Canada on Strike

"Canada on Strike" is the fourth episode of Season Twelve, and the 171st overall episode of South Park. It aired on April 2, 2008.

Plot
When "Canada Appreciation Day" in the U.S. is mocked and doesn't bring Canada the respect it believes it deserves, the leader of the 'World Canadian Bureau' (a reference to the Writers Guild of America) Stephen Abootman leads a nation wide strike of Canadians to garner respect and more money, without actually specifying how much they want and for what reason they would need it. They demand, "some of that Internet money" from other UN nations, but are denied. Meanwhile, Kyle Broflovski is worried about his brother Ike, who is also on strike out in the freezing weather. Kyle's concern for his brother and reruns of Terrance and Phillip episodes convince the boys that they need to try and negotiate an end to the strike. After talking to Steven Aboutman; Cartman, Stan and Kyle put a video of Butters singing "What, What In the Butt" on YouTube which becomes an instant hit to try and make 'internet money'.

Canadian spirits are down when there is no world interest in the strike and Terrance and Phillip talk about ending it. Things get worse when the Danish (who share the Canadian's trash can heads) flock to the U.S. to take the places of Canadian's. Meanwhile, the boys wait in line at the 'Colorado Department of Internet Money', where they meet other YouTube phenomena such as Tay Zonday ("Chocolate Rain"), Ghyslain Raza [although he is Canadian he does not have a flappy head] and Chris Crocker ("Leave Britney Alone"). The other YouTube celebrities begin to argue about who is the most famous, which quickly descends into violence, and most of them end up killing each other. The boys manage to be first in line; they receive 10 million "theoretical dollars", 1 for each viewing of the YouToob video.

They take the money to the WGA in Canada, but its rejected because it isn't real money. Stephen Abootman refuses to give up the strike being he doesn't want to admit that he led everyone astray. A call from the UN asking if they could transform Newfoundland into a theme park once all the Canadians are dead throws Stephen over the edge. Kyle takes the call and asks the UN to give Canada something small at least, and act as if 'they are giving something big'. The UN give Canada free coupons for Bennigans and bubblegum to each Canadian as a consolation prize, and Canada 'wins the strike'. The boys return home and Kyle tells Ike he can stop striking. He then recites what he learned from all of this:

''"We thought we could make money on the Internet. But while the Internet is new and exciting for creative people, it hasn't matured as a distribution mechanism to the extent that one should trade real and immediate opportunities for income for the promise of future online revenue. It will be a few years before digital distribution of media on the Internet can be monetized to an extent that necessitates content producers to forgo their fair value in more traditional media." ''

Back in Canada, as a victory party is held by the WGA, Terrance and Phillip, whose attitudes in this episode reflect that of the show's two creators (Matt Stone and Trey Parker) arrive and uncover that the strike cost Canada millions of dollars and accuse the WGA head of trying to look good so they wouldn't "set him adrift". As it turns out, Canada lost far more revenue by going on strike than they gained through it. Canada is outraged and the WGA leader, along with his assistants, end up banished and set adrift on an ice floe.

YouTube characters

 * Tron Guy (Jay Maynard)
 * The Numa Numa Guy (Gary Brolsma)
 * Star Wars Kid (Ghyslain Raza)
 * Sneezing Panda
 * Afro Ninja
 * Laughing Baby
 * Chocolate Rain (Tay Zonday)
 * Chris Crocker ("Leave Britney Alone")
 * Dramatic Look Gopher
 * The Back Dorm Boys
 * lonelygirl15 (Jessica Rose)
 * Bubb Rubb