What part of America has the strongest ties to Canada? (university, prices)

[Thomas R.]

The Northwest Angle?

MPR: The Northwest Angle

Point Roberts, Washington?

'Point Bob' part of family

Maybe one of the following towns.

http://www.city-data.com/top2/h162.html

Seeing that Point Roberts is highest on that "most residents born in Canada" list I guess it might have the strongest ties to Canada of any US town. Although in terms of states Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont look to have plenty of towns with high Canadian populations. Of places not near Canada Florida looks to have several communities with a fairly high Canadian population.

[LINative]

My top 3 picks would have to be New York, Maine and Alaska.

For instance, New York borders on the two largest Canadian provinces; Ontario and Quebec. More than half of the Canadian population, including the cities of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, is along the corridor that runs between Windsor, Ontario to Quebec City --- all mostly a few hours from New York State. Anyone who visits the Upstate tourist areas will see quite a few Canadians, especially in places like the Adirondacks and Thousand Islands.

[west336]

Michigan, and specifically, Detroit. It's the largest gateway to Canada in terms of cargo traffic and GDP.

[LINative]

Lol, so many different answers, I think we need some Canadians to post on this thread!

[danielj72]

Originally Posted by kelsius

I would personally say it's the Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest. Though the far northern tier of New England certainly has ties to Quebec and the Maritimes as well.

The Upper Midwest, especially Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, has a very similar accent to Canadian. There's also a lot of trade ... I think people in Toronto would probably feel less connection to NYS than say, people in northern Ontario feel to Minnesota and the U.P. but I could be totally wrong.

And British Columbia shares a lot of similarities and history with Washington and Oregon. The Pacific Northwest is seen as a bi-national region that is more similar than different.

I live in Michgian and Ill agree that the ties are strong. Lots of Ontario plates here, and in much of the state you get the Canadian tv and radio stations. Alot of people here could remember the words to "oh Canada", we have Tim Hortons and most of us know who Red Green is. (Red Green is a Canadian version of Jeff Foxworthy) What I do disagree with is that upper midwest accents sound Canadian. I can understand someone from other parts of the US making that mistake, but if you listen to people from the upper midwest you will hear that the accent is different from Canadian. In fact there are subtle differences in accent between the three states too, someone from Mi does not sound exactly like Mn, and Wi does not sound exactly like Mn or Mi. You get the point. The sterotypical upper midwest accent gets stronger the further north you go in all three states, here in Michigan we call it the "yooper accent" Cities further south do not have as much of it, Milwalkee, Detroit and Minneapolis have much more typical midwest accents. An Ontario Canadian accent is unmistakable, and you will know its different when you here it.

[f1000]

Originally Posted by Deezus

The Pacific Northwest doesn't have very close ties to Canada unless you're right near the border area.

Ya I dont see too much deeper connection between the Pacific NW and Canada besides some superficial weekend "road trips", and even then it is so surprising how many ppl in Seattle have NOT been to Canada (Similarly, I'm always flabbergasted by how many Californians I've encountered have never been north of San Francisco!)..

Other reasons why I think the Upper Midwest & Upstate NY & parts of New England have more in common with Canada than the Pacific NW:

1) harsher weather that parallels Canadian weather
2) related to cold weather, a common love for hockey (more than the Pacific NW)
3) I gather from other posters that Canadian tv channels/ radio can be viewed in Upper MW, Upstate NY but I dont think it can if I recall in the Pacific NW?
4) isnt there Tim Hortons (Canadian donut institution) in those parts, but not in the Pacific NW..that must mean something
5) dont they say "eh" in the Upper Midwest, and some areas have "Canadian raising" in speech whereas it is non-existent in the Pacific NW

overall Pacific NW is probably the least linked to Canada compared to the other border regions imo ..but then again, as another thread suggested the Pacific NW is kinda disconnected from the rest of the US too!

[BigCityDreamer]

This thread should have had a poll.

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by Deezus

The Pacific Northwest doesn't have very close ties to Canada unless you're right near the border area. Seattle is close to Vancouver in some ways, but in much of the Pacific NW you'd be surprised at how many people have never explored anywhere in BC outside of just Vancouver and maybe Victoria for a weekend trip. There's kind of a regional NW identity that's slowly evolving in some ways, but in Oregon, you rarely ever hear about anything Canadian. I mean the Vancouver Canucks might as well be playing in Quebec--there's not much interest in following what's going on over the border--it's more so that having Vancouver BC so close by is seen as an interesting vacation trip close by...

Vermont and Upstate New York seem to have closest ties to Canada in many ways. My girlfriend has family near Lake George, New York and they're always travelling over the border--they watch Canadian TV stations and so on. Likewise my friends in Burlington, Vermont end up going to Montreal more often they they do Boston...

I grew up in Burlington, VT, and Montreal was a very easy 1.5 hr drive up I-89; Boston was at least 4 hrs away..

And we had both English-and French Canadian TV stations, as well as the major American ones ( at the time: CBS, NBC, and ABC)...

[danielj72]

Originally Posted by f1000

Ya I dont see too much deeper connection between the Pacific NW and Canada besides some superficial weekend "road trips", and even then it is so surprising how many ppl in Seattle have NOT been to Canada (Similarly, I'm always flabbergasted by how many Californians I've encountered have never been north of San Francisco!)..

Other reasons why I think the Upper Midwest & Upstate NY & parts of New England have more in common with Canada than the Pacific NW:

1) harsher weather that parallels Canadian weather
2) related to cold weather, a common love for hockey (more than the Pacific NW)
3) I gather from other posters that Canadian tv channels/ radio can be viewed in Upper MW, Upstate NY but I dont think it can if I recall in the Pacific NW?
4) isnt there Tim Hortons (Canadian donut institution) in those parts, but not in the Pacific NW..that must mean something
5) dont they say "eh" in the Upper Midwest, and some areas have "Canadian raising" in speech whereas it is non-existent in the Pacific NW

overall Pacific NW is probably the least linked to Canada compared to the other border regions imo ..but then again, as another thread suggested the Pacific NW is kinda disconnected from the rest of the US too!

In response to point #5, yes we do occasionally use the word "eh" like a Canadian. In that respect we do have a Canadian influence on our speech. Here in Michigan you commonly see a bumper sticker that says "Say ya to da UP eh". Just your mention of Tim Hortons makes me want to drive into town for some coffee and donuts lol.

[Thomas R.]

Tim Hortons - Franchising U.S.

They do list several Michigan locations, but there's also some New York ones too and I guess there's even a "Tim Hortons" in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Tim Hortons Locations in Wheeling, West Virginia

Never been there myself.