"Nice," as in pleasant or agreeable, definitely does not describe Canadians.  "Worldly," in that we are practical, tolerant, and risk takers, better describes us.  These characteristics are rooted in our geography, the stories of the indigenous Canadians and early settlers, and the stories of our newer refugees/immigrants, many of whom were/are fleeing authoritarian and despotic governments.

Approximately 25% percent of Canada's population of 40 million is made up of people born outside Canada. Approximately 34% of Canadians identify with no religion, 53% identify as Christian, 4.9% identify as Muslim, and 0.9% identify as Jewish. The number of Christians is in decline, but the numbers of Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs are increasing. Canada is sociologically described as a "mosaic" of different cultures, as opposed to being a "melting pot" of cultures, as are our American neighbours. We tend to maintain an interest in our countries of origin. Although we laughed at the wild superstitions of, and tolerated the "evil eye" precautions of mothers and grandmothers, we have kept a deeply ingrained belief that, in general, life is precarious and strange, and unseen happenings are going on all around us. And we shouldn't judge. 

This attitude of understanding other ways of being is reflected in our comparatively early adopting of laws around controversial/new social issues: 

• 1969 under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Canada decriminalized homosexuality (Trudeau said, "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation")
• 1971 multiculturalism became official government policy - the first country in the world to do so
• 1976 death penalty abolished
• 2005 gay marriage was legalized
• 2016 Medical Assistance in Dying legalized
• 2018 marijuana (for social uses) legalized

Some would say that Canadians are not patriotic (except when it comes to hockey). Many of us come from cultures where boasting is impolite. I believe it is in keeping with our attitude that life is precarious. And the recent threat from the United States to annex Canada has awakened us to who we are.