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There is no comparison since they are two completely different entities with different meanings and missions in both countries. In Canada all of our several political parties, including our conservative parties, would be considered liberal by American standards. Liberal doesn't mean the same things in politics or in general in Canada that liberal means in USA.
I don't know, their policy platform for the 2015 election doesn't seem that different from what the Democrats would do here if they had a complete majority again. Then again, a minority party in the US Congress seems to be able to have a lot more leeway in getting their say worked in than the minority party in the House of Commons.
It's a popular Canadian meme that basically any Canadian politician or party is going to be to the left or more progressive than the most leftist and progressive American party, just by virtue of being Canadian. (We are talking about the mainstream.)
I have not done an extensive study of policies and such, but the meme does lead to absurdities like "Stephen Harper is a communist when you compare him to Barack Obama".
It's a popular Canadian meme that basically any Canadian politician or party is going to be to the left or more progressive than the most leftist and progressive American party, just by virtue of being Canadian. (We are talking about the mainstream.)
I have not done an extensive study of policies and such, but the meme does lead to absurdities like "Stephen Harper is a communist when you compare him to Barack Obama".
Crap like that.
Haven't heard that one. Ya pretty absurd.
The term " conservative " in Canada when referring to a political party and political view has changed it's meaning since the old
PC party was changed by Reformers etc. Harper was influenced greatly by the conservatives in the US. That's why he hangs out with some of the more extreme GOP'ers in the US.
20 years ago, yes it could be said, and was true, that the PC party would of been considered quite liberal in the US. Mostly on social issues.
Now, not so much.
Some also may get confused about Harpers actions, or lack of, on certain social issues as being accepting of those issues. Like equal marriage and abortion.
It wasn't support of those two issues that prevented him from changing them, but politics...not that some Cons didn't try.
On the issue of healthcare. Any politician in Canada, right or left, stating that they wish to rid us of it, wouldn't have a chance of being elected. No one, or very few, in Canada thinks someone supporting Universal Healthcare, maternity leave etc is extremely left winged. In the US, they do.
I've had allot of fun reading this thread, but I would like to add something that allot of people seem to look over. The major difference between the U.S. and Canada is the people, or more importantly, the attitude of the people. My family and I moved from Florida to Montana. The reason, the culture. In Florida, I would hear people make comments routinely that that hated the government. "F the police, I can't stand stinking cops." "The government only cares about rich people, I don't care what they say". "My kids don't need to be brainwashed by some stupid school and told what to think." This went beyond political lines, these people really hated the government, and are raising their children to do the same. These people more often than not never made it through high school. It was just ignorance raising another generation of ignorance. The school district my kids went to had a 62% graduation rate.
Here in Montana, parents teach their kids to respect the role of government. The high school has an 86% graduation rate.
From reading this thread, it is apparent that Canadian parents teach their children respect and responsibility from an early age. Your country is blessed to have such great people living there. However in much of the inner cities of the U.S., we have very ignorant people raising their kids to hate the government, not trust their neighbors, and these people are the one committing most of the crime. You see them smiling in the mug shots, because they believe they are "hard" because they have committed these heinous acts of violence. The "thug", "gang" culture is destroying our cities and banning guns will not stop it.
I can't wait for our first trip into Canada, and thanks for all of the great info.
I've had allot of fun reading this thread, but I would like to add something that allot of people seem to look over. The major difference between the U.S. and Canada is the people, or more importantly, the attitude of the people. My family and I moved from Florida to Montana. The reason, the culture. In Florida, I would hear people make comments routinely that that hated the government. "F the police, I can't stand stinking cops." "The government only cares about rich people, I don't care what they say". "My kids don't need to be brainwashed by some stupid school and told what to think." This went beyond political lines, these people really hated the government, and are raising their children to do the same. These people more often than not never made it through high school. It was just ignorance raising another generation of ignorance. The school district my kids went to had a 62% graduation rate.
Here in Montana, parents teach their kids to respect the role of government. The high school has an 86% graduation rate.
From reading this thread, it is apparent that Canadian parents teach their children respect and responsibility from an early age. Your country is blessed to have such great people living there. However in much of the inner cities of the U.S., we have very ignorant people raising their kids to hate the government, not trust their neighbors, and these people are the one committing most of the crime. You see them smiling in the mug shots, because they believe they are "hard" because they have committed these heinous acts of violence. The "thug", "gang" culture is destroying our cities and banning guns will not stop it.
I can't wait for our first trip into Canada, and thanks for all of the great info.
May your first trip be the first of many. There's lot's to see up here.
It's a popular Canadian meme that basically any Canadian politician or party is going to be to the left or more progressive than the most leftist and progressive American party, just by virtue of being Canadian. (We are talking about the mainstream.)
I have not done an extensive study of policies and such, but the meme does lead to absurdities like "Stephen Harper is a communist when you compare him to Barack Obama".
Crap like that.
I have heard things like that too but when looking at the party platforms for the Conservatives as well with the recent election, they were barley different from the GOP (minus the health care thing of course). That may have been true 30 years ago, but the Democrats and Liberal Party aren't all that different with their policy goals just as with the Conservatives and GOP in today's world.
The term " conservative " in Canada when referring to a political party and political view has changed it's meaning since the old
PC party was changed by Reformers etc. Harper was influenced greatly by the conservatives in the US. That's why he hangs out with some of the more extreme GOP'ers in the US.
20 years ago, yes it could be said, and was true, that the PC party would of been considered quite liberal in the US. Mostly on social issues.
Now, not so much.
Some also may get confused about Harpers actions, or lack of, on certain social issues as being accepting of those issues. Like equal marriage and abortion.
It wasn't support of those two issues that prevented him from changing them, but politics...not that some Cons didn't try.
On the issue of healthcare. Any politician in Canada, right or left, stating that they wish to rid us of it, wouldn't have a chance of being elected. No one, or very few, in Canada thinks someone supporting Universal Healthcare, maternity leave etc is extremely left winged. In the US, they do.
Of course. When you're handed the keys to power, you're not handed a clean slate. You inherit everything that came before, including a whole bunch of stuff that people are used to having.
On his own and in a clean slate context, Harper would have gone forward with a bold universal care plan.
On his own and in a clean slate context, Obama would not have loosened gun control.
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