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Which country has the most in common with Canada, in terms of social and economic structure, role of religion, education, health, legal and political system etc.
When I say in common, I don't mean superficial things that we see on a daily basis such as freeways, skyscrapers, language, TV etc, but something fundamental. So the U.S. is not a good answer for sure as the two countries have too many fundamental differences.
Just for fun, without putting much thought into this, I'd say Australia...
But even then, it's so hard to really make accurate comparisons because there is rarely a Canadian "universal" to any of your criteria. Canada works more like a continent where each province is its own country with its own unique political systems, in control of its own healthcare, education, economy, etc. It really varies from province to province in Canada. It's why it's hard to define Canada's identity at the best of time: each province has its own way of doing things.
So if we're going to compare the umbrella that is Canada, we have to compare it to another country which has political, educational, economic, diversity between its regions - a country that also works metaphorically like a continent full of miniature countries.
So... Australia immediately comes to mind, at least compared to other countries. I suppose the USA does too, except it's nothing at all like Canada politically, the value systems between the USA and Canada are quite different, and religion plays a role in the lives of your everyday American. Not so in Canada or Australia.
Last edited by Robynator; 11-04-2009 at 01:35 PM..
Just for fun, without putting much thought into this, I'd say Australia...
But even then, it's so hard to really make accurate comparisons because there is rarely a Canadian "universal" to any of your criteria. Canada works more like a continent where each province is its own country with its own unique political systems, in control of its own healthcare, education, economy, etc. It really varies from province to province in Canada. It's why it's hard to define Canada's identity at the best of time: each province has its own way of doing things.
So if we're going to compare the umbrella that is Canada, we have to compare it to another country which has political, educational, economic, diversity between its regions - a country that also works metaphorically like a continent full of miniature countries.
So... Australia immediately comes to mind, at least compared to other countries. I suppose the USA does too, except it's nothing at all like Canada politically, the value systems between the USA and Canada are quite different, and religion plays a role in the lives of your everyday American. Not so in Canada or Australia.
And both countries have very friendly immigration policies, both are common wealth countries, and both have a resource economy.
On the other hand, the US can't be more different from Canada compared with other developed countries.
I agree with you that it is hard to specify an identity for the entire massive country. However, it doesn't hurt to just compare on a very high level.
I find that Canadians try way too hard (often obsessively) to find affinities with countries other than the United States.
So while I agree with much of the stuff people have mentioned here about Australia, face it people, there is no other place in the world that is as similar to Canada as the United States. In fact, I can think of few pairs of independent countries in the world that are as similar as these two.
So-called "superficial" stuff (TV, movies, language, books, food, sports, magazines, movies, music, clothing, hobbies, etc) that most Canadians share with the Americans (and that often differs greatly from what you find Down Under) is actually what human culture is all about.
There was also an allusion to Australia being immigrant-friendly but although their policies in this area may be quite liberal, I would submit that your average American who swears by the great melting pot is probably a lot closer to the acceptance of Canadian multicultural ideals than a typical Aussie is.
Not to diss Americans, but for many Canadians their obvious commonalities with people in the U.S., given the Ugly American stereotype that exists in many places around the world, is sort of like an embarrassing brother that you are inextricably linked to whether you like it or not. So instead of hanging out with your brother, you seek out more sophisticated (in your mind at least) friends. But every time you go back home, your brother’s still there. Because he’ll always be there. He’s your brother.
It reminds me of a talk I once had with a Luxemburgish guy I met, who explained his country’s particular mentality and bizarre penchant for all things French. He said that people in Luxembourg, especially in the post-war years, liked to think they were more French, but deep down in their hearts they know they are way more German than French, though they can’t bring themselves to accepting that reality. His name was something like Jacques Niedermeyer!
Obviously Canada and the USA have a lot of similarities, there's no doubt about that. I find, however, that Canada and the USA share more in common at a regional level (if you divide the continent into vertical strips).
Take the Nine Nations of North America, for example:
Somebody from Washington state who visits BC will feel at home, but will probably feel like they're in a foreign country if they were to visit Florida. I myself, for example, feel like I'm in a totally different country whenever I visit Quebec or Ontario, but if I visit California - San Francisco, for example - it feels so familiar -we share a similar culture and lifestyle.
Somebody from Nova Scotia will feel at home in Maine, but will feel like an outsider in Alberta. Whereas the Albertan would feel right at home in Montana or Colorado, but would feel out of place in Newfoundland.
And so on...
You can look at North America as one giant mass with many microstates, rather than simply reducing it to two separate countries.
Obviously Canada and the USA have a lot of similarities, there's no doubt about that. I find, however, that Canada and the USA share more in common at a regional level (if you divide the continent into vertical strips).
Take the Nine Nations of North America, for example:
Somebody from Washington state who visits BC will feel at home, but will probably feel like they're in a foreign country if they were to visit Florida. I myself, for example, feel like I'm in a totally different country whenever I visit Quebec or Ontario, but if I visit California - San Francisco, for example - it feels so familiar -we share a similar culture and lifestyle.
Somebody from Nova Scotia will feel at home in Maine, but will feel like an outsider in Alberta. Whereas the Albertan would feel right at home in Montana or Colorado, but would feel out of place in Newfoundland.
And so on...
You can look at North America as one giant mass with many microstates, rather than simply reducing it to two separate countries.
[SIZE=1]Good stuff Robynator. Though a bit dated, the book by Joel Garreau is a very interesting one.
[/SIZE]
So while I agree with much of the stuff people have mentioned here about Australia, face it people, there is no other place in the world that is as similar to Canada as the United States. In fact, I can think of few pairs of independent countries in the world that are as similar as these two.
So-called "superficial" stuff (TV, movies, language, books, food, sports, magazines, movies, music, clothing, hobbies, etc) that most Canadians share with the Americans (and that often differs greatly from what you find Down Under) is actually what human culture is all about.
There was also an allusion to Australia being immigrant-friendly but although their policies in this area may be quite liberal, I would submit that your average American who swears by the great melting pot is probably a lot closer to the acceptance of Canadian multicultural ideals than a typical Aussie is.
Well put and agreed. Though many Canadians would not like to believe it, if you travel around the world- there is no denial that Canada is the little sibling of the US.
Australia may share certain similarities with Canada but to me is still different enough, that one may actually experience minimal amount of "culture shock." Although I agree Australia following the US would be the closest to Canada on various lengths.
Myself having lived in both countries, i agree a main difference would be religious dimensions, but in the whole picture, Canadians and Americans are very similar and cut from the same quilt. You cannot discount the importance of seemingly "superficial" aspects of culture. I agree with Acajack that towards ethnic groups, Canadians and Americans have a more similar ideal than Canadians and Australians- if you spend time there you will understand what i mean.
Granted, the US South and Quebec have strong cultural distinctions unseen elsewhere. I agree with the unique situation between the US and Canada of regional distinctions in a vertical sense though it has alot to do with urban/ rural distinctions too.
Obviously Canada and the USA have a lot of similarities, there's no doubt about that. I find, however, that Canada and the USA share more in common at a regional level (if you divide the continent into vertical strips).
Take the Nine Nations of North America, for example:
Somebody from Washington state who visits BC will feel at home, but will probably feel like they're in a foreign country if they were to visit Florida. I myself, for example, feel like I'm in a totally different country whenever I visit Quebec or Ontario, but if I visit California - San Francisco, for example - it feels so familiar -we share a similar culture and lifestyle.
Somebody from Nova Scotia will feel at home in Maine, but will feel like an outsider in Alberta. Whereas the Albertan would feel right at home in Montana or Colorado, but would feel out of place in Newfoundland.
And so on...
You can look at North America as one giant mass with many microstates, rather than simply reducing it to two separate countries.
A LOT of truth in this.
However, at one time my job had me living in a rural area 6 miles from the Canadian border at a time when they'd just wave you thru, if the crossing was even maned.
What I noticed was a total lack of the rabid nationalism that passes for patriotism in the US .
IMHO that fact alone makes Canada different on a very fundamental level.
However, at one time my job had me living in a rural area 6 miles from the Canadian border at a time when they'd just wave you thru, if the crossing was even maned.
What I noticed was a total lack of the rabid nationalism that passes for patriotism in the US .
IMHO that fact alone makes Canada different on a very fundamental level.
I too have noticed that.
Nationalism can be pretty extreme in the USA. People are passionate about it - some take it very seriously.
By comparison, Canadian nationalism, if expressed at all, appears more lighthearted.
Canada and NZ both commonwealth, both are fairly liberal (compared to the US and Oz)..
Both have a love/hate relationship with their cousins across the border/across the Tasman
both have larger, more politically dominant countries close by with which they have strong ties..
their population likes to make fun of their more dominant neighbor yet large numbers of their citizens have gone to the dominant country to settle (lots of kiwis in Oz and for every 1 american moving to Canada there are 3 Canadians moving to the US)
So I vote for New Zealand/Aotearoa as the closest to Canada.
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