5. Canada is much more urbanized than the United States. The US is full of vast regions of rural/semi-rural areas. These barely exist in Canada.
(Map credit: NASA Earth Observatory earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/7052/un)
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6. As of the 2016 census, Canada's population was ~35 million. More than half of them (~13 million) live in the five largest metro areas (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary).
For Americans: that is like having ~165 million people across NYC, LA, Houston, and Chicago.
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7. The urban centres in Canada are generally disconnected from each other, both physically and culturally.
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Physically: there's no Canadian equivalent of the Interstate Highway System, at least for long-distance travel. The Trans Canada Highway (main inter-provincial road) is one lane each way in many places. By far the fastest way to drive from Toronto to Vancouver is through the US.
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8. Culturally, the more uniform population distribution in the US means that cultural identities tend to flow pretty smoothly. Someone from Boston will usually identify with a broader "New England" identity, and then a broader "Northeast" identity, and so on.
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Canadian cultures tend to be punctuated, like the people who form them! There's definitely very little sub-national identity shared with e.g., neighbouring provinces or even metro areas (except possibly in the Maritimes*).
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9. In part because of these poor transportation links, regions of Canada tend to be much more closely linked to neighbouring regions of the United States than to each other, culturally, economically, and otherwise.
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National culture aside, Vancouver has a lot more in common with the rest of the Pacific Northwest (only two hours from Seattle!) than with Toronto or even Calgary.
Thinking about moving to Canada? Pay attention to which part!
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10. This is a 🌶️ one: (anglophone) Canadian culture is mostly inauthentic, and was largely manufactured by politicians and advertising companies.
In contrast, American culture is real and unmistakable. Some more details on that:
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(I emphasize Anglophone there because Quebecois culture is a whole separate thing that I am most definitely not qualified to comment on. If I accidentally say "Canadian" in the next few tweets read that as "Anglophone Canadian".)
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(I'm also emphasizing the dominant Anglo-Canadian culture as opposed to the rich and numerous Indigenous cultures, which I am also unqualified to talk about. Go read about those!)
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11. Let's look at food, as a litmus test for culture. Most every American region has some kind of distinctive cuisine. In the Northeast every city has its own type of sandwich.
There's no Canadian equivalent. Most "Canadian" foods are Quebecois foods (poutine, tourtière, etc.).
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The closest truly Anglophone Canadian foods might be Nanaimo bars (probably invented in BC) and... ketchup chips, which were invented by Lay's.
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For a city of its size and stature, I can't think of a truly Torontonian food. When visitors ask me for advice I usually recommend dim sum and jerk chicken. 🙂
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12. I'm known to be resentful by the extent to which Canadian culture ends up rounding to "I saw these ads on TV". For instance... let's talk about Tim Hortons.
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As far as I can tell, the national obsession with Tim Hortons (for Americans: chain with drip coffee and donuts) is largely a result of clever television ads featuring pan-Canadian themes and judicious sponsorship of youth hockey leagues. It's really... nothing special?
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(I have accidentally offended people by saying this before, and the fact that people are so defensive about a coffee chain tells you something. 🤔)
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13. I'm not the only one who has noticed this, either. Here's The Beaverton (Canadian version of The Onion) on the same issue: thebeaverton.com/2018/07/study-
Anglophone Canadians: we could have culture beyond brand loyalties! The Americans do it!
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14. Then there's the matter of politically-relevant identity, which is usually derived from history.
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I'm an outsider here, but my observation is: Americans seem to derive a lot of identity from their complex and globally important history, even the darkest parts (like the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, etc.).
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15. Canadians _try_ to derive identity from history, but it's hard because Canadian history is, frankly, objectively pretty short and boring?
This is not a dunk, to be clear. Exciting history was usually unpleasant to live through.
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16. Globally, Canada is just not nearly as relevant as the United States. Domestically, there's just... not that much to form a political identity around?
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Probably the most intriguing political event in 20th century Canadian history was the Quebec separatist movement, and it's awfully hard to form a political identity around a movement that wants to leave you.
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17. This definitely did not stop politicians, though. I know that all school history classes are political propaganda to some extent or another, but I feel like my (ministry mandated!) history education rose to unusual heights in that regard.
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When I was in school in Ontario, there was a four year sequence of classes dedicated to Canadian history (grades 6, 7, 8, and 10). That's... a lot of time to cover an objectively pretty small amount of content.
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18. The pinnacle of Canadian history propaganda was the coverage of the First World War. Canada fought in that war, but as a small part of the British empire. It's role was, decidedly, not that important (which is okay!).
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If you ask someone educated in Canada to name a WWI battle, there's a high chance that they will name the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
This is where Americans (and other non-Canadians) usually say... the battle of what?
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Objectively, the Battle of Vimy Ridge was not especially important. They captured a hill. Even Wikipedia says:
> the battle is not generally considered the greatest achievement of the Canadian Corps in strategic importance or results obtained
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Nonetheless, the battle is a pretty big part of Canadian culture. The Vimy Ridge Memorial is on the $20 bill!
(Image credit: Bank of Canada)
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The story goes: the British thought that taking the ridge would be too hard, so they sent in the four Canadian divisions as cannon fodder. But the Canadians gave it their best and took the ridge! And in that moment Canada became a Nation(TM).
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John Pierce's take is representative of the historical consensus, I believe:
> The historical reality of the battle was re-worked and reinterpreted in a conscious attempt to give purpose and meaning to an event which was to symbolize Canada's coming-of-age as a nation.
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19. Of course, there are plenty of great cultural artifacts produced by Canadians, but they get incorporated in a funny way. "It's by a Canadian author" gets used to defend e.g., a book group reading an otherwise mediocre book, in a way that you'd never see in the US.
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20. Another especially 🌶️ one: to a large degree, the primary thing that makes something Canadian is that it's not American.
American identity mostly stands alone, but Canadian culture is primarily defined in relation to the US.
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21. In some sense, I think that this is part of what happens when you share a continent and a heritage with a global superpower 10x your size.
On the other hand, I think that Canada would do well to "dance to its own music" rather than aiming to be "not American" above all...
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22. For instance, Canada engages in extensive cultural protectionism in a way that no country that we secure in its identity ever would. There are legal minimums (usually ~50%) on the percentage of "Canadian content" on TV/radio.
Wikipedia has a summary:
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23. I also think that this creates some pretty fuzzy thinking. For example, the monarchy is more popular in Canada than in other Commonwealth Realms (like Australia), I think in part because "having a queen" is a good way to be not-American. 😉
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24. In some cases, this fuzzy thing creates serious real-world consequences.
I think that Canadians are unwilling to address the shortcomings in their healthcare system in part because "we have 'free' healthcare and Americans don't" is such an integral part of national identity.
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25. Canadians also fall into the trap of being reflexively anti-American. I've never seen this as strongly as during the pandemic, when the narrative in Canada veered dangerously into "we have COVID cases because of the crazy Americans next door".
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After a string of tweets poking at Canada's cultural sore spots, I'm going to switch gears a little and talk about some of the things that I really miss about Canada.
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26. American culture *claims* to "live and let live", but I think it's actually more like a bunch of different groups trying to oppress each other.
Noah's framing here resonates with me:
Quote Tweet
America's problem isn't individualism, it's failed conformism. America is just a bunch of factions trying to hector, bully, criticize, and compel each other into conforming, but none of the factions has the power to overcome the others.
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