If confronted at a bar I’d consider it for basically all the reasons you mentioned. When I send updates to my friends in France or Ireland or China I find myself apologizing for wherever embarrassing things we’ve done most recently.

Canadians don’t wear Canadian flags, it’s almost always an American.

Used to be you could spot us by MEC or Roots gear, but they’re both enshittified now.

Only heard about this anecdotally, but it’s plausible that it would work. People who aren’t from North America often have trouble distinguishing at least some American accents (generally the more northern ones) from Canadian accents. Like, you won’t get away with it if you’re from Texas or Louisiana or some such, but if you talk like Dan Rather or David Sedaris you can pass for Canadian in most places that aren’t Canada.

I’ve always said that I would if I traveled, but I never travel, so…

Traveled Europe in the 90’s with a backpack. It was pretty common then. I met loads of Americans claiming to be Canadian. As a travelled Canadian myself it was fairly obvious to me but some insisted it was worthwhile. It certainly fell off over the years I traveled however.

I’ve had Americans here in Spain ask me to speak English as they don’t speak Spanish.

I was speaking to them in English. I am English

Just cements the proof they often respond without thinking

I’m a New Yorker. Only American on a technicality.

I do the opposite and pretend to be an American with a generic accent. Even Americans can’t tell.

I remember meeting some masquerading Americans during the Iraq war. These were backpackers in SE Asia.

You only show your passport at the border or maybe when you get a car or a hotel room. That leaves a lot of time to pretend being Canadian everywhere else.

That being said, I just saw a comedy bit where this was recommended to Americans. I think it’s more meme than happening IRL today.

I’m embarrassed to be an Australian and always say I am from New Zealand when travelling.

Yeah I met an american in austria who told me he’d use the canadian excuse quite often, just to be sure.

Very few US Americans seem to visit Europe these days. Even at the big tourist attractions you don’t hear or see them much. Some Canadian flags are visible - my personal conclusion is that US Americans are (finally) trying to blend in more: dressing better, keeping their voices down. Their usual loud bravado is gone. To distinguish between a Canadian and US American doesn’t require asking for their passports: just ask a question in French, most Canadians will understand at least a bit of French.

The idea is fairly old. I think the first time I heard it was the latter part of the Bush era? Someone told me secondhand about how having a Canadian flag on the backpack makes some airports friendlier. that’s also around when I started traveling internationally for work so it could have been around even earlier than that. I never knew any Americans who actually did it. I did work with a lot of Southerners and we all had distinctively American accents, so I don’t think we could have pulled it off. Maybe a Minnesotan could pass.

Yeah, I work with Americans in NZ, they don’t get away with it here if they have a Southern, NY or Cali accent unless they are in a very rural area, but they find it necessary when going to southeast Asia

I’d be ashamed to be Canadian too.