What's the difference between Canadians and Americans?

oh my bad, I forgot about Somoa, how could i forget!?  OMG, what am i going to do!?

Ok, I know all about Bush' approval rating, i know that it is widely argued that he is the worst president in the last 100 years. I know what you are trying to say and yeah i agree its a tough position, but that is the difference between canadians and american governments, the canadian government minds our own business and keeps in line with the UN, or if we do something we work alongside them through something like peace keeping, if you didnt know a Canadian invented peacekeeping in the UN. Yeah everyone who knows anything about politics knows that the US is the largest contributor financially to the UN, afterall it is in New York. But what I'm trying to say is that Canada is more pacifist and protecting of the state of the world through peace, whereas the United States is more aggresive and more violence prone in their objectives. Could this be because the United States was founded on a violent revolution whereas Canada was founded slowly through peaceful means. Maybe an example will show the difference. US enters Iraq to as the Bush administration called, get rid of a violent regime, Canada goes in peacekeeping into countries like Bosnia and the Congo through the UN to help maintain peace in countries on the brink or in a civil war. I know there are different views throughout the states and Bush has a weak approval rating but ultimately your country re-elected him, with a majority vote, where the main reason why he got reelected was because of his stance on terrorism, and his main competitor was someone who fought for everything bush was against. yet bush still won. Yeah i know there are a ton of people in the states who hate him, but when it comes time to pick the best person for the job he gets re-elected. Ultimately the government represents the people. Yeah i know thats a piss off to a lot of Americans. i know some people in the states who are getting so pissed with him that they plan on leaving for canada when he retires. This isnt a kid talking either. Hes got a family.
Ok i made another mistake, my friend went to Penn University. She played varsity and still travels to this day all over the world with her sport. She has told me that people shes met in Asia and Europe most know where Ottawa is, whereas a way higher percentage of Americans had no idea. Im not sure about other provinces, but in Ontario, American history is part of the curriculum, so we learn about the Boston tea party and all that stuff. We also learn about the geography of all of North America and about all the state capitals and that shit. My friends at Cornell have said that no one theyve met there learned much if anything about Canada in their high schools. My friends there did well in school but also got in with athletic scholarship deals. Stereotypes are built over time and they are traits that represent the majority of people in that group. Its like saying everyone that skateboards wears skate cloths. SO yeah I dont think a stereotype applies to some, it applies to most people. As in my example there are exceptions, but the majority of people who skate wear skate cloths, i skate and i dont. If you even want to compare people from countries you have to use stereotypes. For everything! Alberta is known as Canada's texas because they are very right wing. Not all Canadians say eh, not all Americans say yall (yeah we know its a south thing) Southern US and Northern US are quite different, Quebec and Ontario views are quite different, I live in Ottawa which is a short walk over a bridge to Quebec and the people there are even quite different. Compare the attitudes or people in the city, to rural, sooo different, compare ottawa to toronto, still pretty different.

we learn one thing about canada in american high school. only that its the second largest country in terms of land mass. thats about it.

its been covered-and in too much depth

Why don't people take 30 seconds to google up some facts?

http://www.uis.unesco.org/file_download.php?URL_ID=6022&filename=11090724233Figure16.gif&filetype=image%2Fgif&filesize=38440&name=Figure16.gif&location=user-S/

http://www.mercerhr.com/attachment.dyn?idContent=1216315&filePath=/attachments/English/QOL_Survey2006_table.pdf

From wiki:
The UN Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of poverty, literacy, education, life expectancy, childbirth, and other factors for countries worldwide. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. It is used by many people to distinguish whether or not the country is a first, second, or third world country. The index was developed in 1990 by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq, and has been used since 1993 by the United Nations Development Programme in its annual Human Development Report.
According to the HDI, Canada ranks 5th, the US ranks 10th. Norway is #1. Point of interest, Canada was #1 from 1994 thru 2000... hmmm... what changed?

Canada ranks 9th in life expectancy, the US is 29th. Canadians live, on average, 2.1 years longer than Americans (78.8 to 76.7).

The USA has 12% of its population living under the poverty line, Canada has 15.9%

According to the RWB survey ranking the freedom of the press, Canada is 21st in the world, the USA is 44th.

"Since 1995, Transparency International has published an annual Index of perception of corruption ordering the countries of the world according to "the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians." According to this index, Canada is 14th, the US is 17th in perceived corruption.

The prevalence of obesity among men in the USA is 27.7%, among women, 34.0%. In Canada, 16% for men, 14% for women. Which probably explains the life expectancy differences.

it didn't mention anything about Tim Hortons?!

First off, i cant believe this made it to a second page. Now thats out of the way, its time to get down to brass tacks.

I thought Americans were supposed to be the egotisitcal ones.

True, the United States does involve itself in the majority of world policy. Why? Because we are the last remaining SuperPower and a pissed off as everyone gets at our presence, they are just as pissed when were not there. To cite a current example, does anyone else recall Lebonon, no wait...oh ya THE ENTIRE WORLD COMMUNITY, demanding that the US head up some premature, doomed to fail peace proccess. Conveniently as 'Canada' no one gives a shit about your international politics, so you can sit in Montreal, sip your Cafe` and sarcastically remark "Wow, what a suprise, the Americans are fuckin this up too." Its like listening to a peanut gallery of armchair quarterbacks.

Next Stop. The infamous Middle East. Anyone remember the last time there was peace in the Middle East? It has been thousands of years since the Roman Empire was able to bring peace to the Middle East through pure force. Different areas within the Middle East offer various sociological constitutions, but by and large it is a veritable sandbox of lies, trechery, deceit, war and fanaticisim. Hell, i dont even blame a lot of them for hating the west. If I was living in their shoes, under a baking sun, with no chance for personal agency and self betterment, then fuck it Jihad against the west and their high standard of living, praise be to Allah and all the things the afterlife promises(material desires like 72 virgins of course).

But anyway, all that is just backstory. What are we doing there. There is a sickness in the Islamic world, not all of it, just parts. You see it in the news every day; examples of where the sickness manifested itself in the killing of civilians, everyday people like you and me. Some offer isolationist policy. Lets just not bother them and maybe they'll cool off. This is foolish. They hate us because they believe we are EVIL. No one has liked the idea of Hell anymore in the last hundred years, so why should they become buddy buddy with us, the devil wrapped in capitalism eating a brand image.

Whether you think Iraq is handled well or that we should have taken our actions else where is a different debate,and hell i might agree but to stand by and do nothing is foolhardy.

Just to touch quickly on your UN comments. The UN is a nice idea but so incredibly worthless. France who got to head up the UN peace keeping in Lebanon sent in a grand total of 50 troops to secure the conflict zone. Thats pathetic. If the UN sactioned me personally i would tell them to fuck off and off they'd run back to their round table where they would STILL DISAGREE on about how to more STRONGLY word their next pathetic attempt at international congeniality.

Americans and Travel. Look, buddy, ive been around the globe a few times, I've lived in Europe and I have never claimed to be Canadian. I know your thinkin it, "Well he must be a pompus ass then", sorry bucko just not true. Amiercan tourism is a blessing to the countries that enjoy it because it brings in SO MUCH REVENUE. When i spend time in a country i make the most sincere attempt to blend in. I try to learn the language, i eat the local foods, i even dress up (most often with a blazer and slacks) as a nod of respect to the place im in. Any more questions as per my caliber, look up Taillevent i tend to frequent it when im in Paris; no one NEEDS to be from anywhere to get good service.

Stereotypes. Get off your hight horse. Im sure if i looked it wouldnt take me to long to find some stereotypical tree hugging, denim loving, red haired, pale skinned, snow machenin' Canadian hicks. Canadas estimated population is currently 32 million people, while the United States clocks in at a whopping 297 million, nearly 10 times as many people. With that many people of course there are going to be plenty of negative stereotypes. But what about the good ones, like hard working, creative, and deterimened. I guess those fell through that steal trap Canadian mind of yours.

Look. The long and the short of it is thus:

Canada and the United States are both great places. We do over a Billion dollars (US) a day in business. As it stands, Canada is the United States primary supplier of oil and timber which is great, one less penny to give to the fuckheads in Middle Hell.

Dispite what you may think I really like Canada. I have Canadian friends, Canadian girls can be super hot, even by best friend is a Maple Leaf. What i cannot stand are people who get up on their soapbox made of cards to throw rocks at America and American values. Thats great if you think your way is better, and thats fine if you voice your opinion, but dont drag the name of my home through the mud, as a fellow human being you owe me more respect than that.

i work at a major tourist centre and i can tell the difference between Americans and Canadians often from actions and attitudes more then accents, that being said i can tell brits apart before they open their mouths too. Id say im right about 90% of the time. There are distinct differences between the two countries, and not all good or bad, just different.

who the fuck cares, we're all fucking assholes anyways.

everyone of you knobs who have commented in this thread so far back up my point.

you are living proof

I think Americans have a lot more balls then canadians do. People say that Americans are just sticking their nose into everything! Their not, if they don't do it who else will. Iraq for example, sure the Americans are going in for oil but their also helping liberate people that have been butale murdered by their own government. Well other countries are just sitting back and letting this happen the americans acctually are doing somthing about it. Don't give me that bullshit that Americans always start wars. They do but there has been alot less wars now then a 50 years ago because the americans did somthing about it. Don't get me wrong it wasn't only the americans, they were usually the ones the brought it into perspective.

yes, its a nice change from HUH, isn't it?

holy smokes i can just summarize it like this:
-canada is less fat
-we say eh? alot americans say huh?
-we are probably not as ignorant and arrogant as americans just because you guys truely believe you have the best country in the world
-the world doesnt hate canadians ahahahahaahhahahahahaha
-we aren't as fat
-we know more about geography but less about other shit
- our primeminister is a retard but probably not as gay as bush

nuff said.

in this thread the people that are liberals truly shine through.

First of all, I never said I had a problem with the Americans getting involved in trying to resolve conflicts, i think anyone trying to interfere and put a ceasefire in the middle east should be appreciated. Second of all this thread is about the difference between canadians and americans. Canada following the UN lines, and the US going against the UN frequently is a difference. On a side note I think it can be easily defended that canada's international policies are working very well for us. No al-qaida attacks yet. I heard something a few months back that of all the countries that have been in Afghanistan or Iraq, Canada and one other country are the only ones who havent been attacked. I dont know if this is true or not, but if it is maybe its because we somehow end up appearing as the good guys and people wanting to help. Our only real setback in international policies is getting fucked over with trade with the US on beef and softwood. Ohh and one last thing, I agree the UN needs some serious revamping because it has no teeth. Now about travel. Thats awesome, like I said there are exceptions, I know many Americans who claim they're canadians on vacation so to me it seems like the majority. Maybe im wrong, there are a ton of wrong stereotypes of canadians ive heard. one example. we do not live in igloos, im willing to bet that maybe 1000 do max, probably even less, and they are indians way up north. Also one last thing, most of the Americans Ive met have been really nice and some of my good friends are American.

I'm canadian and I hardly ever say "eh" and I find it quite rare to find people who do....

maybe every now and then..
but its not like frequent hick talk like it is over in fucking orlando florida....


I went there and I never heard the end of that word
go to a pancake huose restraunt, walk in, FINE DAY OUTSIDE EHH?
where you gals from ehh?
what can I get you for you guys ehh?
then they ask us where we're from...
we say Canada, theyre like CANADA EHH?
plus there was a resturant like every 30 feet.



that sterotype is completely backwards in my opinion.

the best soo far....rick mercer is HILARIOUS...." Congradulations Canadians for getting indoor plumbing" hahahhahahaha

I have some really chill americans. But i have met alot of of asshole americans. Americans have different accents ( think dave chapelle talking like a white person). I think just watch the Joe Canada, I am Canadian comercials. Plus we are alot more open to many different ideas ( i know i am gonna get hated on for that). Canada is a really social country, and has soo many different cultures in it.

dude.....this country was discovered, colonised, and made by the french. Soo many great things come from the french people such as our new and independant constitution, poutine, New School skiing itself, and Tallboy beer cans. Your a dickhead for even saying that ( sarcasm/joke or not). Its people like you that make quebec want to separate.

"Could this be because the United States was founded on a violent revolution whereas Canada was founded slowly through peaceful means."

Wow, just wow. French and Indian War...that was the basis for the land of Canada. Founded on violence? Human nature is violent, get used to it.

"Canada goes in peacekeeping into countries like Bosnia and the Congo through the UN to help maintain peace in countries on the brink or in a civil war."

Are you kidding me? Do you know how much the US helped Bosnia? We did EVERYTHING in Bosnia. We gave the troops, we gave the aid, we ave the money, etc.

Somalia? Where the fuck was Canada then? When only American lives were lost over a humanitarian battle. Where the hell were the Pakistanis and the Canadians? Sitting outside Mogadishu comforably in their military bases.

If Canada is such a perfect pacifist, why didn't you do anythin about Rwanda (given the US didn't either besides hold peace talks). Where was Canada then since they are a pacifist of the world?

So yeah, when have we gone against the UN other than Iraq, I mean you said we do it frequently...

haha i completely agree with this

YES.

You're tone was satirical and degrading toward America, my last post was a reflection of what I felt from you. Even in your response you're passive agressive tact is confusing. You cant say "Sticking its nose in..." and not expect people to assume a condecending tone.

Oh and about your foreign policy, its just a matter of time, they'll get you too, or has the bomb plot targeting Ottawa and Toronto this July already been forgotten?

i was just on a cruise and i hung out with some canadian people and i never realized how much is diffrence. like u guys have 80 minute periods and take half ur classes first part of the year and the other half. theres so much

America has more blacks and Mexicans, so that squews the obesity and the life expectancy statistics.

Canada didnt do shit in Rwanda? riiight, lets see the opinion of somone there..."Quote taken from UN press release 26/03/2004,"

"Following are Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s remarks at the Memorial Conference on the Rwanda Genocide, organized by the Governments of Canada and Rwanda in New York, 26 March:

The international community is guilty of sins of omission. I myself, as head of the UN’s peacekeeping department at the time, pressed dozens of countries for troops. I believed at that time that I was doing my best. But I realized after the genocide that there was more that I could and should have done to sound the alarm and rally support. This painful memory, along with that of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has influenced much of my thinking, and many of my actions, as Secretary-General.



None of us must ever forget, or be allowed to forget, that genocide did take place in Rwanda, or that it was highly organized, or that it was carried out in broad daylight. No one who followed world affairs or watched the news on television, day after sickening day, could deny that they knew a genocide was happening, and that it was happening on an appalling scale.


SOME BRAVE INDIVIDUALS TRIED TO STOP THE KILLING, ABOVE ALL GENERAL ROMEO DALLAIRE OF CANADA, who is here with us today, the force commander of the small UN peacekeeping force that was on the ground at the time. They did all they could. They were entitled to more help."

K, lets look at Samolia,

Quote taken from CBC's in depth review of the Samolia affair and the disbanding of Canada's Airborne Regiment,

Early forecasts aren't optimistic. It's reported that Canadian forces will have to calm trigger-happy gangs, high on narcotics, who rule Somalia fearlessly. But when the Black Hawk helicopters land in Belet Huen, the Canadians are greeted with welcoming cheers. The Canadian soldiers are surprised to find a relative level of calm in Belet Huen. The famine is under control, with almost no one dying of starvation anymore in this replenished region. But over in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, U.S. Marines have shot and killed a Somali during a PEACE MARCH. (that might have pissed them off no?"

The whole Black Hawk down Debacle was because americans where trying to capture/kill the leader of one of the larger clans in Somalia, dont believe exactly what the movie said, he was a powerful leader, not a brutal dictator and removing him wouldnt/didnt help the process at all, (i have no justification for his killing the pakistanis)


I dont want to see this whole thing turn into a shit slinging match between the Canadians and Americans on this forum, but once people start to insult, or talk down to each other backs are going to get up. The implications of Mitch's comments that Canada is worthless in the world kinda pissed me off. There is no question that Canada doesnt have the millitary might of the US and that it hinders our actions in other countries, Canada however uses its head a little more before acting. K i need to get back to work now

you are the dumbest person i have ever laid witness upon in my entire life

theres less lines at the ski slopes in canada!!

Like I said, Canada didn't do shit about Rwanda when it mattered. Nobody did.

Peace March? I don't know where the hell you got that, but where the US marines were operating, it wasn't a peace march. Americans were trying to capture high officials of a Somali political war clan. The Somali people suppourted him because he was STEALING food and committing genocide in Sudan. When you take a bone away from a dog and try to give them a better newer one, it doesn't work.

My implications of Canada bein worthless? Are you fucking serious? I was simply statin a rebuttle to whoever was saying the US is an evil war mongering juggernaut and Canada is a perfect pacifist. You should be talking to then, not me. I don't make generalizations about Canada, I don't base what the government does on a general consensus of the population, I'm not the one trying to hold my country to a higher standard than another, etc. Read the whole thing next time, you will see that I haven't stated anything bad about Canada that wasn't brought out of truth to defend it. I love Canada, the people, the culture, the bars, the women, it's being our best neighbor and trade partner.

Oh and my bad on the peace march. I thought you meant it happened during the operation itself, but yes the peace march.

I don't know if you have ever seen Rules of Engagement, or heard about the situation in Yemen (can't remember town.)

Basically it's like this, Your a marine, there are thousands of people marching towards you. Some armed some not. It is very hard to tell who is armed and who isn't. A man woman, or little child pulls a gun at you and maybe another person fires into the air. Trust me, something might go down. No one of us can judge what happened there. We didn't see it. As soon as they were shot all evidence of the body would have been engulfed into a mass crowd and any sign of weapons would be abolished. It's very hard to critique people in these situatuions, because frankly, we have never been in them and hopefully won't have to be.

i understand the stress in that situation and look how often in history armies have fired into the crowds when faced by overwhelming numbers of marchers. Look at the russian revolution, the peace protesters in the states (i forget what university), the riots in new york in 1863 etc. My point is that hollywood lies, and that there are often more reasons behind events then people consider. Speaking of Samolia, this thread inspired me to throw a quick google, and i thought this article was interesting. I dont know html etc so just copy and paste.


http://www.slate.com/?id=2060941

It was Kent State. Tieneman Square was the same deal too.

A very good article. I agree going after Aideed was probably poorly thought-out and researched, but what the article fails to mention is his groups acts of genocide and mass robbery in Ethiopia and Kenya. I said Sudan earlier and I was wrong.

Here you will find out about what Somalia was like before Aideed's rebel forces stepped into the capital. Aideed had Mogadishu suppourt only because his group existed there. That's why Canadian forces were welcomed at Belet Huen. Mostly outside of Moadishu, the population suppourted the Barre regime.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Siad_Barre

NO FUCKIN DIFFERENCE!

I've spend a lot of time in various parts of Canada, from just across the border, to Winipeg(sp?) and all the way up to Hudson Bay. Its not any different than America, the people are all almost the same aside from some goofy accents on both sides of the border. An American can walk into any resteraunt, order food and eat and not even know the difference. The only major differences are geography and government. Why is this even an arguement? I mean I've sat on a train in Canada and actually said the words "Its a free country" and not even realized where I was. Shit half of the places just across the border take our money, and I know of bars in Internatinal Falls that put Canadian money at par with American on Sundays, which means they are worth the same, no exchange rates. Its like practically like a state border, you can cross it and not even know it (if it werent for the checkpoints) cause the people are the same on the other side.

exactly ive lived in canada my whole life and i rarely notice people saying eh although it will happen sometimes. also canadians really like their tim hortons. i think the character of a canadian is a bit different than americans, maybe its the air up here or something. apparently were a bit more relaxed and dont take things as seriously. but i dont know. its complicated theres not that big of a difference though, the two coutries just have differnt takes on whats more important in life

Canada was founded through peaceful means. Sure we had some wars such as 1812, but unlike the United States who went to war with Britain, Canada never did that. It can be argued that Canada became a country in 1982 with the patriation of our constitution. By no means am I saying that our way of becoming a country is better. It was just a different way of getting things accomplished. My second point. I know the US does a lot of humanitarian work. But you also spend a ton of ressources on military offensives, such as Afghanistan and Iraq. Whereas Canada spends all of its military ressources on peacekeeping missions. Which Canada invented. Heres the government website about Canada and Peacekeeping http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/peacekeeping/menu-en.asp
I never said Canada is a perfect pacifist. But what Im saying is Canada a pacifist nation. We dont go to wars unless its for peacekeeping. Although that its slowly changing under Harper as we now have an active role in Afghanistan.. ughh. Which isnt sitting well with most Canadians. Ohh and someone already covered the Rwanda issue so im not gonna repeat him.

http://www.edu.pe.ca/montaguehigh/grass/socialstudies/peacekeeping/missions.htm

Canada's just the shit and nobody likes the us.

Canada Rocks a lot

Saying Canada invented peacekeeping is like saying the US invented war...its just rediculous.

Refined the process certianly, but they didnt invent it.

I think this thread has gotten really off topic. The truth is there is very little difference between us. Canada seems like a nice place to live, a little to liberal minded for me, but all in all it looks pretty damn appealing.

Now if were gonna talk about world influence...thats really no contest. The United States, for better or worse, has been and continues to be the most powerful country in the world under any ruberic.

So lets not get caught up in specifics. Canidians and Americans...we're pretty close, i mean, at least were not fucking Mexicans. God knows that would suck!

i have a few things

yes alot of amaricans are fat but there are alot that arnt i mean im not fat

and there are a bounch of places in u s that have diffrent acsents like i live outsidda boston so im used to the boston acsent unlike people in the south probably think were fucking weird

Everyone ignored all my statistics, which basically answered the original question.

That makes me a saaad panda.

Damn right I read your statistics and I find it so funny how a politically divided border can change ones life expectancy. I guess free healthcare really is the key to a longer lasting life :)


btw I say "eh" quite a bit, not because I want to its just because I naturally do and I like it.

Fuck all these novels everyone feels like they need to write. Americans don't have beedy eyes and flapping heads..Canaidians do. Americans don't drive cars with blocks for wheels.. Canidians do. It's really pretty simple.

How retarded are you? Honestly I swear people like you were born in a contaminated petri dish.

why the fuck would the mexicans and blacks screw the obesity statistics, white people are usually the ones who are fat

how retarded are you taking such a topic so seriously? for the record thats from southpark so readjust your tampon and relax

Canadas economy is in the pooper and there socialist government doesn't have enough money to properly finance all of it's social programs. Just take a look at their hospitals or schools. And as a gross gerneralization Candadians just seem dumber. I don't know what it is but I met so many over in Europe this summer and they just seem so uneducated. Maybe they shoould get rid of socialized medicine and put some of that money into their education system.

Dude, you have no idea what your talking about. With repect to both countries, we have almost the exact same education system. In turn there are no smarter, or dumber people. Ohh BTW i love my fee education/health care. No offence, but millions of lives saved because there is a national health care system is worth the extra taxes. The paramedics in canada don't throw people out of hospitals if they have no money. Ohh, and have you seen our schools. Most of them don't have metal detectors, or razor wire fences. BTW New School skiing was invented by canadians ( Look up the New Canadian Air Force, Mike Douglas, the 1080.....etc) so obviously we are not too stupid. Now this is the time where you go fuck your mom now. Have a nice day.

what the hell do you know? So you came to a conclusion just by meeting a few people you think that represents the Canadian society on a whole? If I didn't look at your profile id swear you are from florida, moron.