Stephen Colbert’s mock anti-Canada feud spirals on the Web, prompts site to label him a Canuck

Colbert’s mock anti-Canada feud spirals on the Web

NEW YORK — Stephen Colbert has been called what his mock pundit character would deem a traitorous insult: Canadian.

The host of “The Colbert Report” is — gasp! — a Canuck, or at least has a Canadian heritage, says the genealogy Web site Ancestry.com. Colbert’s great-great-grandfather and his great-great-grandmother immigrated from Ireland to Canada, according to the site.

On his Comedy Central show, Colbert’s “U-S-A!”-chanting character has disparaged the Great White North.

Colbert’s publicist didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Recently, the Colbert Nation became the official sponsor of the U.S. speedskating team. On the show, he has joined complaints that Vancouver Olympic officials have been limiting international athletes’ access to facilities for the 2010 Winter Games.

He’s called Canadians “syrup-suckers” and has a petition on his show’s Web site urging the Vancouver Organizing Committee not to be “an ice-hole.”

Though many on the speedskating team have laughed at Colbert’s routine and been thankful for his sponsorship, one star, Shani Davis, on Thursday called him “a jerk.” Davis declined to elaborate, making the comment while vetting potential questions from The Canadian Press before rejecting an interview request and walking away.