An English Canadian is a Canadian of English-speaking cultural heritage; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadian. Canada is an officially bilingual state, with English and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but often retaining elements of their original cultures. The term English-speaking Canadian is sometimes used interchangeably with English Canadian.

Although many English-speaking Canadians have strong historical roots traceable to the British Isles, they belong to a multitude of ethnic backgrounds. They or their ancestors came from various European, Asian, Caribbean, African, Latin American, and Pacific Island cultures, as well as French Canada and North American Aboriginal groups. As such, although the office of the Governor General is said to alternate between "French" and "English" persons, the two most recent Governors General (Adrienne Clarkson, an English-speaking Chinese Canadian; and Michaëlle Jean, a French-speaking Haitian Canadian) show that this refers to language and not culture or ethnicity.

The French (French: Français) are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups. Within France, the French are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence.

However, the word can also refer to people of French descent who are found in other countries, with significant French-speaking population groups or not, such as Argentina (French Argentines), Brazil (French Brazilians), French West Indies (the French Caribbean people), Canada (French Canadians) and the United States (French Americans), and some of them have a French cultural identity. The United Kingdom also has a large French population, mainly in England, and due to historic relations and immigration.

To be French, according to the first article of the Constitution, is to be a citizen of France, regardless of one's origin, race, or religion (sans distinction d'origine, de race ou de religion). According to its principles, France has devoted herself to the destiny of a proposition nation, a generic territory where people are bounded only by the French language and the assumed willingness to live together, as defined by Ernest Renan's "plébiscite de tous les jours" ("daily referendum" on the willingness to live together, in Renan's 1882 essay "Qu'est-ce qu'une nation?").

Gavin Miles McInnes (born 1970) is a British Canadian writer, musician, and comedian. Referred to as "the Godfather of hipsterdom" and "the primary architect of hipsterdom" McInnes is often credited with starting the contemporary hipster movement, mostly via Vice Magazine’s “DOs & DON’Ts” column.

McInnes was born in Hitchin, England and moved to Canada when he was 4. His parents are Glaswegian. His father is the vice president of operations at Gallium, a high-tech company specializing in defense. His mother is a retired business teacher.

Along with Suroosh Alvi and Shane Smith, McInnes founded Vice Magazine in 1994. Originally a low-budget magazine entitled Voice of Montreal, Vice has since expanded itself into a glossy mass-market magazine, a record label, a film company, and a clothing line, among other projects.

Gavin McInnes was the most public figure associated with Vice due to the popularity of his contributions to the magazine and his outspoken, occasionally controversial nature. He wrote hundreds of articles for the magazine, including The Vice Guide to Eating Pussy, and he was the author of the magazine's regular "DOs and DON'Ts" feature.