Canada is a sovereign country and shares a long border with the USA. Surprisingly to some, Over 80 % of all Canadians live within 100 miles of the border! Although Canada is larger than the USA in area much of it is empty and the population is approximately 1/10th the size. The analogy of a mouse and an elephant is sometimes used to describe the two countries although to be more mathematically correct the analogy an elephant and something the weight of a cougar or human would be more accurate. Canadians traditionally understate their positions and Americans have this nagging tendency to overstate theirs. Both Canadians and Americans get along very well. You couldn't ask for better neighbours!
As the two countries developed over time. The USA broke away from Great Britain and formed a Republic while the Canadians remained loyal to the crown and stayed a Dominion. There is an interesting cultural difference between Canada and the USA as Canada has a significant French speaking population and the USA has a significant Black population almost in size equal to the entire Canadian population. This fact of life has been the source of a few politically incorrect jokes which there is no point getting into as they will simply annoy people for no good reason. Doubtless you have heard them already. The years passed and each country continued to develop each with its own distinctive personality and each with its many shared interests. Canada became a source of natural resources including power, oil and natural gas and later manufactured goods. Today the province of Ontario builds more vehicles than Michigan!
There was always an anti American component in Canada from the earliest days due largely to the fact that they broke away from the Crown and it's difficult to put a percentage on it but it is safe to say that over the years politicians have played to this feeling for votes and the feeling is very well established. My guess is that there is a hard core of approximately 20% or less of Canadians who are anti-American and the rest of us (80%) are to various degrees supportive of Americans. That all changes in hockey games. It seems to be based on a certain Canadian smugness related to lower crime rates, perceived more liberal attitudes and perceived better foreign policy. Canadians generally feel that Canadian beer is far superior to US beer, that our health care is far better, our cities cleaner and safer and that we have a better sense of humour. Generally it is considered here that Canada is a better place to live than the USA. We think of ourselves as the Great White North strong and free. ( white refers to the snow not skin color!) and we gleefully point out that our land mass is slightly larger than that of the USA so we are "bigger" and depending on the audience we sometimes make the point that we are on top.
Basically the feelings of Canadian superiority on which the anti American sentiment is based on is bullshit. Most of the country is empty. Our "bigger" land mass is mostly empty barren scrublands and low lying swamps where nobody except the odd moose or beaver wants to live whereas the USA has mostly temperate liveable spaces. We drive vehicles designed or built in the USA, watch US TV programs, eat American style food, vacation in the USA and even frequently breed with our good cousins to the South. (they aren't really our cousins because then the breeding thing would be wrong eh!). As far as crime goes, yes it is true that American jails have approximately 7 times as many prisoners per capita as Canadian jails but perhaps its much easier to be a criminal in Canada and in the USA they catch you and take you to justice! Canadians are very easy on criminals with short sentences and while a full 1% of the American population is in jail only about 34,000 Canadians or about one tenth of one percent are in jail here.
We are the largest trading partners with the USA. Actually as of this month we fell to second place to ...China! Americans build their houses with Canadian wood and Canadians feed their families with money from sales to the USA. Our economies are joined at the hip -so to speak. And as far as foreign policy goes -during the Vietnam war which is often offered by the anti American sentiment as one more reason Canada is better that the USA because we didn't participate in it there are issues seldom if ever mentioned in the Canadian media. One point is that over 40,000 Canadians served in Vietnam in the US forces and another one is that Canadian war plants made all sorts of materiel including napalm to the tune of 1.5 billion dollars for the Vietnam war. So much for that theory.
An American visitor referred his website to me where he pokes a little satire at Canada. Well he pokes quite a bit of it actually to the point where it will enrage many Canadians. Nevertheless, if you can see past some of the (potty talk) language and the odd inaccuracy it's actually quite funny. You will tend to laugh one moment and then get pissed off the next. It does point out too that Canadians who continually shovel out anti American comments should expect some some of it to come back in a tit for tat sort of thing. So with that cautionary note here is the poop on Canada website. (if you are on blood pressure pills be sure to take one first!)
I once operated an internet based business that sold to the world market and I had thousands of American customers. They were absolutely excellent people- you couldn't ask for better. And without them I couldn't have offered services to my Canadian customers. In that time I only had one bad check...and it was from a Canadian. From Southern Ontario.
There are a tremendous amount of good things going on in the USA. Its a wonderful country. Its citizens are very proud to be Americans and both sides of the border are lucky to have each other as neighbours!
Want to watch some good TV? Try Regis and Kelly. Made in the USA! Good music -listen to my favourite singer the late Laura Branigan. Or how about Cameron Diaz. Or something with a real beat to it -Ashlee Simpson. How about an excellent Poet? We suggest S.R.Mats and her book Sometimes A Garden which we published - it is excellent.
Want to drive an exceptionally fine car? Cadillac has been building them for generations and they are all Made in the USA. Our family has owned a few of them and they have never failed to provide excellent service and driving enjoyment. I now drive a 1980 Dodge 1 ton van and it still works just fine even after tough service for a few years as a BC Ambulance. Again an excellent vehicle. How about a vacation? Ever been to Hawaii.
This is Hanauma Bay Hawaii USA and I was there swimming in it and admiring all the little fish. Its Paradise and its part of the USA. Or you might want to vacation on the beaches of California or the fabulous casinos in Reno or Las Vegas or any of the other States because each has something to offer. Yes some places are a little dangerous so take care but if you use even a small amount of common sense you can have a great time in the USA. More Canadians visit the USA than any other country on the planet and more Americans visit Canada than any other country. Canadian and American troops work shoulder to shoulder protecting freedom and our interests around the world.
Want a good laugh? Try Lewis Black a hilarious American stand up comedian. If swearing offends you skip Lewis but if not his humour is really funny and thought provoking too. And he pokes fun at a lot of bullshit!
So when I hear some moron picking on the USA I normally step in and set them right. Usually they don't know what they are talking about. These people are normally whiners who like to blame somebody else for their problems and the easy target is the USA. The Liberal party in particular has a strong anti-US component. The NDP party has made a career out of anti American sentiment in a desperate attempt to appeal to special interest groups and retain some votes. A Liberal Member of Parliament was recorded when she made the following statement "Damn Americans, I hate the bastards." She was re- elected in her riding too. She is an idiot and thankfully no longer in politics. This sort of anti Americanism is bullshit. There is nothing wrong with a bit of friendly competition or sniping about leaders or politics and there has been a friendly pissing contest going on forever between the two nations but there is a line you don't cross unless you are ....an idiot.
The USA is a magic country where people can make "the American Dream" come true if they work hard. Hugh Hefner is such a man and at 80 is has lived a life that probably would be impossible in any other country in the world including Canada. It's odd isn't it that while the American Dream is a commonly understood phrase in the world and the USA the term Canadian Dream is largely unknown even amongst Canadians. That tells us something right there. In fact a lot of Canadians have gone south for the American Dream because there just wasn't one here in Canada. And strangely you seldom hear of Americans coming up to Canada to make it big. So I think the anti Americans need to be a little more thoughtful before opening mouth prior to engaging brain. You might not realize but over 800,000 Americans LIVE in Canada and call Canada home. Something to think about next time you open your BIG mouth and spout off some inane anti American comment. In fact over 400,000 of those American living here are eligible voters enough to decide the American election if votes are close.
And we all know Americans don't know all that much about the world outside the USA. That's been fair game for years. Its kind of amusing in a way and a bit objectionable in others but that's the way they are and you need to deal with it. An absolutely hilarious coverage of this fact is on the Rick Mercer program Talking to Americans If that doesn't cause you to laugh you have a problem. I've noticed that when you cross the border on a vacation in the USA all outside news seems to stop. The media in the USA seems very controlled and only gives the American point of view on news seldom mentioning anything of interest occurring else ware. As a news junkie I go thru withdrawal symptoms until I cross the border again.
One problem with the States is the power the religious right have and they seem hell bent (so to speak) to mix religion and politics -its the old church and state argument and the smarter countries have discovered its best to keep them separate! This gets the USA in no end of silly situations.
One example of many is the controversy that erupted when a couple of students began selling "save second base" T shirts to raise money for breast cancer. The school principal decided the shirts had a sexual message and forbade students from wearing them. One could rant about the foolishness of this but why bother -its just the way they are. I don't think anything like that would happen in Canada and in fact I see a Canadian principal buying a t-shirt and suggesting that ALL the teachers wear one too! Another example -same sort of idea was the infamous Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction where her (small) right breast was bared for a fraction of a second on TV and the religious right went bananas. There is nothing better to screw up a society than the intolerance of a fanatical religious point of view - a quick look at the Muslim society shows where that can lead. The other side of the coin in this case is that there is also a good side to the religious right and they will welcome you with a open heart and gracious generosity. In fact Americans give more to poor nations than ALL the other people on earth COMBINED!!! Something to consider!
The bottom line is that our best friends on the Planet are Americans and theirs are Canadians. Its no more complicated than that. Our troops depend on American close air support as they battle the Taliban in Afghanistan and Canadian Leopard Tanks were transported to Afghanistan by the USAF. Our wounded troops receive excellent care at Canadian and US medical facilities. The USA is a great nation with great people and world class achievements. Canada, although much smaller in population- is no slouch either. One of the key reasons the space program is successful is the Canada Arm and now the new fancy space robot "DEXTRE". The key source of energy in North America are the Canadian tar sands in Alberta. We don't agree on everything but we do have a very successful working relationship and a method of handling disagreements in a civilized fashion. And when that doesn't work Canadians are exceptionally good whiners!
There have been several occasions in history where Canadians and Americans have worked together in a team. In the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979 Canadian Ambassador Kenneth Taylor protected six Americans from the Iranian hostage takers. Our Prime Minister the Honourable Joe Clark authorized Canadian Passports to be issued to them and they were safely extracted from Iran. "The Canadian Caper" When the devastating Katrina disaster occurred Canada immediately sent her Fleet and equipment and supplies down to help. When 9-11 occurred Canada immediately opened her airspace and airports to hundreds of US planes and welcomed worried passengers into our homes. In Afghanistan we are there with coalition and American troops getting the hard jobs done in one of the most dangerous parts of the country. In summary we know who are friends are.
I just have one request to our American cousins. Please don't refer to Canucks as "aliens" or "foreigners". We call you people "Americans" or Neighbours or after a few beer "our American Cousins". You could call us "Canadians" or in more relaxed moments "Canucks" or " Neighbours" too. I know its a small point but it shocks us a bit when we travel across the border and get called an "Alien". Actually on that point we own a website on Aliens and UFOs that you may find a bit of fun. Oh and this thing about being leaders of all the people on the Planet -you could maybe tone that down a bit too. The USA is a great nation with fantastic hard working people. But there are other nations who are doing pretty good too so its sort of a give and take sort of thing eh! (Watch the Lewis Black clip above.)
Just watched a very entertaining clip from the USS Ronald Reagan where female USN sailors sang and danced to the tunes of (Canadian) Shania Twain! Excellent!
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last revised 31/07/2010