The following is a message from the people of Canada to all other nations sending teams to compete at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver: While we hope you enjoy your visit in our country, please be advised that Canada reserves the right to beat you and, if it so chooses, to celebrate with behavior that could be described as "gloating."  Dominick Gauthier, a former Olympian now coaching two of the country's top medal prospects, describes the country's new Olympic philosophy this way: "Canada," he says, "is finally more concerned with winning than being nice."  Gold medalist Clara Hughes, right, and fellow Canadian Cindy Klassen, who won the bronze, after the Ladies' 5,000-meter speed-skating event in Turin, Italy, in 2006.  Canada has never placed first in any Winter Games, something much-tinier Norway has done six times (seven if you include ties). In fact, Canada hasn't even come in second. During its hosting of the 1976 Montreal Games and the 1988 Calgary Winter Games, the national team failed to win a single gold.  For Vancouver, Canada has launched an ambitious plan to change this. It has piped in 120 million Canadian dollars (US$113 million) in training money, delivered more resources to the best athletes and launched an effort to improve equipment. "This February, quiet Canada will turn rowdy with pride," predicts J.D. Miller, founder of a Canadian corporate group that is financing elite Olympians.  In its slogans for Montreal ("Game Plan '76") and Calgary ("Best Ever"), Canada displayed all the brashness of a rockhopper penguin. The 1988 Calgary medal take turned out to be two silvers and three bronzes, a showing that ranked Canada 13th in total medals. This year's motto, "Own the Podium," shows no such timidity. In the history of the Olympics, in fact, no host country has ever talked such smack in its slogan.  Publicly announcing such a goal strikes some in Canada as impolite and others as inhospitable. "It sounds like we're welcoming the countries of the world to our doorstep so that we can trounce them," says Bruce Kidd, a former Olympian now a University of Toronto dean. The newfound jingoism strikes many here as just too, well, American. "Own the Podium is obnoxious and un-Canadian," says Louise Fox, a Canadian etiquette expert. "Up here we don't toot our own horn like that."  To many athletes, however, the boldness of the claim is thrilling. "As a Canadian I'm happy to see Canada becoming aggressive like America," says former hockey coach Barry Melrose, now an ESPN announcer. "If you're afraid to talk about winning, you'll never win."  Specifically, Canada is targeting 35 medals, or however many it takes to top the overall medal count. Germany's 36 medals in Salt Lake City in 2002 stands as the largest-ever Winter Games haul. Through its fund raising, Own the Podium has raised about one-third of its total haul from corporate contributors and the rest from government. It has enabled athletes to train full time rather than wait tables, as well as employ personal trainers and sports psychologists.  Canadian athletes say the program provides not only improved equipment, better coaching and greater opportunities to train but also enhanced motivation. "When your country is supporting you, you go out there and train no matter how tired and sore you are," says Ryan Blais, an aerial skier.  Already, Own the Podium—which was created soon after Vancouver won the Games, in 2003—has produced results. In the 2006 Turin Games, Canada finished third with its largest haul ever—24 medals. In the 2009 World Championships, Canada finished first in those disciplines that are performed in the Olympics, with 29 medals. Germany and the U.S. tied for second, with 27. Never in history have Canadian athletes so dominated winter competitions from slope to rink.  The United States Olympic Committee, for its part, isn't pinning a specific medal hope on Vancouver. "It's dangerous to state expectations about winning, particularly in the Olympics," says Harvey Schiller, a former executive director of the USOC. "There are too many athletes in the world who can come out of nowhere and be a champion."  But boldness may be necessary for a nation that traditionally has felt ambivalent about winning. In a year-2000 poll, 14% of Canadians said they enjoyed demonstrating their superiority to foreigners. By contrast, 31% of Americans said so, according to Michael Adams, a Canadian sociologist and pollster.  Canadians also tend to feel awkward about patriotism. "We mumble our national anthem here, and nobody puts their hand on their heart," Mr. Adams says. The bestselling author doesn't doubt that Olympic success could pull the country together, particularly after past slights. He remembers vividly how, during a 1992 World Series game between the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays, a U.S. Marine in Atlanta inadvertently flew the Canadian flag upside down during pregame ceremonies. "We never get any respect," says Mr. Adams.  In recent weeks, after some American athletes complained about gaining only limited training time on Vancouver's venues, many in Canada expected their leaders to apologize, open wide the gates and discard the home-field advantage that every other host country has exploited. But in a reaction that seemingly energized the nation, Canadian media commentators and Olympic organizers dismissed the Americans as a bunch of whiners. "People just stood up, said we did nothing wrong and made fun of the Americans," says Mr. Gauthier, the ski coach. "I was so proud to see that."  Write to Kevin Helliker at kevin.helliker@wsj.com  Correction In the 2006 Winter Games, Canada finished third in the overall medal count and fifth in the gold-medal count. A previous version of this article suggested that Canada ranked fifth in total medals in 2006.
A polite nation is vowing to focus more on winning at the Vancouver Games than on being nice.