The differences between Canada and the U.S. remain significant

The following article by Michael Adams and Andrew Parkin was published in Policy Options on December 20, 2022.

The differences between Canada and the U.S. remain significant

Political leaders in Canada benefit from our inevitable tendency to compare ourselves to the United States. No matter how bad things are here, there is a good chance they are worse there. We have had fewer COVID deaths per-capita, many fewer murders and mass shootings, and infinitely fewer losing politicians unwilling to accept voters’ verdicts. Our health-care system is under tremendous strain, but there are still no fees for service. Meeting these low bars can be presented as achievements.

Yet a comparison between the two countries can still be instructive – not because it reassures us of the ways in which we are doing better, but because it reminds us that we remain different.

For example, consider the Environics Institute’s latest survey results about the twin headline issues of abortion and gun control. Not surprisingly, Canadians are more likely than Americans to favour fewer restrictions when it comes to abortion, and more restrictions when it comes to guns. But that’s not what is most remarkable.

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