Canada vs. US (Not Military) Pros & Cons of each

Very interesting points in this thread.

Its interesting to see the various perspectives both from the different walks of life & areas of expertise, as well as the various perspectives that come from various geographical locations.

I guess ultimately it boils down to "life is what you make of it" --Things can be good or bad wherever in North America you are. You can have great pay but exorbitant rent prices or you can have great pay & good rent prices as well... just sort of depends on where you are & what you're choosing to do, and the US/Canada aspect doesn't really seem to make a difference, in the end.

Interesting that we each have it drilled into us from early on that "we are all unique" and its become so personal to each & every one of us that we are "unique" that it seems to have carried over into how we perceive our very own neighbors... yet in the end being this close, there really isn't that much difference & what one area of the US has that one area of Canada doesn't, can also be found in a different area of Canada... it just sort of depends on where you are...

Nifty.

What Canada has the US doesn't have and vice versa, in my own opinion:

Canada has the US and the US has Canada.

If you look at it, we (US and CDN) have a relationship MOST countries are envious of, at least, from what I see. 8000+km of undefended borders, same food, same music, movies, clothing, technology, language (to some extent) and you can get around with either currency in both country (especially since the loonie is worth 90+ US Cents).

Of course, the US forces the whole world to open up their economy but keep theirs closed, so they won't suffer (suffer because I have no other word for it) from global trade, like Canada has, at least, parts of eastern Canada.

The US has brought us lot's of stuff we should thank them for, especially Hollywood, cause without it, our awesome actors would have nowhere to go and no way to get as famous. Celine Dion would still sing in french (and no one would know her hehe) and I would have not learned to speak english (I am from Québec but you guessed that).

In return, the US has a great trade partner (US) which Tom Greenspan once said "Canada is a necessary trade partner to the US and without Canada, the US economy would have a hard time" (or close, I remember catching this on tv a couple of years ago).

I think both countries complement each other pretty well. We are both "civilized" in our way, people are "free" to do what they want within the boundaries of the law.

All in all, the US is a great country, it has some major cons, which makes it a place I never want to live in, like crime (1 out of 10 american is in jail) and public school.

Canada has some nice pros, like our life expectancy. For some reason, we live on average 5 to 6 years older than the average american, and we are second to the japanese, at 85 years old, unless the UN has updated this data.

I like Canada, I like the US, but I was born here, I will probably live here and die here too.

Nobody has metioned the food. I've been down in the US for almost 3 yrs and I miss the food from back home!!!

Candy and goodies: NO Smarties, NO katchup chips, the Kraft Dinner is different(It's macorroni and cheese down here), NO Cadbury product exept around Easter, the Nestle products are different in taste.

And most importantly of all.... NO TIM HORTONS!!!!!!! I'M GOING CRAZY WITHOUT IT!!!!!

Also there are no corner stores, the nearest store is 1 mile away from my house.

try all dressed chips, m&m's. KD is KD and you can find alternatives to anything cadbury makes.

Yes I agree on the all dressed chip. that's my dad favourite chips and he use to get them all the time.

But have you been down to the US?

PROS

1) Lower taxes
2) Strong and powerful military
3) World Leader in Space Exploration
4) World Leader of Western Democracy (they even election their Public Works admin!)
5) Entertainment and Cultural hub of the English world. (all the tv, movies, hollywood, celebs)

CONS

1) Law and courts do not respect human life (abortion, Terri Scavo, etc.)
2) Media has an eternal liberal bias flaw
3) General culture glorifies sex and violence
4) Appointed Courts have too much power above the people
5) Immigration problem with sanctuary cities, etc.

PROS

1) Many natural and valuable resources.
2) Strong economy and good quality of life
3) Beautiful physical landscape (british columbia)
4) Aids in rebuilding war/disaster stricken regions/nations.
5) Free and universal health care

CONS

1) High taxes (average person pays 50% of their income to taxes)
2) Underfunded military
3) Broken Democracy (way to many appointed roles)
4) Broke Justice System (low penalties, rogue judges)
5) Multiculturalism that has broken our culture

USA Pros:

Democracy

Generally a free society

In most cases, every citizen has the ability to make a good living and more

Generally nice people.

USA Cons:

Too many elected local politicians. In Ohio it bred more corruption than any appointments could. Elected judges care about popularity more than justice. The judges were also open members of political parties.

The office of the President is far too divisive, no matter who is the President. I prefer a split system (Head of State + PM) in some way.

FOX News.

Capital punishment.

Same-sex marriage banned.

Canada Pros:

Also a democracy. It has the monarchy as well. I like that.

"Free" (I know) healthcare.

Parliamentary system.

Generally good record on human rights.

Canada doesn't have as much illegal immigration. A big buffer zone helps, though.

Canada Cons:

Sometimes too anti-American

Separatism

Too much fear of offending a certain other language group.

Sometimes seems a little unwilling to take a stand on sovereignty. This looks like it might be creeping towards change though.

I'm sorry westmanguy but I do not agree with your list, you have miss-placed quite a few things. For starters, American does not have "All" the Tv's, movies, hollywood and celebs". Granted that America does have more TV show's and movies, but for celebrities, most of them are Canadians and the most popular are also Canadians.

As for Canada's "Broken Justice System, and Rouge Judges". That is untrue, granted that Canada does have some problems with that department but that section belongs more in the US Con's because that is more in there department.

Also how does the multicultralism break our culture? Please explain that conclusion.