Similarities and Differences Between Canada and the United States

Canada and the United States may seem similar at a glance, since we both run on a democracy, and theoretically have free speech and voting and equal rights for most groups of people. This is partly true, we are similar in a lot of ways, but there are also a ton of ways in which the two great nations are different.

For one of the biggest and most personal topic for a lot of people, is culture. In Canada here, the official policy is a “cultural mosaic”. A good example of this is Gordon Bell. Say Gordon Bell is a rough representation of Canada. All of the time there are new kids coming in from different religions and places all over the world. There is also this immense cultural diversity within our country. Our government makes an effort to preserve each culture through programs which support the different cultures. The United States cultural policy is a “melting pot”. I don’t know a good example for it, but it is basically where anyone can come into the country (although there have been cases of discrimination and prejudice with the border crosses and immigration officials). The government doesn’t make much of an effort to save the individual cultures, and they kind of become one massive culture.

The economical differences between the two are a bit more subtle than the cultural differences. Canada has a mixture of a planned and free-enterprise economy. An example of the planned economy is a wal-mart popping up in your neighborhood. This building is owned by a private company, and is not at all controlled by the government aside from the standards and laws it has to comply to for the local area. An example of our planned economical side is garbage pickup (although there is rumor of this becoming privatized). Winnipeg’s municipal government pays for city-wide garbage pick up with tax money that the government dudes get from us. The United States is mostly a free-enterprise economy. An example of this is the common stereotype of America’s greed for money and everything else. There are also a lot more businesses in America, and a lot more riches focused in small places.

Our governments are very different. Ignoring the political parties, and how they run the countries. We have a parliamentary style of government. This is where all political parties get a place in Ottawa (assuming they’re voted in). I think this gives a more equal representation of what people want. The US has a senatorial style. This means that the party that wins the election gets FULL control over the United States. This can be good in some cases, but in others like the republicans getting voted in I don’t think its good. They have to much power for such a stupid group of people.

Our practices in the global relations sector are vastly different. The US likes to think of itself as a “superpower”. I think they have to much power, and the government is full of itself. They force countries to comply with there rules, or else they don’t get the same benefits as nations who agree with them. Canada as a nation is more peaceful. We play along and support the more peaceful side of the world. We aren’t as much of an influence as the US is, and we do sort of play along with them, but as seen in the Iraq war, we aren’t afraid to disagree with them.

Now for sports! Canada as you may know loves hockey (PROBABLY because of our slightly colder weather). We also love golfing and swimming! The US as you may know loves football. This is probably because it can be played anywhere, and is thought of a “tougher” sport. The US has a tough image, although not very accurate, so this would make sense. Basketball and baseball are also loved. Baseball used to be the most popular sport in the US!

- Joel Penner