We mild-mannered Canadians swear more than our British and American peers, according to a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll.

Canadians, it seems, swear more often than Americans and Britons when talking to friends. Britons, meanwhile, are more likely than Canadians and Americans to hear strangers swear during a conversation.

In an online survey of 1,012 Canadian, 1,013 American and 1,992 British adults, 27 per cent of Canadian respondents, 27 per cent of British respondents and 26 per cent of Americans say they frequently hear their friends cuss during the course of a regular day.

Twenty-one per cent of Americans were more likely than Canadians (17 per cent) and Britons (13 per cent) to say their relatives swear more frequently.

And 36 per cent of Canadians, versus 24 per cent of Britons and 18 per cent of Americans reported with co-workers swore on a regular basis.

Curiously, a staggering — or maybe not staggering — 56 per cent of Canadians freely admit they frequently or occasionally swear when talking to friends. Fifty-one per cent of Britons and 46 per cent of Americans owned up to coarse language.

When it comes to conversing with relatives, however, only about a tenth of the respondents in all three countries admitted to swearing during conversations, and roughly a third of Britons and Americans said they never swear in front of relatives, and slightly fewer Canadians claim to clam up on potty words ini front of family.

Americans are also more discreet in the office: 46 per cent say they never use colourful language in front of co-workers. A third of Britons and Canadians stiffen their upper lips and stifle the f-bombs at work.

About a third of respondents in all three countries say they alter their speech in public, and fewer than 20 per cent say they never alter their speech.

Just over a third of respondents in the three countries say they always alter the way they speak in order to make sure a swear word is not heard in public (U.S. 35%, BRI 37%, CAN 34%).

Slightly more Americans (18%) than Canadians (15%) and Britons (15%) say they never alter their behaviour, and if a swear word comes out they are not troubled by it.

More than 70 per cent of respondents in all three countries say it is not appropriate for politicians, lawyers, doctors, and police officers to swear, even when they are not aware that somebody else is listening; between 60 and 70 per cent believe it's inappropriate for athletes to swear, and nearly half figure actors and auto mechanics shouldn't swear.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson must be somewhat relieved that 12 per cent of Canadians figure it's OK for politicians to loosen their lips now and then. After all, sometimes sh*t happens when someone leaves a microphone on.

The survey was conducted between July 20 and 23, 2010, and the results are considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points in Canada.

OK, so Britons and Canadians swear at work more than Americans, but otherwise, the countries are about the same when it comes to swearing.

I was hoping the evidence really would point to Canadians swearing more than people in other English-speaking countries. That would be amusing.

That's fucking bullshit crap.

Those fucking American and British niggaz need to grow balls and speak like REAL FUCKING MEN!

When I heard this story on the news it also said that the only problem they had with the survey was that Canadians were probably a lot more honest about their swearing habits.
Honestly, I don't give a fuck.

I find it reprehensible that you fellows would stoop to such foul language. Bunch of bleedin' tossers the lot of ya.

'Bleedin' tossers'?

You're so hardcore.

I'm not very good at swearing. I'm not creative enough and I've been brought up too well. You're very good at sarcasm though ^^. Let me try again....
You feckless shitheads and utter gaumless twats, give o'er with swearing all the fucking time or I'll kick your teef in for ya. Ah, I'm just not good.

That's pretty cuntingly cool.

You shitheads are in-fucking-credible. All this motherfucking hype for this piss-shitty piece of a retard's asshole? You've all been a fucking waste of my oh-so-fucking-precious time. Go out and play 'hide and go fuck youself'.

When I was working night shift last night, the miners who work in BC come in at around 5 to 5:30. Hearing them talk is just hilarious. They're the only guys I know who can make a complete sentence by swearing.

Everybody knows fucking Candians swear more.

I was never surveyed for this. I think that would greatly sway the fuckin' results.

in all honesty, i think on a world wide scale russians cuss more than anyone else. thats right we win

Clearly, the "proper" parts of the US were quizzed, cause I really doubt even the UKers swear as much as most southerners do in the states.

Ahahah, that's a joke. Especially since my household alone swears more than a billion sailors.

Potty mouths!