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This sounds a lot like American exceptionalism. The U.S. is not another planet - it's on the same planet as the rest of us. And there is more to the world than just the U.S.
The fact is that Canada and the U.S. both enjoy prosperity largely because of the long and peaceful shared border. Imagine the economic drain if the relationship were like Israel and Gaza? Or India and Pakistan vis a vis Kashmir or the old East Pakistan, now Bangladesh?
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Originally Posted by Acajack
And BTW, the U.S. is slowly and subtly moving to Metric in more ways than the anti-Metric crowd down there realize.
So slowly that I learned in Grade Four (as you would call it), academic year 1967-8 that metric was coming. I even learned how to use it. Not that I've used it much since learning it in Mr Damico's classroom in Quaker Ridge School.
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Originally Posted by botticelli
Weird argument. Are Australia, New Zealand and the entire South America old world to you?
South America is hardly an example I'd follow. And Australia and New Zealand are not joined at the hip to the U.S., despite some linguistic similarities.
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Originally Posted by botticelli
I know Canada excessively relies on the US, which is the worst thing about Canada IMO. We should do more business with other countries.
What's excessive about the reliance? Would you prefer an Israel/Gaza relationship?
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Originally Posted by botticelli
And I am glad I don't have to use the inches and pounds any more - which does sound backwaterish for me.
We didn't see the need for a purposeless stirring of the pot.
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Originally Posted by botticelli
You still displays this "If the US is doing, others should follow" mentality. There are many aspects of the US that's not appealing and others simply don't want to follow.
We are bigger and more dominant. Unless Obama gives that away.
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Originally Posted by GM10
I think the less America knows the better. I think Canada is seen as a good country on a worldwide scale. I like the recognition we get currently. I do wish people knew more about Canada than just Toronto. But I can't complain because I pretty much only know the large cities or capitals in other countries too.
I love your country. You should be proud of your country, not ashamed.
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Originally Posted by torontocheeka
No.
To be honest, the only Americans who know anything about countries outside of the US are exceptional in many respects. Even to be well-travelled as an American makes you exceptional, given that only 1/3rd of Americans even own a passport. And that is the way it should be, with regards to Canada. Anything less than that I find... vaguely threatening. I really don't want the average American knowing too much about us tbh.
What makes me "exceptional"? Yes I own a passport. No I haven't used it since my wife and I went to Quebec City in July 2012. And most of what I communicate about Canada I make up or guess.
Now this of course does not mean ALL Americans. I have met Americans who know more about the world and Canada than I do. It's jus the extreme stories that seem to stick around.
I do think though, that with the internet, things are getting " better ".
would personally relish the opportunity to be interviewed by Rick Mercer, with my wife hopefully videoing in the likely event he didn't use it. I would play along with him and then make mincemeat of him.
Specifically, I would ask him how many MP's PEI had sitting at the time of confederation, in 1867. Hint, PEI actually joined later even though the organizational meeting was held in Charlottetown. Or I would ask him to name CDN PM's in order. I personally can only do it for Wilfred Laurier on.
Also, back in April 2007 my wife took me and my children to Niagara Falls, Canada to celebrate my 50th birthday.
I was chatting with a guy at the hotel bar after the Leafs lost, again. He stated that he was sure he knew more US history than I did (similar to the views of this poster), and certainly more US history than I knew about Canadian history. He asked me to test him. I asked him which two elections were decided by the House of Representatives and not the usual way, by the Electoral College. He answered, wasn't it the "Taft" election.
I responded that the Taft election, in 1912, was one of the few where a major party, the Republicans, got less votes than a third party, in tihs case Ted Roosevelt's "Bull Moose Progressives". I said "sort of like your 1993 and 1997 elections where the Bloc and the Reform got more than the Progressive Conservatives.
He said "I rest my case", and said he was astounded an American could quote Canadian elections from memory.
Partly because of certain imported products from down south, and partly generational.
I understand both systems, but actually prefer metric. So much easier to figure things out. People under 30 in Canada know only metric.
People who work in food shops can tell you that when American tourists ask for half a pound of something, most clerks have to look that up and convert it for two reason, they don't know how much that is, and the scales are only metric.
Is this entirely true though? I've found almost everyone where I live, even college age, give weight and height in pounds and feet/inches, for example. I once gave my height in cm (I knew it b/c it's on my passport) and they seemed confused. I also have found that specialty shops auch as the butchers often use pounds, though at the supermarket the younger staff can't convert to metric. Another place I see it is in real estate - home and lot dimensions are in feet and acres. Makes sense since these homes and lots were built and platted in feet.
Interestingly, I saw the carpentry program at our community college teaches a segment on imperial measurements, so obviously people.don't know it well.
I personally think it's all good.We have a history with one system and there's value to that. And metric is good for science and trade.
Naw, it's just that there is enough of them to stick around...besides sometimes they are quite funny and new ones pop up all the time and old ones like " You're not really free in Canada because you can't own guns " is an old time fave.
And that's an anecdote that the person who uttered it wants to believe about Canada.
exactly what kind of nonsense is that? The US is the one that adopts a strange system that's not compatible with the rest of the world, not Canada.
For some reasons, Americans tend to think, if the US uses system A (even if it is the only one) while others uses B, other countries are wrong and silly. Trudeau units? Seriously? I mean, do you know anything about the rest of the world? Says someone who claims to be in law school at 21, exactly which law school admits such ignorant and arrogant students?
Of all the countries in the world, only three backwaters still use the archaic Imperial system of weights and measures:
Liberia.
Myanmar (a.k.a. “the country formerly known as Burma”)
United States of America.
LOL!! The USA is the most powerful and influential nation state the globe has ever known and you call it a backwater?!!? What does that make Canada?
Btw, another backwater uses the Imperial system too, the UK!
Naw, it's just that there is enough of them to stick around...besides sometimes they are quite funny and new ones pop up all the time and old ones like " You're not really free in Canada because you can't own guns " is an old time fave.
That's a silly position. Even though many of my views are right-of-center I find the "free use of guns" views of many conservatives strained. I buy the old view that the Constitution's Second Amendment has a preface tying the non-infringement of gun rights to a free militia.
As far as Canada not being as free there are more cogent arguments. The Charter has no protectio for property or contract rights. The Charter conditions rights of free speech and religion on "such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society." Thus the right to free speech and religion is anything Parliament says that it is. And a majority government is almost unconstrained.
Even the ability of the Courts to declare legislation unconstitutional is subject to Section 33 of the Charter which states:
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Originally Posted by Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
1) Parliament or the legislature of a province may expressly declare in an Act of Parliament or of the legislature, as the case may be, that the Act or a provision thereof shall operate notwithstanding a provision included in section 2 or sections 7 to 15 of this Charter.
So there are limits to freedom, more important than lack of free-fire use of guns.
The fact is that Canada and the U.S. both enjoy prosperity largely because of the long and peaceful shared border. Imagine the economic drain if the relationship were like Israel and Gaza? Or India and Pakistan vis a vis Kashmir or the old East Pakistan, now Bangladesh?
So slowly that I learned in Grade Four (as you would call it), academic year 1967-8 that metric was coming. I even learned how to use it. Not that I've used it much since learning it in Mr Damico's classroom in Quaker Ridge School.
.
My post was not meant to be harsh nor to deny any of that.
I value our relationship with the US greatly but I still often wish the "international" gaze of many Canadians extended further than the Rio Grande.
Also as Bottie has pointed out, pretty much the whole world uses metric, new and old. It's the US that's the backwards one in this case.
Is the UK backwards too? All of their road signs use miles, and English units are still used in other aspects of life.
Canada uses more English units than you probably think as well. Sobey's still advertises meats and produce prices by the pound while metric is there too, though in much smaller print. I do find it really odd though certain things are sold per 100 grams; that's just such a small weigh to use IMO. Who buys just 100 grams of deli meat or seafood?
LOL!! The USA is the most powerful and influential nation state the globe has ever known and you call it a backwater?!!? What does that make Canada?
Btw, another backwater uses the Imperial system too, the UK!
among industrialized countries, the US is undoubtedly a backwater, powerful and influential as it is. Using the imperial system is just one of the many manifestations. The religion obsession, gun culture, the fuss over abortion etc. Gay marriage was just legalized couple of years ago. How any of these don't constitute backwater? What's to LOL about? Are you in the total delusion that the US leads the world in everything and everyone looks up to it? Give me a break.
Canada is backwater in many aspects too. Online shopping/payment for example. It is like in the stone ages. Public transit in Toronto, the largest city, feels very backwaterish to me. Let's not even talk about the train system nation wide (same for the US). It is embarrassingly backwards.
The UK while still using some of the imperial systems, at least most British know what a meter, a kilo or a kilometer is, unless most Americans who simply can't handle the conversion and have no idea what the rest of world is like.
What's extremely pathetic about American mindset is they somehow still think it is 1960 when the US is half of the world economy, so it is a matter of the US versus rest of the world. Sorry, times have changed and the US is nothing but 20% of the world. Still powerful but have no illusion that it dominates everything. It lags behind in any things. It is perfect fine for other countries to look down upon it from time to time.
Is the UK backwards too? All of their road signs use miles, and English units are still used in other aspects of life.
Canada uses more English units than you probably think as well. Sobey's still advertises meats and produce prices by the pound while metric is there too, though in much smaller print. I do find it really odd though certain things are sold per 100 grams; that's just such a small weigh to use IMO. Who buys just 100 grams of deli meat or seafood?
yep, that's pretty stupid I think. Guess old habits die hard. Canada is weird - using pound but kilometers, and square feet. It is like it can't make a decision to follow the US or the rest of the world.
I guess someday those who can't handle kilos and square meters will eventually die out.
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