Canadians the nicest people in the world, says BBC, but are we?

Being nice, and polite, and anything but confrontational ...

It's one of the few things that seem to define our national character. And that's especially true if you travel abroad and encountered others' perceptions of what a Canadian should be: a fan of hockey; somehow comfortable with cold weather; and unfailingly courteous, and "nice." But some would say there's an undercurrent, something less than "nice" flowing under the surface... or beneath the "ice" of Canadian "nice."

We're asking today because of a piece of journalism that went heavy on the "nice" in describing Canada, and Canadians, to the wider world. Published on the BBC's travel website, the item was headlined, "Can Canada teach the rest of us to be nicer?" And its author, Eric Weiner, has faced a nice amount of backlash since publishing the piece — especially from Canadians arguing we might not be as nice, as we may seem.

Eric Weiner is a journalist and author of the book "The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World." He was in our Washington studio. 

Aisha Alfa is a comedian and actor. She was in our Toronto studio.
 

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This segment was produced by The Current's Josh Bloch and Pacinthe Mattar.