Canadian Prairies = US Midwest? (live, title, friendly)
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Firstly Montana is not even remotely the Midwest. Montana and Alberta share more in common than either does with the Midwest. And Montana and rural Alberta are basically indistinguishable. Look at Great Falls, MT; then look at Lethbridge, AB. See any difference? I sure don't. Climate, dialect, scenery - all exactly, or nearly exactly, the same.
It is worth noting that residents of far northern Montana are a mere three hours from Calgary as opposed to 11-13 hours from the nearest US city. I know several native Montanans who moved to Calgary for career opportunities because it shared more in common with MT than any American city; 'Alberta is Montana with an economy' in the words of one of those transplants.
Much of what is considered the US Midwest is not like the Canadian Prairies. The Plains States, which are often identified as being part of the Midwest, are like the Canadian Prairies. The portion of the Midwest around the Great Lakes, which is where most of the people who live in the Midwest are located, is like Ontario.
Right, exactly. I'd say that the part of Canada most resembling the bulk of the Midwest would be Southern Ontario up to, and including, the GTA. Southern Ontario, in many ways, is an extension of Lower Michigan, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and Western NY State. By contrast, NW Ontario and parts of Manitoba are most like Minnesota (and upper Wisconsin and Upper Michigan), and the rest of the Prairies (south of the boreal forest) are like the Great Plains.
I think people pointing out all these similarities are not properly assessing the situation here. The truth is, the culture, economy, society, dialect and everything in between changes at the border. The only thing similar is the geography.
Canada's prairies are night and day with the US Great Plains. Our prairie provinces are arguably the most culturally diverse area of our country, in sharp contrast to the situation in neighbouring areas south of the border.
Besides a similar manufacturing-based economy, Southern Ontario is nothing like the US Midwest.
Montreal is nothing like New England. Neither are the Maritimes, except maybe the importance of the fishing industry.
I can't think of similarities between BC and the US Pacific Northwest. The "liberal" politics (based on an US-centric partisan viewpoint) in BC are reflective of Canada as a whole, not because of geographical proximity to certain parts of the US.
Of course we are heavily exposed to American media, but I don't believe this effects us any more than the rest of the English-speaking world.
Again, besides geography, everything else changes at the border. We are completely different countries.
For the record as most people already said, "Midwest" is NOT a term used in Canada at all. If you say it people in Canada know you are from America because that's where that term is used often.
True, Midwest is not a term used in Canada at all.
That being said, SW Ontario is closest to being like the "US Midwest". Not the Canadian Prairies, LOL.
In particular Windsor-Essex County and Chatham- Kent County, along with Sarnia area.
And possibly extending as far east as Toronto area (more of a Midwest-northeast mix).
The highway and shopping go hand in hand with population. the US side is generally more populous. If we compared two areas with similar populations, I doubt there's much difference. (I know there's negligable difference in highways, but I know very little about shopping).
Also, cuisine is almost identical between Saskatchewan and the Dakotas (and by that I mean what people will make in their homes, and what is considered "local" cuisine), though I'm not familiar enough with other states to make a comparison.
Lastly, maybe the midwest covers too general an area to compare to the prairies, as it includes the rust belt, etc. But the states that directly border the Canadian prairie provinces are quite similar.
Good points.
Lethbridge, like another poster mentioned, very much like northern Montana,
than anywhere in actual US Midwest or Ontario for that matter.
Having much more in common with Great Falls or Billings than Minneapolis or Chicago.
About population though, sure USA has 9 times Canada's population but
US northern "Plains" states are less populated than nearby Canadian Prairie Provinces,
Montana's population is less than 1 million, Alberta has over 3.5 million.
North and South Dakota also have less than 1 million each,
whereas Saskatchewan and Manitoba are slightly over 1 million each.
I think people pointing out all these similarities are not properly assessing the situation here. The truth is, the culture, economy, society, dialect and everything in between changes at the border. The only thing similar is the geography.
Canada's prairies are night and day with the US Great Plains. Our prairie provinces are arguably the most culturally diverse area of our country, in sharp contrast to the situation in neighbouring areas south of the border.
No, they're not "night and day".
The prairie provinces share a huge amount of culture with the states immediately south. In fact, the majority of people where I grew up were the descendants of Americans (or, more accurately, the descendants of Black Sea Germans who settled in the Dakotas). Identical ethnic groups settled both sides of the border - in many different branches of the same family.
The earliest trade routes ran north/south, rather than east/west. Even the NWMP were supplied from Fort Benton, MT, rather than from Eastern Canada. The Metis, too, had settled in North Dakota and Montana, in addition to Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Riel and Dumont ended up living among kin in Montana after their failed rebellion.
Of course, the First Nations moved freely across the border during that time - the Blackfoot often still refuse to acknowledge that it has any bearing on them and demand to continue crossing freely.
Local rodeos often feature American cowboys, too - and vice versa. I've ridden down to Montana with competing friends. Baseball tournaments, though somewhat less popular now than in the past, often feature cross border teams, too.
Setting the shared culture and heritage aside for a moment, the claim that we're somehow economically different is probably even more laughable.
Southwest Saskatchewan, where I am from, originally, is built on farming, ranching and natural gas. Western North Dakota and Eastern Montana are built on farming, ranching and natural gas. The cattle business especially is pretty fluid - when I still had cattle, I bought and sold south of the border relatively often. Immigration and work laws often stop oil and gas workers from crossing the border to work, but I assure you, you can have the same conversation with someone on either side.
Point being - you don't know what you're talking about.
It would have made more sense geographically for North America to be divided, country-wise, north-south rather than east-west. It's generally easier to travel from north to south, within (say) the Pacific NW/British Columbia, theGreat Plains/Prairies or the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Valley/East Coast, than going from New York to Los Angeles or Montreal to Vancouver. Alas, the circumstances of history dictated against such a logical arrangement of countries!
The prairie provinces share a huge amount of culture with the states immediately south. In fact, the majority of people where I grew up were the descendants of Americans (or, more accurately, the descendants of Black Sea Germans who settled in the Dakotas). Identical ethnic groups settled both sides of the border - in many different branches of the same family.
The earliest trade routes ran north/south, rather than east/west. Even the NWMP were supplied from Fort Benton, MT, rather than from Eastern Canada. The Metis, too, had settled in North Dakota and Montana, in addition to Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Riel and Dumont ended up living among kin in Montana after their failed rebellion.
Of course, the First Nations moved freely across the border during that time - the Blackfoot often still refuse to acknowledge that it has any bearing on them and demand to continue crossing freely.
Local rodeos often feature American cowboys, too - and vice versa. I've ridden down to Montana with competing friends. Baseball tournaments, though somewhat less popular now than in the past, often feature cross border teams, too.
Setting the shared culture and heritage aside for a moment, the claim that we're somehow economically different is probably even more laughable.
Southwest Saskatchewan, where I am from, originally, is built on farming, ranching and natural gas. Western North Dakota and Eastern Montana are built on farming, ranching and natural gas. The cattle business especially is pretty fluid - when I still had cattle, I bought and sold south of the border relatively often. Immigration and work laws often stop oil and gas workers from crossing the border to work, but I assure you, you can have the same conversation with someone on either side.
Point being - you don't know what you're talking about.
Thank you.
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