Stephen Abootman was the head of the World Canadian Bureau (WGA) in the Season Twelve episode, "Canada on Strike".
Background
In "Canada on Strike", he decided to lead the country on a nationwide strike due to the lack of respect shown to Canada on Canada Appreciation Day. The strike had massive consequences, causing many Canadians to die from starvation and exposure. Furthermore, the strike failed as nobody seemingly even cared about Canada, and the Danish moved in to begin replacing them.
In order to save his Canadian brother Ike, Kyle Broflovski and the boys managed to persuade the world leaders to give them a small consolation prize - bubblegum and a coupon entitling every Canadian to a free meal at Bennigan's (with the purchase of a meal of equal of greater value, of course). However, Terrance and Phillip gatecrash the celebration party and tell the Canadian people that, in fact, Canada lost far more revenue striking. The Canadians then banished Abootman and his aides, setting them adrift on an ice floe.
Stephen Abootman had two assistants which were almost always by his side, similar to Mayor McDaniels' assistants. One of the assistants had dark brown hair and mustache and wore a khaki suit. The other had black hair and a dark blue suit.
He, or a similar character, later appeared in the episode "Royal Pudding", committing suicide by jumping in front of a moving train.
Appearance
Like the other Canadians, he has beady eyes and a Pac-Man-like head that flaps up and down. He has brown hair and wears a black suit with a tie.
In "Royal Pudding" his appearance is slightly different as he has a dark blue suit, a piece of his white shirt sticking out and stubble. Despite a striking visual similarity, it cannot be said for sure whether this was the same character.
Personality
Abootman is incredibly unintelligent, egotistical and self-centered. He calls the strike in order to gain respect from the world, but his actions only serve to massively damage the nation. Concerned only with his reputation, however, he decides to continue the strike despite the massive loss of life. In the end, he only agrees to end the strike if it was made out to be successful so he won't look like an idiot.
Quotes
All quotes from "Canada on Strike".
- Stephen Abootman: "Hello, I am Stephen Abootman, President of the World Canadian Bureau. Do you ever stop to think how important Canada is to the world? Right now, I would like all students of Canadian descent in this school to stand up. Just look at all these fine Canadians in your school. See how diverse they are. When you think of Canada, what's the one thing that comes to mind? That's right, spirit! What is it that makes Canada so important?"
- Stephen Abootman: "My fellow Canadians, for too long we have been pushed around and ridiculed! Yesterday was supposed to be a day of appreciation and understanding! Instead, Canada Appreciation Day was mocked worldwide!"
- Stephen Abootman: "We want more... money!"
- Stephen Abootman: "Nooooo! I'm not gonna look like an idiot! If I fucked up and led everyone astray, the last thing I'm going to do is admit it!"
- Stephen Abootman: "Well, we, uh, we didn't get everything that we wanted, but... we negotiated hard and... we got these... coupons to Bennigan's! And free bubblegum for every Canadian. These coupons entitle every Canadian to a free meal at Bennigan's, with the purchase of a meal at equal or greater value, of course. My friends, this is the greatest victory in Canadian history."
- Stephen Abootman: "Dammit friends, don't you see? We won for future Canadians, guy. So the little guy doesn't get pushed around anymore. This was a victory for Canada's respect!"
Trivia
- Stephen Abootman resembles Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada (2006-2015). One of his assistants bears resembles to his opponent, former NDP leader Jack Layton.
- The strike and Abootman's idiocy was a reference to the Writers' Guild of America strike, which took place when the episode was aired.
- "Abootman" is a pun on the way Canadians are stereotypically thought to say "about".
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