Well, I'm from South Africa and I have a small South African flag on my backpack, which I've had there for about 10 years now. I haven't had much reaction, either positive or negative. Maybe people don't know what country it is ...
I agree that the most common flag you see is Canadian.
I would go with "Yea"
best case: People will not mistake you for an US citizen and not start discussing the Iraq crusade. Other will confirm that Canada is a nice country and buy you a beer.
worst case: nothing happens
This comes up every so often here on the TT and responses are always mixed.
Here is my take on it as a Canadian who has spent many years travelling in Europe. It doesn't hurt to have it on your pack.
There is no doubt that some people don't like Americans. There is no doubt that Canadians are generally mistaken for Americans as soon as they open their mouth to speak. There is no doubt that Canada (and Canadians) enjoy a good reputation in most of the world. There is no doubt that in SOME instances, having it known you are Canadian and not American makes a difference to how you are treated.
Note the SOME, it isn't an absolute. Not everyone is prejudiced against Americans. Not everyone loves Canadians. It's simply a question of playing the odds. GENERALLY speaking it is better to be seen as a Canadian than as an American.
I personally don't travel with a flag on my bag. But I do make a point of finding an opportune moment in the first few minutes of conversation with anyone, to mention I am a Canadian. I KNOW that has resulted in a change of attitude of the person I am talking with, in SOME cases.
For those responding to this thread who are NOT CANADIAN, I have this comment to make. Unless you are a Canadian you CANNOT KNOW whether it makes a difference or not. In other words you may have an opinion but it doesn't come from experience. ONLY a Canadian can answer this question from experience. So leave the responses to those who KNOW.
#12 I may not be Canadian but I do know that for me, and I dare say for nearly or even all of the people I know, it doesn't matter at all if you have a flag pin on your backpack or not. Nor do I care if your American or Canadian, or Iraqi or Bhutanese for that matter. As I said before, attitude is all - flag pin or not. And if you, as a Canadian, feel more comfortable and reassured not to be mistaken for an American by waring a flag pin - go ahead.
Judging from the capitals in your last paragraph I understand that in your opinion we non-Canadians should have left this thread unanswered. If I did offend you, I apologize, I should not have responded to any questions asked by people of different nationalities even if they ask them on an international forum.
No Aribo, you did not offend me, nor should you refrain from responding if you feel like it. All I am saying is all you can contribute is 1 person's opinion of how YOU would react if you met the OP. You cannot speak for any other person in the world obviously. If you are a European, then your opinion has some minimal value. If you are not a European and not a Canadian, it would have no value at all since it is Europe the OP is planning to visit.
But even if 50% of the population of Europe posted and said it wouldn't matter to them whether he has a flag or not, it would not cover all Europeans. That's the point and the fact that only another Canadian can tell the OP whether they have ever noticed a difference in attitude based on their perceived nationality.
Again, based on experience, I know that sometimes it does make a difference to how you are treated. It might only be once during a trip. It doesn't matter how often it happens. All that matters is knowing it CAN happen. So making sure people know you are a Canadian, whether by having a flag on your bag or by letting them know in conversation, is simply common sense. If you can avoid a possibly bad reception, why not avoid it?
The only country in which I don't bother to let people know right away that I am Canadian, is in the USA. It isn't because I have anything against Americans, it's because it has made a difference sometimes in the past. That's based on many years of extensive travel as a Canadian. How does your, "I do know that for me, and I dare say for nearly or even all of the people I know, it doesn't matter at all", compare to that? Unless you could say, 'it doesn't matter to anyone', your comment is really not worth anything at all.
The whole point is it matters to SOME Europeans.
#14:
Look, as you probably know better than me, this subject of "will people in Europe dislike me because they think I'm American?" comes up every once in a while. Sometimes the posters are just trolls who try to stir up an endless discussion between Europeans and Americans about Iraq, sometimes people are genuinely worried about how they might be treated if they are mistaken to be American. I'm quite confident that this OP is not a troll, so I decided to send a reply, and though it may have sounded a bit curt I absolutely did not intend to make a fool of OP.
This is an international forum, so unless an OP specifies that only replies from his/her countrymates are appreciated, chances are that some foreigner reacts. Dismissing the opinion of a local as worthless is IMHO quite rude, although I admit that first-hand experiences have higher value than comments from locals trying to put things in perspective.
Maybe it's because I'm from a small country (the Netherlands) and I'm used to being mistaken for an American (until my accent or English mistakes give me away, at least), a German (hey, that's the same anyway, right? - not trying to sound bitter but that is how people from small European countries are sometimes told) or even an Israeli (I look almost as northern European as possible), but I couldn't care less personally about being mistaken for some other national. This would be different if there would be a chance of getting stones thrown at me or being mobbed because locals think I'm an American, but AFAIK that has never ever happened in Europe in the past decades.
Of course there are people around who think Canada = USA or American = Bush supporter = totally wrong, but if you would adjust yourself to what locals might think of you, you'll have a hard time. It's also not like all Europeans are against Bush or don't see the difference between Americans and Canadians. Besides, loads of Americans travel around Europe, are they all met by hatred and anger from locals? And why would you care about narrow-minded people who won't help you because they think you're American? Walk two steps and you'll find someone else to give you directions.
On the other hand, locals you meet on the streets won't first check the flagpin on your backpack before they decide if they're going to help you finding your way or to sell you goods. Rushing into a small shop in Spain and launching off in English without considering if the shopkeeper will understand and then reacting in an annoyed way when you can't make yourself understood, is an (albeit exaggerated but not totally fictious) example of a good way to get a bad reception. That's why I stick to my previous remark in post 4.
You have clearly based your opinion on personal experiences and say you feel more comfortable with a flagpin. There is, as you point out, no way I can come up with a better argument against the flagpin, so I won't even try. I also like to make very clear that my remarks are only an attempt to offer the OP a perspective from the point of view of 1 individual person from 1 country in Europe and that I am absolutely not trying to win an argument against someone who is judging from his own experiences, as I fully respect your opinion.
I'm not trying to argue about anything Aribo. It isn't open to argument. It's a fact.
SOME people react differently to a traveller who they think is an American, than they do to a traveller who they think is a Canadian. That's a simple fact. Why they do is irrelevant.
If by making it clear you are a Canadian, you can avoid that possibility, it is only logical that you do so. I DON'T wear a flagpin or sew a flag on my bag. I make it clear in conversation. But I see no DOWN SIDE to using a pin or patch on a bag.
There is nothing to lose and perhaps something to gain by advertising your Canadian nationality. Simple.
All I've said is it's a fact that ONLY another Canadian could attest to. So logically, only responses from fellow Canadians make any sense. It isn't like asking where is a good restaurant in Barcelona to which people of any nationality might say, 'I think this is a good restaurant.'
Anyway, I think we've done this one to death.