What do you think makes the difference between Canada and the USA?

[HEyHEY]

The two nations are very different politically. And in other ways as well. What are your theories?

[Carl21014]

1. I think the biggest difference is...

it's f-ing cold up there!

[HEyHEY]

4. Not all of it - that's a myth

The south west of Canada is very mild

[Jane Austin]

2. They don't glorify being a know-nothing?

In other words, they may provide and require a decent education.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

3. history is real different. And a much smaller population..

...and of course a very different political system.


I did visit Ontario twice, and didnt find the place super-different from the USA in physical appearance and culture and all, though.

[HEyHEY]

5. Yeah, the rest of Canada says the same thing aboput Ontario

:-)

[ironflange]

24. Same thing as the south end of Calgary

Along Macleod Tr. The only real difference is the height restriction on signs, none of those 300-foot high yellow M's.

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. No persecution complex or mega ego for one thing

and a sense of responsibility to one's fellow citizens.

[HEyHEY]

8. Let's go deeper - why?

What is the reason for the difference? I'm not sure.

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. I think the "we're number one" attitude started out very positive

helped us to push ourselves to build ourselves up, but eventually it got perverted to "we're number one, and no one else matters".


Also, we pride ourselves on our independence. Canada didn't have quite the same drive to prove itself having stayed attached for so long to England. Maybe it's just a warped runaway kid I'll-show-you syndrome on America's part? *l*

Editing to add that Michael Moore hit the nail on the head with BfC when he brought up the fear issue. Got a lot of that going on these days.

[Ysabel]

22. yeah independence...

can be a real good thing - but when it's taken to a certain extreme - it can get to be a real exclusive sort of thing...

there's this fairly new idea concerning "co-dependency" - and everyone seems to agree that's just an awful thing...

but what i think is that - it's also possible for "co-dependency" to sometimes be a positive, healthy, beneficial thing - and also therefore - more like an equal exchange kind of thing (and actually really co-operative)...

edit - typo/s...

[bucknaked]

7. Canada doesn't have wimpy beer, for one...

...and awesome Ginger Ale. :p

No, actually, you don't seem to have much of the "moran" contingent that we do, a bit further down south (I'm in MN).

[Bill McBlueState]

9. the social safety net

The gap between rich and poor is much less in Canada than in the US. Windsor and Detroit are a good place to make a comparison, particularly in crime rates.

[mmm]

10. Canada is in many ways far better

Health Care
Education
Environment
Privacy

When you don't waste tons of money on
military and programs where the profits are
private but the losses are public -
prisons, mortgage lending, health insurance,
environmental clean-up - you end up with lots of money
for social programs. Most importantly, Canada does not
waste money on the shameful support of Zionism.

Canada is the place to be.

[leftofthedial]

11. weather

mostly

[camero]

13. Plenty

1. I can pretty much walk down the street in Canada with out worrying about getting shot for the most part.

2. The drug problems are like night and day between the two countries.

3. Better social safety net pretty much means you don't have to grovel to live.

4. Things seem more wide open. By that I mean with the exceptions of Toronto and Vancouver people are for the most part not stacked up one on top of the other. Buildings are farther apart.

5. For the most part, law enforcement did not treat me as if I were a criminal up there. Most of the officers were very cordial and polite.

6. Editing here: The strip joints. Yeah they gotta get on the tables and can't touch but I got a story about the coins that would get the thread locked...lol.

You can tell which country I like better. :)

[LibertyorDeath]

14. Man where to start ...well i'll keep it short & go with this

Common sense & a sense of history & our place & role in it. imo

No offence to the great people at DU who have tons of common sense

I'm refering to the mouth breathers.

[HEyHEY]

15. I saw a stand up comedian tonight that said it well

On the fourth of july americans have a big party because they had a war and fought for independence against Britain..

On july first, Canadians have a party because they came to a compromise with Britain.

He had a good joke to.
An Amercan could be the last guy on earth with no toilet paper, but would still die before he wipes his ass with the ameican flag.......Canadians however, have no problem wiping their ass with the American flag.

;-)

[Ysabel]

17. guess what i (er - we) did on an amercian flag...

had a lot of fun - we did - the three of us...

heh... ;)

[outinforce]

29. I'm An American

I'm an American by birth.

I have been on several camping trips.

I recall one where I had an American flag but had run out of toilet paper.

I used the only thing that I could find -- some maple leaves.

They worked just fine.

[sweetheart]

16. Legacies of the empire

That canada never severed its ties to britain, allowed it to inherit
the modernization of the post-imperial legal system from britain.

The parliamentary system has served the nations that use it extremely
well by avoiding the 50/50 partisan divisiveness of a 2 party system
which has lead to an inclusive country, rather than an exclusive one.

Canada embraces all its people. America only embraces those with
money. This seems to come from the european model it inherits of
human rights for all citizens, and the maturity of continuity with
the historical past of 1000's of years of culture, even if canada
herself is a "new" nation... its acceptance of its parentage, gives
it the wisdom of age.

America might, by that sense, be the child who has no parents... who
is in denial of the sins and goodness of their parents, and is out
to re-discover the wisdom of age, by re-making the same mistakes
that it could not learn from its elders.

[tabasco]

28. I agree with your answer.

More European influence in Canada. Canada has absorbed the thousands of years of culture moreso than the Americans. That is a good thing for Canada. Will America have to repeat the mistakes of the great European empires? I hope we can prevent that from happening, and allow America to evolve into a real democracy. It must be said that we live in something closer to a plutocracy at this time.

[Ysabel]

18. so many of these things...

i agree with - my first thought though was also the ego / number one syndrome - found in the u.s...

i love canada - i've been to nova scotia, new brunswick, and prince edward island...

would love to visit toronto and montreal..

maybe even might like to move to montreal some day - except that i also really love where i live (madison, wisconsin) and probably will stay here forever...

[FDRrocks]

19. imperialism?

Assholes everwhere?

TWO PARTY SYSTEM?

[DaveSZ]

20. You don't have the old Confederacy dragging you guys down

I say that having come from the South.

:P

[FDRrocks]

21. hmmmm?

I'm an American.

And seriously I do think the two party system is the biggest downer in our country, since... it sucks.

But I also think the south has undue power. Certain elements of it have proven to be the worst part of our country, yet they can control the northen territory.

[sweetheart]

23. or perhaps that civil war

What made the confederacy but slavery, and had they followed the
course of the rest of the british empire, it would have been
abolished peacefully, and likely not created the mess that we
complain about today... the legacy of that war.... being conquored
by the south.

It seems the karma of conquoring is to be conquored. We conquor
japan and now drive japanese cars. We conquor the south and
are made wage-slaves by corporate-feudal-plantation owners like
walmart/walton. We conquor mexico and have spanish as a second
language.

This imperial heritage has the US all bound up whilst canada has
none of that baggage.

[IrateCitizen]

25. Much different definitions of "freedom"

This is clear in examining the different approaches to health care. In the US, infringement on the right of large insurance conglomerates to maximize profit is considered an infringement on "freedom" -- even if the end result of the current system is vast inequity.

In Canada, OTOH, freedom is defined as the freedom of citizens from worrying about basic health care.

The US approach focuses more on the freedom of the individual -- even as such freedom comes at the expense of the general welfare. Canada seems to define freedom in much more collectivist terms, sacrificing the ultimate freedom of the individual for the greater overall egalitarian freedom of the commons.

[Yupster]

26. Minorities are a big difference

Our two largest minotity groups, African-Americans and Hispanics which make up right at 25 % of our population, barely register a blip in Canada. Their 2001 census puts the AA number at 662,000 or a tad over 2 % and the Hispanic number at 217,000 or less than 1 %. You would think those numbers would make us more left leaning.

[EV1Ltimm]

27. to quote the kids in the hall...

"No, I'm canadian -- it's like an american, but without a gun."

But the way i see it, americans see the world as one big "king of the mountain" game. We're at the top, constantly vigilant and paranoid that someone is going to push us off and take our place. We can't trust anybody because everybody is out to get us. "Oh, they want nuclear power? No way pal! That's ours!" ::push shove::

And then, americana itself is yet ANOTHER "king of the mountain" where (almost) EVERYONE thinks they're on the top, constantly bitching about someone trying to take their spot and taking ridiculous measures to ensure that noone does. "Hey! What are you doing near my spot?!" ::push shove:: Noone wants to share their spot. If someone wants to have a spot but don't have the means to get there, "tough shit", so sayeth the spot-havers, "you can't have a piece of my spot."

oh well...