Good grief! You Americans crack me up! Brits don’t speak English? Ummm…remember anything about world history? Oh, right, only American history is interesting. (relax…I’m teasing you; the perception of Americans by “outsiders” is that you’re pretty self-absorbed and uninformed about anything not having to do with the U.S.)
Seriously though, as far as accents go, Canada doesn’t have just one dialect anymore than the U.S does. Small town Ontario sounds very different from Toronto. The Maritimes, particularly Newfoundland has a distinctive sound, as do the prairies and BC.
I love British accents, (you always sound smart even if you’re talking drivel, provided it’s with a British accent) and manage to understand most of them, but you’re right, Newcastle presents a challenge!
I hope to get to England some day. I’m a huge footie fan, and very much hope to see ManUtd. play. If I could find a job, I’d like to spend some time over there.