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The thing is I listed so many reasons why they are different yet nobody is telling me how they are very similar. What makes the the two most similar countries in the world? I mentioned the different culture; Canadians are more polite and reserved. We have our own movies, TV shows and music in Canada. We also have American entertainment but so does Australia. The politics are so different I don't even need to explain it. The attitudes are different, Canada is less religious than the US and more open to other religions. Canada is also less capitalist and we are more left leaning than the States. The food: we have Tim Hortons which has a huge cultural importance in Canada. We also have poutine which is becoming popular in all parts of Canada. We have some other unique Canadian dishes like Beaver Tails. We also have McDonalds and KFC but again, so does Australia. The population of Canada is a lot more similar to Australia than the U.S. The U.S. has a giant population not even comparable to Canada. Gun violence is an issue in the U.S., in Canada it is not. We use the metric system, they use imperial. I can list many other differences but hopefully you get the idea. Now tell me the things that make the two countries the "most similar countries in the world"?
Geography and being countries cobbled together out of many ethnicities. We are most like the US. That doesn't mean we are the same as the U.S. I think at our core we are quite different but we are still more like each other than we are to any other country in the world.
Geography and being countries cobbled together out of many ethnicities. We are most like the US. That doesn't mean we are the same as the U.S. I think at our core we are quite different but we are still more like each other than we are to any other country in the world.
I'm making a huge generalization here, but in general I think the differences an American feels in Canada is equal to the difference a Canadian feels in the US.
The first things people notice are the superficial things, like money, certain stores etc.
It's only when one spends time in either country that the real differences show.
Some of those things have been mentioned here.
General attitude of the country as a whole. Politics. Institutions and how they operate and are set up. Education, gun laws, social programs, holidays, and important things to Canadian such as OAS, Maternity/Paternity leave, severance pay laws, vacation laws all at the federal level, with add ons provincially.
Yes and accents and words as well. Tell most Americans that your garburator won't work because you have no hydro, is just ONE example of many.
And no offence but Silverstarr doesn't speak for all Ontarians. He can't even spell it right lol.. Hey I like my Tim's but at the end of the day its a coffee chain to me, nothing more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GM10
I know little about the U.S. because I'm not interested in it. All I'm saying is that Canada and the U.S. are very different countries., which is a good thing.
I think everyone is saying that they are two different countries. You've maintained a pretty strong line about how different they are though, without being open enough to actually experiencing the U.S or the American people in the flesh because you aren't interested in it/them. So you may not be interested in something more similar to you than you know.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Silverstarrr
Most Canadians don't live in the prairies. You are more unlike the average Canadian than you know.
That's a pretty arrogant thing to say about millions of Canadians. That type of arrogance gives 'Ontarions' a bad name. You can speak for yourself on this one.
The food: we have Tim Hortons which has a huge cultural importance in Canada. We also have poutine which is becoming popular in all parts of Canada. We have some other unique Canadian dishes like Beaver Tails. We also have McDonalds and KFC but again, so does Australia.
Wow........ I don't even know how to reply to this. Pretty pathetic when a doughnut and coffee chain is considered culturally important. Sad thing is, I have read this on here before and have heard similar things in person, so they are far from alone in that way of thinking.
And how exactly does Tim Hortons make us less like Americans? There are plenty of cheap coffee and doughnut shops in the US.
Viewing things from a Canadian only vantage point it's easy to pinpoint the little things that are different between Canada and the U.S. and blow them out of proportion. Not that the two countries aren't different - they are. To a point.
But when you travel abroad and visit other foreign countries it becomes very obvious how Canada and the U.S. are similar and how Canada piggy-backs very heavily on the U.S. for so much stuff, that in other countries would be specific to the country (as opposed to imported or "shared").
There are parts of Canada where society, culture, etc. seem to have more of a home-grown flavour, like Quebec and Newfoundland.
Maybe in Quebec and Newfoundland they see it more like how states see certain things as a local flavour than a national one. I've never been to Newfoundland but it looks like it would be a very cool place to see one day.
If I may, a smarter way of putting it would be in whom some Canadians think they are similar to.
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Agreed.
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