April 23

7 comments

How is life in Canada different from life in the United States?

By Guest

April 23, 2010

american cities dirty compared to canadian, Canada, different, dirty neighbourhoods canada united states, from, higher taxes in canada yahoo answers, life, life different Canada, States, twitter in canada differs, United

How is life in Canada different from life in the United States? How is it the same?
Any cultural aspect, for any group of people.
If you’ve lived in both I’d love to hear what you think!

About the author

  • I live in Canada and my sister lives in the U.S. for school, so I have somewhat of an idea.
    Superficially, the countries are very similar. By that I mean if you were picked up and placed randomly in a Canadian city, you likely would not be able to tell if you were in Canada or the U.S. Our media is also the same (Canada gets all the American media as you are much better at producing T.V. shows than we are; there are some good Canadian shows but these are usually shown in the U.S. as well).

    There are, however, many subtle differences.

    Firstly, Canada is more left-wing than the U.S. The greatest reason for this is that we have the most educated population in the world (1) and a much higher proportion of immigrants. These groups tend to be more liberal in their values and do understand the benefits of social systems. While Canada is not as left-wing as Europe, we are without question left of the U.S. Our healthcare system is universal (though I personally would support a two-tiered system like those seen in Europe) and our education is highly subsidized by the government (our top universities have a tuition of around $6000, which is much lower than top universities of the States). There are other social programs as well.

    Secondly, as a result of these social programs, the safety net in Canada is far more comprehensive and we therefore don’t get the poverty nor crime seen in many cities in the U.S. I will use a specific example: Toronto and Chicago are very similar cities – similar in climate, economy, and size to name a few. In Toronto, however, the “ghetto” is the neighbourhood at Jane St. and Finch Ave (an intersection). It is a relatively small area and there are other small pockets throughout the city that are less than ideal to live. Contrast with Chicago, where the entire “south side” is notorious for gangs and crime. Furthermore, due to tighter gun laws in Canada, crime in these cities in contrasting as well. The homicide rate of Toronto, in 2004, was 1.8 per 100,000 people, compared with 15.5 in Chicago (2). As seen on the chart for that website, all major Canadian cities are lower than American cities for the homicide aspect.

    Thirdly, Canada is well-kept in comparison because Canadians pay higher taxes and, consequently, complain much more about cities looking “dirty”. Therefore, infrastructure (roads, airports, etc.) tend to be newer in Canada in GENERAL, but the trade-off is higher taxes. These higher taxes also fund the social programs that make Canada more left-wing than the U.S.

    The last point I will mention about the differences are those seen in personal values and religion. Americans, from MY understanding (please correct me if I’m wrong) tend to be more religious and therefore conservative. Religion does not play as important of a role in Canada as the high number of immigrants brings a huge variety of religion that people practise on their own accord. This is part of what makes Canada so diverse and accepting and therefore is seen as a “Salad Bowl” vs the “Melting Pot” of the U.S. where immigrants tend to assimilate into the American culture.

    I Love the U.S. and I love visiting it; I think it’s a terrific country that brings so much to the world (and I feel very safe knowing it is the clear military superpower) but I do believe the quality of life in Canada is higher and this is, I believe, fully related to our more left-wing position relative to the U.S. and the diversity and acceptance that comes from being highly made up of immigrants.

  • I live in Canada and my sister lives in the U.S. for school, so I have somewhat of an idea.
    Superficially, the countries are very similar. By that I mean if you were picked up and placed randomly in a Canadian city, you likely would not be able to tell if you were in Canada or the U.S. Our media is also the same (Canada gets all the American media as you are much better at producing T.V. shows than we are; there are some good Canadian shows but these are usually shown in the U.S. as well).

    There are, however, many subtle differences.

    Firstly, Canada is more left-wing than the U.S. The greatest reason for this is that we have the most educated population in the world (1) and a much higher proportion of immigrants. These groups tend to be more liberal in their values and do understand the benefits of social systems. While Canada is not as left-wing as Europe, we are without question left of the U.S. Our healthcare system is universal (though I personally would support a two-tiered system like those seen in Europe) and our education is highly subsidized by the government (our top universities have a tuition of around $6000, which is much lower than top universities of the States). There are other social programs as well.

    Secondly, as a result of these social programs, the safety net in Canada is far more comprehensive and we therefore don’t get the poverty nor crime seen in many cities in the U.S. I will use a specific example: Toronto and Chicago are very similar cities – similar in climate, economy, and size to name a few. In Toronto, however, the “ghetto” is the neighbourhood at Jane St. and Finch Ave (an intersection). It is a relatively small area and there are other small pockets throughout the city that are less than ideal to live. Contrast with Chicago, where the entire “south side” is notorious for gangs and crime. Furthermore, due to tighter gun laws in Canada, crime in these cities in contrasting as well. The homicide rate of Toronto, in 2004, was 1.8 per 100,000 people, compared with 15.5 in Chicago (2). As seen on the chart for that website, all major Canadian cities are lower than American cities for the homicide aspect.

    Thirdly, Canada is well-kept in comparison because Canadians pay higher taxes and, consequently, complain much more about cities looking “dirty”. Therefore, infrastructure (roads, airports, etc.) tend to be newer in Canada in GENERAL, but the trade-off is higher taxes. These higher taxes also fund the social programs that make Canada more left-wing than the U.S.

    The last point I will mention about the differences are those seen in personal values and religion. Americans, from MY understanding (please correct me if I’m wrong) tend to be more religious and therefore conservative. Religion does not play as important of a role in Canada as the high number of immigrants brings a huge variety of religion that people practise on their own accord. This is part of what makes Canada so diverse and accepting and therefore is seen as a “Salad Bowl” vs the “Melting Pot” of the U.S. where immigrants tend to assimilate into the American culture.

    I Love the U.S. and I love visiting it; I think it’s a terrific country that brings so much to the world (and I feel very safe knowing it is the clear military superpower) but I do believe the quality of life in Canada is higher and this is, I believe, fully related to our more left-wing position relative to the U.S. and the diversity and acceptance that comes from being highly made up of immigrants.

  • well i have been to canada and the us, well i thhink life in canada is easier, it hasn`t been affected like the us by the economic depres, in canada they speak english and french, its all i know.

  • Well there is no Canadian culture all of the culture here is foreign. It’s full of minorities and queers. This country sucks.

  • {"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

    You just gotta ignite the light
    And let yourself shine! ♥

    >