What makes us different?

[opt2not]

Though I'm not too open about my personal life online, some of you know me to be that loud-mouth artist, avid Canadian, happily married to a wonderful and beautiful American woman.

 We're down here in Cali visiting my in-laws, and a conversation came up between my bro-in-law and I regarding Canadian and American culture.

I know this is mainly an American dominant board, but I wanted to post the discussion to the Canadian members as well as the US populous here that would like to chime in: what are the differences between Canadian and American cultures?   

This was a interesting discussion, because I could mainly focus on the easy stuff like differenciating things like politics, laws, and intrinsically linked religion being a part of the American society (in god we trust?). But what is it really that makes us different?
One of the main mind-sets and pride of Canadians is we're not "Americans", but really what does that mean?

Americans: Before throwing in your typical south park reference of "blame Canada", or a gest about hockey, dog-sleds, cold weather etc..., what do you really think when it comes to your northern brothers?

One thing I know is, we cannot survive without each other. Our trade and sharing of resources, our economic ties, and military supports can definitely show that. But did you know, that between all the countries in the world, Canada and USA has the best relationship between each other in all history? No other countries has had such a complimentary situation. Yay us?

[CoryBee]

Without thinking to much into before breakfast. I would say that California and Canada have very similar mind-sets. This only from a handful of meetings with Canadians and learning about your culture through internet and friends but still. We have similar laws pertaining to drugs and guns, and hate to be stereo-typical on the subject but we are both very friendly. Compared to the east coast anyways, we always ask how people are doing, telling them to have a good day, waving to strangers. This just doesn't happen ofter in the east. I find that the west coast is much more slowed down as well & spread out which give people peace of mind. Anyways my $0.02

[kahlid74]

I'm not a fan of generalizations as a whole.  My experiences have led me to numerous people who are kind and courteous from all parts of the US and equally those who are rude, disrespectful and just plain weird.

My opinion on the US comparatively to Canada and any other country in the world is more along the lines that I view us as a massive melting pot, where the collective combination of such a wide range of ideas/opinions and stubbornness places us in a category where no control exists.  To your left is a man who thinks being gay is a sin against god, to your right a man who thinks having sex with cats should be legal and behind you a woman who only wants to fist pump to techno.  I've been to Canada a few times, a few countries in the EU (Germany, France, UK, Italy, Greece), Asia (China/Laos/Japan) and I see diversity, but I don't see the insanely emotional diversity I see in the US.  We're so polarized in the US it sometimes worries me how people fail to compromise on the little things.

[ChadTower]

Canada doesn't have the racial polarization because it never had institutionalized slavery.  The Canadian settlers didn't attempt to exterminate the indigenous people.  Minorities in Canada are not angry about centuries of repression and violence against them.  Simply reducing the mistrust and anger between races goes a long way towards making people generally calmer. 

[ChadTower]

Wow, that's just not true at all.   

[Well Fed Games]

I have big love for Canada- my dad is from New Brunswick, and became a legal alien here when he married my mom after meeting her in college here in Indiana. As a kid growing up we would visit my family on the coast up above Maine every year. Most of my impressions of the "differences" are silly things that kids notice, like different flavors of potato chips and my family complaining about the GST, or what they called the "generally stupid tax".

If anything I am surprised at how little we hear about Canada from the media (even in so called "world" news), considering we share a huge border and have such a symbiotic relationship.

[phyrosis]

i am a northern canadian through and through, hell i am wearing a plaid shirt and jeans right now and i work in an office...

as someone had already said the diffrence between the two is not as clear cut as it may seem. the big problem is that we base our preconceived notions off of what we read and what we see in media. the problem with media is that those with the biggest mouths get heard alot more... sadly those with the biggest mouths are rarely a good representation of the population.

i know many polite people, i know many idiots. every single country has people that struggle with addiction, and every single country has those that have flourished off the backs of others.

saying canada never used slavery or tried to destroy the native people is a lie as well. we just did not do it to the same extream. Canada had japanesse slave camps in WW2, we have also routinly attempted to assimilate the native people by means of education reform (thats a nice way of saying residential schools) in my short life so far i have been noticing a change in the people around me though. it appears that canadians are moving towards a lifestlye that the americans had embraced in the mid 70's. over the last ten years, canadians appear more intent on money and self monetary value. in canada credit card debt has increased faster per capita than the united states over the last twenty years.

each country has its ups and downs. the problem i see in canada is that we are too willing to let others force us to change. landed immigrants refusing canadian law because their laws back home were diffrent and they want to treat us the way they had in their home country.

this is where the states and i personally agree on alot of things... you came to my country, you adopt our laws, our customs, and sing our national anthem. our anthem will be played in school, and we will allow you to bring the best and only the best of your culture. this is why you left your country to come to ours, because we are a land of free people. free from warlords, free from persecussion, free from hate (of the same level they are leaving)

i firmly beleive that we both as countries need to keep moving forward, keep adapting and not be resistant to change. but we also cannot chase change to rapidly. greed then takes over. and greed never helped a country, it corrupts countries.

Canada and the united states are the same people, diffrent goverments, diffrent laws, diffrent history. but we are the same people.

[BadMouth]

Only been to Canada once with my grandparents when I was around 12.
They didn't stop anywhere or do anything, just drove up through Niagara and back down through Detroit.
We had a cooler full of undeclared lunchmeat and ate sandwiches while on the road so we wouldn't have to stop anywhere.
This is how all vacations with them were.  I think they just wanted to say they'd been a lot of places before they died.

My perception from the media is that Canadians are all super nice and pronounce a couple words funny,
until you go too far north where they spit at people who don't speak french.

I got my passport last year with the intention of taking a motorcycle trip to Canada, but couldn't get away from work.
Hoping to at least get a 4-day weekend trip in this year.

[mrhowell]

Spent two weeks fishing here http://www.winelakecamp.com/.  Great time and the cigars are better in Canada.

[lordnacho]

You humans are all the same, except you buy donuts from different corporations.

[phyrosis]

Bad mouth, i suggest you come to northern alberta... we are not primarily french here, we are more north than northern ontario, really polite and tons of fun to drink with...

[ChadTower]

we have also routinly attempted to assimilate the native people by means of education reform (thats a nice way of saying residential schools)

Offering public education, or even mandating education in general, is not the same as sending military to exterminate villages.  It's not the same as intentionally starving populations by cutting them off from their known food supplies.  It's not the same as offering monetary rewards for murdering individuals.  It's not the same as paying a pittance for massive territories without disclosing that the immediate step would be to send in armed men to remove anyone who lived there.

[phyrosis]

we have also routinly attempted to assimilate the native people by means of education reform (thats a nice way of saying residential schools)

Offering public education, or even mandating education in general, is not the same as sending military to exterminate villages.  It's not the same as intentionally starving populations by cutting them off from their known food supplies.  It's not the same as offering monetary rewards for murdering individuals.  It's not the same as paying a pittance for massive territories without disclosing that the immediate step would be to send in armed men to remove anyone who lived there.

i encourage you to research residential schools.

i am not saying that the process that canada took was the worst type, i am just saying that canadians were not innocent.

[Green Giant]

Canadian you say.

Well I think you guys are all pretty similar to the rest of the people in the Norther US as well as California.

Basically you are there, you aren't nearly as cool and bad ass as us, Texas, but then again noone is.  Don't worry, I don't think any less of you than I do people from Cali or Oregon or Illinois or New York.

[hypernova]

Do Canadians make fun of Americans like Americans do Canadians a la South Park and such?

[Green Giant]

Do Canadians make fun of Americans like Americans do Canadians a la South Park and such?

What could they really say?

It would be like khloe "man face" kardashian making fun of kim kardashian.

[phyrosis]

we actually make fun of ourselves and the people from texas... cause they think they so amazing...

[danny_galaga]

Most importantly, Canadian Burger Kings have Poutine 

[Ginsu Victim]

My two favorite things about Canada...

[jamesjones626]

we actually make fun of ourselves and the people from texas... cause they think they so amazing...

Me living in california there are a ton of texans here, and almost all of them brag how great texas is and how every other state sucks.  I always wonder why dont they go back to texas if its so great.

[trekking95]

Wow, seeing a lot of false ideas about Canada here.

Being a Canadian I know what its like, would I be an American? Maybe, but likely no. Since I live near the border I go over ever other week to shop and buy gas. So I know what the people are like.
Are the people more friendly? I don't know, depends on the person. Do we make jokes about you? Sure, I don't but I have heard some good ones.
Can we grow stuff here? Actually yes, we can. In 2010 we were the number 5 wheat producer in the world, right under the US.
Do people take your purse a lot here? Yeah, variety stores are getting robbed all the time. But not any more than over there. Also I find you people are more patriotic. 4th of July you have flags, fireworks, parades, etc. Canada day we have a bit of that but its more of an excuse to drink beer.
But it is there too, just its different.

Do I like it better over in your country when I go there? Well in some ways yes. Here we have 13% sales tax, there its 6%. The stores there have much cheaper groceries and get stuff we never see. The stores have better selections. When movies come out (like The Avengers) there you got all T-shirts, collectibles, movie series figures, etc. Here we just started getting the lame stuff and probably will only get that. The restaurants there are cheaper and have better food for the most part. And the gas is so much cheaper its worth going just for that!

So with all these things I do like the US. But I would stay Canadian.

I still like Canada better. Its beautiful country out east and west, hockey, cheaper stuff that isn't groceries, we are not in every war like the US, free health care (big one!!) and Justin Bieber. (okay, not the last one. who cares!  )
You guys have some of that, but I still like it better here. Not just for those reasons, I just like it better.

Oh yeah, we have better education. Why is that? Well I went with my parents to Disney World (one thing Canada lacks is places like Disney) one year and we got lost on the way to the I-75. So we pull into a 7-11 to ask directions. Well my dad goes in and asks where the I-75 is. The girl working there replies, "The what?" Well you know, the highway from Florida to Detroit. "Whats Detroit?" Where they make cars. "I will go ask someone" She asks another girl there, same results. They finally look at a map and find where it is, under 10 miles away.

Okay, that's my joke about the Americans. 

[flashiv]

My ex-wife is from Canada.  My two favorite things from Canada : Wonderbar candy bars and Lime Crush soda, man I sure miss those.   

[shmokes]

I despise Canada. Ever since Celine Dion. Granted, Pamela Anderson goes a long way toward making up for that horror of horrors. But she's getting old and scary.

[brad808]

I live in an interesting area in Canada. I live directly beside the six nations native reserve (biggest in North America as far as I know) as well as living an hour away from the Niagara border into the states. This on top of living in Toronto for around 5 years gives a huge range of different scenarios involving government differences, culture differences, financial differences, language differences, race differences, tax and health care differences both in and out of country. Basically every kind of odd scenario you could point out. Bottom line is people are people. Most are good friendly people some are not. I'm from the belief that family has the most to do with it. Blame the parents if someone is messed up.



Sent from my Desire HD

[CheffoJeffo]

Do Canadians make fun of Americans like Americans do Canadians a la South Park and such?

What could they really say?

It would be like khloe "man face" kardashian making fun of kim kardashian.

 

[trekking95]

Okay, that's my joke about the Americans.  

Really?  I thought it was a joke about how a family of morons drove 10 miles the wrong direction.

To the Mod who deleted his post, thank you!

[Howard_Casto]

I think it's interesting to note that any Canadians that make anything out of theirselves move the hell away to America.  The irony of course is that most of these people are actors and these days they'll have to fly right back to Canada to film their movie or tv series. 

That's probably the difference right there.  Americans scratch their heads at Canadians thinking "why the hell would you want to live there?"  and Canadains think exactly the same thing but for entirely different reasons.

It's also the reason Canada didn't have much trouble with the Native population because, quite frankly few people were there in the first place and they didn't really want to be there anyway. 

[Gray_Area]

Nothing makes you different. You're born this or that way.

[Vigo]

Most importantly, Canadian Burger Kings have Poutine 

A huge thanks to my Canadian friends here who introduced me to poutine. It is one of the most amazing junk foods in the world.

[ark_ader]

I have been to Canada.  I enjoyed my brief visit.

Hope to visit again one day.

[shmokes]

I think it's interesting to note that any Canadians that make anything out of theirselves move the hell away to America.  The irony of course is that most of these people are actors and these days they'll have to fly right back to Canada to film their movie or tv series. 

That's probably the difference right there.  Americans scratch their heads at Canadians thinking "why the hell would you want to live there?"  and Canadains think exactly the same thing but for entirely different reasons.

It's also the reason Canada didn't have much trouble with the Native population because, quite frankly few people were there in the first place and they didn't really want to be there anyway. 

They're not mostly Actors. It's just that the ones who ARE actors move to America because Hollywood is in America. And those are the ones you know about because you watch movies and also because you're American and Americans don't pay attention to anything that takes place outside of America.

[danny_galaga]

I think it's interesting to note that any Canadians that make anything out of theirselves move the hell away to America.  The irony of course is that most of these people are actors and these days they'll have to fly right back to Canada to film their movie or tv series. 

That's probably the difference right there.  Americans scratch their heads at Canadians thinking "why the hell would you want to live there?"  and Canadains think exactly the same thing but for entirely different reasons.

It's also the reason Canada didn't have much trouble with the Native population because, quite frankly few people were there in the first place and they didn't really want to be there anyway. 

They're not mostly Actors. It's just that the ones who ARE actors move to America because Hollywood is in America. And those are the ones you know about because you watch movies and also because you're American and Americans don't pay attention to anything that takes place outside of America.

Also same with UK or Australian actors. If they have the talent to earn the big bikkies, then Hollywood it is, because that is where the action is. So then you notice 'oh, all the UK or Australian actors would rather be in the US', when actually, they would rather be on the French Riviera, but who films there?

[ChadTower]

It's also the reason Canada didn't have much trouble with the Native population because, quite frankly few people were there in the first place and they didn't really want to be there anyway. 

You just described myself and my family and most of my family still lives in NS because they love doing so.  I moved here because I was a teenager and had no choice.  For the most part I regret doing so.

Canada didn't have trouble because Canada didn't have a centralized federal gov't trying to exterminate anyone.  Really, it's that simple.

No, things were not perfect, but they were a hell of a lot better than the violence that went on here in the US.  That didn't have to happen.  There was more than enough room and resources for everybody but Manifest Destiny didn't allow tolerance for anyone who didn't look, sound, or act like the people financing the railroads.

[brad808]

Canada does have land problems with native people. A lot of what is happening involves not just native people of from around here but other provinces and also protesters coming from the US. Looking at the large picture it probably isn't a huge concern for most Canadians but because it is happening right in my backyard I see just how real it is. There are protests, massive road blocks, burning bridges (literally), huge tire fires, lawsuits and family friends being beaten to near death. All trying to and to some extent succeeding in preventing sale and development of land.

This is what is happening around here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_River_land_dispute

I'm not sure how many similar situations there are in other parts of Canada but as I said a lot of this isn't coming from occupants of the towns around here (nobody wants to ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- where they eat).

[HaRuMaN]

[ChadTower]

What brad808 says sucks, and I can empathize with both sides, but it's still not the same as the military being sent in to kill everybody so they aren't in the way of "progress".

[Gray_Area]

Lookit that fat cat! There's a pun there I'm sure.

Also same with UK or Australian actors. If they have the talent to earn the big bikkies, then Hollywood it is, because that is where the action is. So then you notice 'oh, all the UK or Australian actors would rather be in the US', when actually, they would rather be on the French Riviera, but who films there?

A lot of films in the 50s and 60s were in places like that. In any case, Bollywood hasn't quite come to the mainstream US consciousness, but I'm sure it will within ten years.  Show the average american over 40 (especially a christian patriot) pictures of bustling Dubai and such, and I bet they'd ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- their pants.

[hypernova]

I still like Canada better. Its beautiful country....and Justin Bieber.

About that last one...

Thanks...dick.



I'll admit...if it wasn't him, it'd be someone else.

[shmokes]

Bollywood hasn't quite come to the mainstream US consciousness, but I'm sure it will within ten years.  

I hope you don't mean to say that it'll make a difference. Cos . . . Bollywood is awful.

[yaksplat]

Being from Buffalo, NY, canada is just right over there... i can see it from my office window.  But when you ask anyone around here what they first think of when you mention Canada is Strippers and Beer.

The drinking age is 19, and there's one hell of a row of strip clubs in niagara falls with no restrictions on what they can't do or what they have to wear.  Quite the amazing thing when you're 19...