Michael Moore released Canadian Bacon, his first and so far only foray into non-documentary filmmaking as a director. Did it foretell the current state of Canada-U.S. relations? Here’s what to know.

What is Canadian Bacon about?

The film imagines that, at the end of the Cold War, America’s economy is tanking and a new enemy is needed. So the president (played by Alan Alda), egged on by his National Security Advisor (Kevin Pollak), decides to demonize Canada to boost both his poll numbers and U.S. defence spending.

How close is it to the truth?

Well, when the U.S. president entertains his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Krushkin, at the White House, he serves the foreign leader KFC.

Later, a CIA agent at the agency’s Canada desk discusses how Americans don’t fear Canadians, noting: “They’re just Canadians. They’re practically the 51st state!”

Pollak’s character is also seen with a chart, explaining that “Canada owns more of the U.S. than any other country!” The chart suggests we own 55 per cent of America, with England and Japan picking up most of the rest.

And when several American characters attend a hockey game in Canada, they gripe about our national anthem. But what really upsets the Canadians is when one of them remarks: “Canadian beer sucks!”

Who delivers this blasphemous remark?

Sheriff Budd Boomer of Niagara Falls, New York, is a rabid anti-Canadian. But in a clever bit of casting, he’s played by famous Torontonian John Candy, in what would be his last screen appearance.

Candy died in 1994, a year before the film’s release. The credits include a shout-out to “Johnny LaRue,” a character Candy played on SCTV. Another credit notes: No Canadians were harmed during this production.

Any other Canadians in the film?

Most of the cast are Americans, including Steven Wright as a Mountie. But Canada’s Dan Aykroyd shows up as an OPP motorcycle cop who pulls over Candy’s vehicle and chastises him for having anti-American graffiti written on the side in only one of Canada’s official languages. The fine is set at $1,000, or 10 American dollars. Candy is then given a can of spray paint to correct his error.

The film also includes a montage of Canadians who have “infiltrated” America. They include William Shatner, Michael J. Fox, Peter Jennings, Morley Safer, Raymond Burr, Louis B. Mayer, Ivan Reitman, Tommy Chong, Monty Hall, Mike Myers, Alex Trebek, Lorne Greene, Rick James, Leonard Cohen, Mary Pickford, Rich Little, Paul Anka and (misspelled) Leslie Nielsen and John Kenneth Galbraith.

Does Canada win the war?

You could say that. A missile system that only Canada can stop is about to launch an attack on Russia, and the U.S. president calls Prime Minister Clark MacDonald (Wallace Shawn) to offer him anything he wants. In the “where are they now” credits at the end of the film, the prime minister is said to be “still ruling with an iron fist.”

Does Mexico have a role?

Barely. At the very end of the movie we see the CIA character driving a tank across the Mexican border and smashing a sign that proclaims: “Your free trade partner!”

What does the title mean?

It’s the American term for what Canadians call back bacon or peameal bacon, and according to the Food Network is so named “because it originated in Canada.”

The difficulty of translating that term means that the film has very different titles in some other territories. In Finland, it was called “Bacon the Canadian Way.” The German title is “Our Hostile Neighbours.” And Japanese viewers see it as “John Candy’s Great Attack.”

What was the reaction to the film?

Canadian Bacon premiered at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in May of 1995, and had its Canadian premiere at the Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival on Sept. 21, before opening in America the next day.

It was not well received, earning just 17 per cent from critics at RottenTomatoes.com, though the audience score was a little higher, at 53 per cent. However, like almost any “bad movie” it has its cult followers.

What does Moore have to say about all this?

The National Post has reached out to Moore but has not yet heard back. But the filmmaker is known to have a soft spot for Canada, even though it is sometimes misplaced: His assertion in 2002’s Bowling for Columbine that Canadians don’t lock their doors follows us to this day.

Moore would no doubt happily take credit for his prognostication, and it wouldn’t be the first time; commentators during the first Trump presidency — which Moore also predicted, by the way — were already noting the similarities between real life and Canadian Bacon.

We can leave the last word to Moore, however, who includes in Canadian Bacon the credit: “This film is dedicated to my grandfather, William J. Wall, a Canadian who came to America, and loved going to the movies.”