Yeah, this is one thing that concerns me with moving to Toronto... one thing I've heard over and over again is that in social situations, Canadians are "polite to a fault".
How the fuck am I going to teach my kids to be polite so they're not ostracized when I'm just 6 kinds of rude, crude, ignorant & socially unacceptable?
mnem
Okay, 7 kinds... fuck me.
Speaking as Brit with a fair bit of experience of Canadians both here and in their native land, or "Canada, eh" as they call it, I haven't found them to be notably more polite than I'd expect the average Brit to be; so you should be OK adjusting to their quaint ways.
What they
are is much less likely to be aggressive if something goes wrong. So a couple of average Joe working class Canadians who have a fender-bender are more likely to first ask if everyone's OK, whereas a Brit will probably enquire
exactly what kind of idiot the other driver is (often with suggestions as to the precise kind of idiot the inquisitor envisages they may be) and of course many of our American cousins from the more, ahem, colourful states
* or places that start
New seem to think that fists and splenic rage are the appropriate social niceties in these situations. I think it's the slowness to take offence or fly into a rage that garners the Canadians a reputation for politeness from their southern neighbours.
One thing that has surprised me is that I've found the average Canadian to be a bit more racist than the average Brit, as I say a surprise for a people famed for their politeness and generally respectful attitude towards other people. I've heard racial remarks from Canadian friends and relatives that have prompted me to tell people "that's a bit off colour" which I last recall having to say to a fellow Brit no more recently than about 15 years ago and that was an isolated incident with a stranger that I was chatting to in a bar near the Tower of London.
*I obviously exclude the peoples of the Northern Midwest such as Minnesota, who by this time of year are wearing enough warm clothing that they couldn't hear each other, and even if they could wouldn't be able to get close enough or move fast enough to have a fight.