Why do we refer to Americans/Canadians as such?

It’s where we reside now, and technically noone born in a country is an immigrant but technically a natural citizen at least by law. I mean I’m French/Italian/British/Cherokee Indian, but for me it’s easier to just say American instead of trying to combine the four of those into one crazy word, plus I’ve never lived anywhere else so this is home.

Very few people on this planet can trace their ancestry back to the place they currently live. Humans move around, invade each other’s territory, or simply resettle. This is not unique to Canada and the United States. It’s a worldwide trend.

I was born in Germany, and could be called “German” but what does that mean? If you go back far enough, the ethnic composition of the area now known as “Germany” is completely different than it is now. The tribes and clans originally living in Germany were displaced by wave after wave of invaders, and the German people today could trace their ancestry to any number of ancient peoples that few people even know about anymore.

Canada and the United States are relatively new countries, so there reall isn’t an “American” or “Canadian” ethnicity. In time, there probably will be, just as the France or England or Germany of 1500 years ago were places of migrant peoples who eventually developed a single identity. Since the US and Canada are so new, there is greater awareness of the displacing of native peoples by new settlers. I suspect that 1000 years from now, people will be less aware of how the “American” and “Canadian” peoples came to be.

Because pretty much everyone is an immigrant to wherever they are. The only difference is that most people dont feel the need to clarify european american as much as they do with other sorts of american (african, asian, etc). I dont know about canada. I think they’re a little less ridi.culous about the whole african canadian and asian canadian thing.

It’s aboot time someone asked this question, eh?