The question is, do most Canadians want to leave such a strong impression? The linguistic impulses of most of the English-speaking nation have tended toward moderation and, sometimes, disguise. Generations of Canadian actors and newsreaders have counted on both to launch careers in the States.

There could also be a class dimension to how the majority of us talk. Middle-class, urban societies tend to avoid strong or idiosyncratic speech, finding such verbal energy unruly. For all their appeal, regional idioms, especially those from the historically poorer “Celtic” regions of Canada, with their culturally ingrained admiration of wordplay and irreverence, have made scant impact on the wider nation. Most of the country hasn’t taken into its collective mouth “having a scoff” for eating a meal, or being “stogged” for being stuffed up; it doesn’t declare, about blackflies, “If you kill one, fifty more come to its funeral.” Few Manitobans, say, delight in explaining that “scluttery” means fatty, or that a guy who has “chowdered it” has messed something up.

If we did, perhaps Mike Myers would have stayed with his Canadian accent. Shrek, after all, would have made a fine Newfoundland ogre.