Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Maybe You Should Move to Canada

I put together a study.

And the purpose of the study was to calculate which countries would be the best to move to as the US becomes "progressively" more sucky (pun intended). However unlike most of my other research, I opted not to publish my findings in that, frankly, I get sick and tired of doing brilliant work and not getting paid for it, so if anybody wants the results they get to pay.

That being said, to help out those of you in America who are becoming "progressively" more worried the US is a sinking ship, never fear, there is an alternative; Canada.

Yes, Canada, the "socialist, semi-skilled at hockey" country to our north. The one we mock for being a European socialist state in the western hemisphere. The whipping boy and butt end of many jokes for generations of Americans.

Yeah, that country, the one that's about to kick our ass.

Laugh as you might, but though it is not the "ideal" country, it does rank in the top 25% of countries I calculated as superior alternatives to the United States. And by superior, I mean superior.

First allow me to post some statistics and then go over them briefly;


First you have the corporate tax rate. Oh sure, not a big advantage, but a large enough advantage it behooves the question, why havn't American firms been fleeing north to set up corporate HQ's? I mean if they're going to endure constant negative media coverage, an ignorant villianization of their existence, why suffer a 39.5% tax rate when you can suffer a mere 33.5% tax rate.

Oh, and did I mention they have nationalized health care? That may not seem like an advantage to us die hard capitalists, but for a corporation that would cut IMMEASURABLY MUCHO on their labor costs as they no longer have to pay health care insurance. So lower corporate taxes, plus savings of roughly 1/3 on labor, all the while still having the benefits of a modern, English speaking economy geographically close to their market. Please, somebody tell me why corporations haven't fled to Canada yet?

Second, corruption. I opined earlier that the US' corruption index would collapse under all the corruption, sleaze and parasitic scum buckets ranging from everybody like big fish like Bernie Madoff to the millions of smaller scumbucket fish like the investment banking, blue blood, bulge bracket nepotist and cronyists who got their jobs because of daddy and not because of skill, but forget that. Even ignoring that likely collapse, Canada is already significantly less corrupt. 8.7 vs. a 7.2. Why deal with a bunch of criminals in institutions such as the government, corporations, your employer or your educational institution when you can have significantly less crime in the institutions of Canada? It's not like we're Somalia, but give it time.

Third, government deficits as a % of GDP. Never mind that the OECD data I pulled for the US is already outdated as Obama just sign the "F#ck America over" bill which puts the real government deficit closer to 10% GDP. Let's just "hope" it stays at the previously OECD projected 5.2%. Whether it's 5.2% or 10%, it's a many-multiple of the insignificant .5% deficit the Canadians are racking up.

Fourth, and what does the fiscal recklessness that causes deficits culminate into? Why the national debt.

Yes, the national debt!

"Sick and tired of having to pay for what you want to consume? Why then just borrow it from future generations by saddling (and screwing them over) with the national debt. All you have to do is vote for socialists who couldn't balance their check books as mommy and daddy paid for their philosophy degree in college, who inevitably ended up in politics, because, well, that's where true scum bags with no skill end up. Slavery isn't dead! It's just deferred! Vote for the national debt!"

Apparently the Canadians (and I know, this sounds crazy) don't hate their children nor their grandchildren. Apparently they seem to have this thing called "fiscal austerity" or "fiscal discipline." Because they've ran smaller deficits, they naturally have smaller debts. Their national debt is only 22% GDP while ours is 52% (oh, and yeah, that doesn't include the debt the genius "stimulus" package just saddled us with).

So you can either forever serve in servitude to pay for the "Great Society" and social security and medicare (because that form of slavery is OK), or you can move and not be so indebted.

Fifth (or as Dave Chappelle says, "fif") corroborating their fiscal austerity and their remarkable ability to maintain the simple 3rd grade level concept of spending within their means, it is not just the government that seems to balance the books, but the people in general. The current account deficit, though a deficit, is only 1.8% of GDP compared to the US' 4.4% (again, Obama, socialists, stimulus, not adjusted, more like 10% GDP, etc. etc., never mind). Yes, not a surplus, but 1.8% versus what in reality will be closer to 11% in the US, where would you rather be.

And finally, six, that whole thing about "Canadians are taxed WAY more than the US!"

Oh really?

You see the ideal measure of the tax rate is government spending as a percent of GDP. In that revenues don't really matter since spending, not matter if you pay for it with borrowed money or current tax revenues has to be repaid with future taxes. I've mentioned this before, but for all practical purposes, the US and Canada have the same effective tax rates, both roughly 39%. At least in Canada you get "free" health care (and I know how weak that argument is, but just to goad the left).

Now there are many more measures in my little study, and these are just some of the main ones, but the question is the same I posed about Iceland. Why doesn't the Harper government just take advantage of the economic crisis in the US and simply pilfer and poach the most productive citizens from the US?

It's not like those hard working people who toiled and strived and saved every penny to pay their mortgage dutifully and on time have any more allegiance to the US. Certainly not after we've just bailed out every sub prime dead beat, and sub prime bank/banker that caused the crash. It's not like the responsible, productive citizens in the US are looking forward to financing the $1.2 trillion in future spending Obama used as a payoff to bribe all the masses into voting for him or bailing out the Peggy Josephs of the world. They're have to be treated just like any other human being and any other consumer; They're looking for a fair and just place to live where they can excel and keep the majority of what they've earned. And if Harper was smart, or heck, just all Canadians were smart, they'd realize the world's most productive talent is looking elsewhere. They'd realize a country is only as great as its people. They'd realize that if they could snatch away all the productive and creative labor in the US, they would have an economic engine that would not only transfer the REAL economic productivity from the US, but would basically inoculate themselves from any depression the US might have. Additionally the conservatives would bolster their ranks as the new immigrants would most certainly vote conservative, basically reproducing the opposite of what leftists in the US do as they try desperately to give illegal aliens the right to vote here in the US.

In any case, I know this is outlandish, it's crazy, and nobody is going to listen to it. But when your GDP is contracting by 12% because you're too closely tied to this Titanic known as the US, then you might just think about poaching some of that there talent from the US, and the talent from the US might just think about jumping onto another ship....despite the severe lack of any real good hockey teams.

;P

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

The other great thing about Canada you should have mentioned, because it's one of your great themes, is that they don't have enough children to replace the population. Imagine the bliss of not hearing those annoying rug-rats always asking for *free handouts* from hard-working, much-abused guys like the Captain!

The United States, the rubes, still have a fertility rate of 2.1--just enough to keep the population stable. What a diseconomy! As Nancy Pelosi knows, children cost money to the state (not to mention to the poor, maligned fathers who find it much more rewarding to lounge about in their bathrobes, with their wet-bars, their humidors, and their PlayStations.) The future is brighter without them.

Imagine what strides Canada will make with empty nursuries and silent playgrounds! Between your part-time dance instruction sessions, you'll be able to drink Scotch and play Halo until your dying day without the annoyance of a youthful generation. What promise!

Off you go then.

Anonymous said...

Y'know, as much as I harp on socialized medicine, you make a good point.

The big downside is that they currently have "hate crimes tribunals" that prosecute those who speak against PC orthodoxy.

They don't have that pesky "First Amendment," and so set up what they call "Human Rights Commissions."

Granted, Ezra Levant is doing a great job skewering them, but still.

The fishing isn't too bad. And I have enough of a northern Michigan accent that I could probably pass for a native . . . .

Thanks for the update, Captain!

Anonymous said...

I want to. I really do, because Canada is starting to look better...and they actually take gun rights seriously.

The problem is the issue of free speech. It's one that we're having here in America today (as you'd know). With the CHRC and the upcoming Obama tribunals of "Fairness" (aka Localism), it's hard to figure out which is worse.

I'm thinking that once I get enough cash to make the move, I may end up heading towards Vancouver or possibly Kelowna. I just need to find where the jobs are. And if I can be close to the oceans.

I hated living in Minnesota.

David A. Fraser said...

As a canadian who moved to the US.. the reason that I'm not moving back to Canada at the moment is salary. From my experience poking around the job market (software engineer/dev manager) in Canada I'm able to demand almost twice as much dough in the US as I can in Canada. If that weren't the case I'd definitely move back.

Anonymous said...

I'm a Canadian who's been working in the US for 10 years. I'd move back except that- after reseaching it, having some interviews, etc -the salary I command here is almost twice what I could in Canada. (enterprise software engineer)

Unknown said...

So how much is the report?

Anonymous said...

Very nice commenrtry captain,
What I admire is that the americans have a democratic mainstream media (MSM)- Canada doesn't, all national broadcast are liberals even on radios- very few are conservatives.

The MSM here hate the prime minister despise him instensely since he was in the opposition;.

You see, he does not believe in supporting terrorist groups nor their flag like the liberals and the three fringe parties do. He has not stolen money for himself and his party's pleasure like the liberals did.
He does not have a media to his name let's say. How he has managed to survive three years in government is just pray and help from people in the conservative blogs.

Answer me a simple question. Who would you have liked to run the united states right now Prime Minister STEPHEN HARPER or OBAMA.

Anonymous said...

A few more stats for you..

51.7% players in the NHL are Canadian.

14 Canadians play for the Minnesota Wild. (which I believe is the highest of any NHL team).

The non hockey related parts of your blog are very good though

Anonymous said...

Thanks Captain, all you right-thinkers are more than welcome here. And bring your guns with you! We need all the real conservatives we can get!

(Check out www.canadiangunnutz.com for a look into the law-abiding gun owner community in Canada.)

The Phantom said...

Two problems, Captain. First, those GDP figures you quoted are based on the last ten years which have been a huge commodity boom. That's what we do here, commodities. The commodity boom is -over- baby. Particularly the oil boom, which takes care of the West.

Manufacturing is pretty much cars. Cars are over, bigtime. That takes care of the East.

I'm not saying its hopeless, but I am saying its going to be friggin' hard to make a buck here as governments scramble to squeeze more dime juice out of us proles.

Second, you haven't calculated the amount of GDP consumed by government as a whole here. Almost a third of people employed are working in some level of government in Canada.

That's a lot of dime juice they're going to be needing. Governments will move to cover their asses a lot quicker than they will move to cover mine.

So if you're a doctor, a nurse or a paper clip engineer, Canada beckons.

Anonymous said...

the cia world book shows canada's debt as the same 64% percent of gdp as always..
I understand that some bookkeeping slight of hand contributes to the official canada debt of 22 percent
ie ,they shoved it off the books onto the provinces ..
and as to their trade balance...heh...most of that "almost surplus" is due to the influx of US green chits..
and as some famous canadian recently said..
"free speech is an american invention.."
you could get prosecuted for hurting someone else feelings

Anonymous said...

What is a corruption index? Is it accurate?

I ask because does it account for the 60 billion dollars that the former Liberal government redirected from what was supposed to be an Unemployment Insurance Fund to subsidize their own friends or to make their budgets report false surpluses?

Also, if we do get a mass immigration of American entrepreneurs, we surely need them in Ontario and Quebec to offset the masses who believe that governments create wealth and jobs rather than business....

Lastly, remember, in the case of health care; the value of what you get is directly proportional to what you pay. In this country, once you are in the health care system the care is not too bad... That is of course, you have to hope you don't die before they let you in!

Anonymous said...

The problem with the "free" healthcare is the only way we keep costs under control is by rationing. Of course, that means wait times. What we (and the US) need is Swiss style health care.

The reason no Americans will move up here is the winters, they suck, even here is Calgary where we had a month of +10 deg C winter days.

One last thing, move to Calgary, a very friendly city towards Americans.

Unknown said...

Heh, followed a link from Small Dead Animals. I just married a Canadian and I'm looking forward to moving to Canada in a few months. :-) Especially after that friggin' bill was signed yesterday I've felt pretty good about the prospect. (A few weeks ago, my husband was telling me about the corporate tax rates and GDP and whatnot being better, like you mention here.)

Anonymous said...

I am a Canadian who lived in the USA for 10 years and loved it. However, I knew where I would have a better quality of life ... Not necessarily a higher standard of living ... but I mean to say, ... how thick does your steak have to be?

We have a slightly different attitude up here, not all of us, but most ... we are less impressed with how big our wide screens are or how much chrome is on our stuff. Rather, we like to have peace and security. And despite the line-ups and problems, we do like our health care system.

It is being improved at this time by a lot of private health clinic options if you have some extra money to get more timely care.

I for one, would welcome Americans who want to come to Canada, but we have a lot of multi-culti crap up here and white English speaking folks don't necessarily get to the front of the line

I do agree the Captain, it's better here than where you are at this time.

Y'all come on up now most of us love you and you are most welcome in Western Canada.

Anonymous said...

Actually Cappy, up here in Canada we haven't had any Federal deficits for over 10 years! For fiscal 2009 we're going to start running deficits again. Back in the early 90's the annual federal deficits that were being run helped to create a new political party (the Reform Party) that made the deficit (and national debt) an important political issue. I'm really surprised that so-called "conservative" America hasn't rebelled against the massive debt and deficits that both Repubs and Dems have inflicted on the nation. It just amazes me that you guys continue to allow this to go on and then make it worse with Obama's "stimulus". And what's worse is that the more debt you get into, the more your dollar deteriorates; the more your dollar falls, the more it costs to service your debts. It's just as bad as those ARM mortgages that assisted in the sub-prime fiasco. You should post the amount of money that goes towards interest payments every year on the federal debt. Lefties (or anyone nowadays it seems) don't seem to realize that the cost of money impairs the govts ability to spend. All the money spent on interest COULD be spent on other govt programs (or better yet, not spent at all but given back to the citizens whose money it is to begin with!). A lean, mean govt can AFFORD to spend $1T but probably wouldn't need to because fiscal restraint wouldn't have gotten them into that position in the first place.
-Bacardi Breezer.

Anonymous said...

To the first poster that talked about fertility. Ya, Canada's fertility needs to be higher by the 2.1 fertility of the US is almost entirely attributable to Blacks and Hispanics. US = the next Brazil.

Hot Sam said...

I agree with most of what you say and I like Canadians, so don't misconstrue some objections to general disagreement.

Canada, like most of NATO, free-rides on our defense. Our expensive ICBMs, aircraft carriers, and nuclear subs kept them safe for 60 years. At least Canada is one of the few allies actually fighting with us in Afghanistan!

They don't come under attack by terrorists because, well, they're mostly irrelevant. If the US falls,though, they would fall with us.

If I remember correctly, Canada is our biggest trading partner, not China or Saudi Arabia. Their main export to the US is cars, so businesses have moved there. Toronto is an exciting tech center.

Their health care system is inferior. Many Canadians are medical tourists, coming here for care. Many of their doctors are trained in the US and ultimately stay here. Like you say, if you're going to have debt, you might as well get a Hoover Dam, a flag on the moon, dead enemies, or national health care. With Obama, we get lots of latte sipping professors and condoms, not necessarily together.

It may be true that half the NHL are Canadians, but it's looking like half of MLB is from latin america. They should still be ashamed at losing Lord Stanley's cup to teams from Florida and Texas. The same could be said of US baseball which abuses steroids and probably still couldn't beat the Japanese champions.

Anonymous said...

Captain,

I am happy to encourage conservative Americans to come to Canada, should they be so inclined - I've actually been thinking along the lines of setting up some sort of unofficial welcome center to encourage immigration. So here's my opening plug for my home province, which despite its strong liberal leanings (and attendant drawbacks), is still a pretty nice place for folks seeking a small-town way of life.

Anonymous said...

So how do we order your study...?

Lux Mentis said...

Where to start?

To the software engineers... you guys get up over 220K a year? Impressive. I've been working in high-tech here in Ottawa for years and would love to double my NET pay (after living expenses and taxes and such). Gross changes by themselves wouldn't matter. Of course, if you want money, I have a friend making 800 Euros a day in the Netherlands doing DSL provisioning.

Captain, you've identified some good parts about Canada. You missed a few. Ottawa is a city of 1 million, and with only a very few small times/areas, I feel safe anywhere in the city. Vancouver and TO sometimes seem like the wild west, but that's where we've got some ghetto-ization of refugees and some gang issues. Most places are safe (ish).

We do get some murders, but they make national TV as do police killings. Not local news like in the US. Some of that is just size, but we could double in population and that would still hold true.

We get beautiful summers. If we do get global warming, Canada's climate only gets more moderate and nicer and more of our country becomes truly 4-season habitable. And it is a big, beautiful country.

When they aren't being smug asshats, Canadians are nice folks. Usually the dolts only embarass themselves when they badmouth Americans. Britain and the US are our best allies, with Oz, NZ, and some other Europeans on the list.

We have Human Rights Tribunals, and they suck, but that's a really small part of the real world. We do tend to be more polite, but that just makes things go along easier. You catch more flies with honey.

Lastly, I'd like to welcome any Americans (of any stripe, but conservative or ideally libertarian even moreso). If you are willing to work hard, support freedom in society, and understand balancing the books and why a populace might need a level of armament, then you are welcome. I don't care where you came from - Laos, Vietnam, China, Scotland, Wales, Minnesota, Texas, Brazil, wherever - as long as you abide by the law, work hard, learn about the country you are coming to, and share your culture (without forming insular knots). If you are a citizen and a taxpayer and learn about why Canada might be better than where you left (something a lot of Canadians could spend some time on - our ignorance of our own achievements in opening up Canada and understanding it is astounding), then I welcome you.

Colour doesn't matter (though the 'u' is an absolute requirement). Home country is irrelevant. Religion and ethnicity don't matter. Work hard, abide by the law, support democracy and freedoms, and integrate. Do that and you're the best thing that ever happened to us.

Anonymous said...

HEALTH CARE IS NOT FREE IN CANADA!

Paper Clip Engineer LMFAO. Now that's perfect man we got lots of those. I love that.

Anonymous said...

Captain,

There are pros and cons to both countries. But I've heard more comments along the lines of Kilted Maniac and yngwie4001 from Canadians who have moved to the U.S. and who have stayed, than I've heard comments the other way around. It sounds like your mind is already made up, so hopefully if you do move you'll keep us updated about how it all works out.

Claude said...

We certainly would love welcoming solid, conservative, hard-working Americans. The last big bunch we got were your Vietnam draft dodgers. Our socialist Prime Minister Trudeau opened his arms to them. Many never returned home even after Carter pardoned them. That's why we had a Liberal socialist government for years.

Our present Conservative Prime Minister (Harper)is doing his best but he has a minority government. He had to betray his principles and offer a huge stimulus package or the three opposition parties would have formed a coalition to topple him. Now we're going to run a deficit for the first time in years.

Don't forget that we have two official languages. Unless you know French, Quebec is out of the picture for you.

British Columbia has a huge Chinese population with lots of money. When Hong Kong was reclaimed by China, the rich moved to Vancouver.

It's true the media is sold out to liberalism but most people don't pay attention to anything the pundits say anyhow. We don't have a "star" system here. We're low key people and we stand equal to everybody.

I was born in Quebec, moved to Toronto without knowing a word of English. The Canucks treated me like a princess, patiently taught me the language, with the "eh!" at the right place. Now I'm a pure Canadian. Greatest country in the world. I could say a lot more. Come and visit and see by yourselves...

Anonymous said...

We are also Canadians in the US raking in the extra dough before we decide to run back to the border. I have a feeling that the "double salaries" may become diminished in this economy.

I'll be happy to be able to watch "Coronation Street" when we return. The U.S. is the only country on the planet that doesn't air "Coronation Street". WTF?

Anonymous said...

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/02/putin_warns_us_to_eschew_socia.html

Putin trying to dissuade the US from Socialism.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Anonymous said...

I have dual American-Canadian citizenship and live in the great state of Texas (having grown up in Canada and married an American Citizen). I don't feel I could live in Canada again for several reasons. So many of my married Canadian friends say it is impossible to make it on one income - whereas here in my hometown, that is the norm. I would have to give up my gun rights, no longer carry a concealed weapon and my husband and I would have to rid ourselves of thousands of dollars worth of guns and ammo. I have experienced an equal number of years in the Canadian health care system and the US health care system and would never want to go back to socialized medicine. The care you receive in Canada does not compare to what we get here. I remember as an 18 year old going to the doctor for strep throat. He was so overburdened with patients that the nurses put all of the people with similar symptoms into one large exam room and the doc just walked from one to the next and looked in their throats and wrote prescriptions. I remember my friend's father waiting 6 months for a desperately-needed MRI. Having worked in the health care system here, I remember being shocked that I could book an MRI for a patient for the next day! May God help us all if socialized medicine becomes the norm here! God bless the USA!

Anonymous said...

I would like to welcome any and all Americans to Saskatchewan. Sask. has the hottest economy in Canada, if not all the G7, and we are extremely short of profesisonals and skilled tradesmen. 15 year olds can now be hired into the workforce.

Our Premier just announced 500 million cash, not borrowed, for infrastructure improvements throughout the province.

Potash Corp. is undergoing a huge expansion and looking to hire approx. 14,000 in the next 3-4 years. Cameco, our large mining company is expanding as well.

There are so many jobs available that we have gov't contingencies recruiting in the Phillipines, Ireland, England and the US.

I would say that at this point, Canada is desirable on most fronts in comparison to the US!

Kellie

Pat Sullivan said...

A lot of English Canadians are descendants of American refugees. The Loyalists were forced out of the USA, so there are a lot of shared common values.
If you guys do move here, just remember not to be loud in restaurants.

Anonymous said...

Maybe they've been listening. Canada has been running internet ads in the SF Bay Area trying to recruit H1-B visa holders.

I too have been thinking about where I could move. My wife is from Slovakia, so that is one option.

On the plus side, their women are beautiful, living is cheap, beer is cheap, they have good hockey, and they have a low 19% flat tax rate.

On the downside, salaries are only about $500/month, the food sucks, corruption is rampant, it's tough to get a job if you only speak English, and their economy is tied heavily to making cars.

Overall, if you're independently wealthy, or have a job where you can be anywhere, it's not a bad place to be. In fact, if you're single, the cheap beer and beautiful women make it a great place to be.

Anonymous said...

I saw an advert in the WJS from the government of Macedonia urging people to invest there. They quoted tax rates, labour rates, etc. Doesn't sound too bad. http://www.investinmacedonia.com/

Jarrett said...

Just re the Human Rights Tribunals, yes, they're quite dubious, but the complaints as they've been leveled here are greatly exaggerated. They're already being re-examined for that reason, and they'd be destroyed if they ever actually became a kind of Court of the Star Chamber.

It's not like Canada doesn't protect freedom of speech. We protect it in our Constitution just as you do down there (see section 2).

Only bad thing about Canada that immediately comes to mind: draconian liquor laws, high liquor taxes. $5 a beer in a bar; $12 for a bottle of bad wine at a liquor store... It's a shame.

OMMAG said...

Send us your tired ... your taxed and your unwashed.
Bring along a healthy respect for the things that actually are supposed to be the founding principles and strengths of the USA.

Help us battle the forces of stupidity and their attempts to strip us of our dignity.

Be ready to fight for the right to private property vs the state's claim to the right to take your property.

Be ready to fight for the right to speak your mind vs the leftards efforts to silence your confounding fact based world view.

Be ready to fight for the right to own and use firearms because those nannies have already won two thirds of that battle here.

Be ready to help drive a stake in the heart of the g@d&mned Liberal Party.


If you like a fight instead of sitting around and bitching you'll love it here.

Oh yeah.... get used to beer with flavour and whisky that's not made from the piss of corn fed cows.
And get used to the fact that "Gonna" is not a f&cking word in the English language and that most words you think are spelled ending in "or" are actually spelled with "OUR" ..... oh yeah there is no such letter as ZEE.

While you're at it forget about the supposed right to sue every one for any stupid bullshit you think you can make a buck off.

Here you have to prove your case or pay.

The Refuser said...

Having recently moved from England to Canada I tend to agree. The West seems to be better if you have conserative views. Mind you the Vancouver area just now is like the wild west with fifteen gang related shootings in the past two weeks. Canadians are nice people by and large but what is it with "about?" it's about not aboot!

Anonymous said...

Captain

I'd move in a minute but anticipate problems learning to speak Canadian. Also have trouble following the melody of the national anthem.

Anonymous said...

Also have trouble following the melody of the national anthem.

It's a dirge, Captn, just do what I do, hum it.

Anonymous said...

Until very recently Canada was the land of monarchists. Instead of a revolution, we just grew up and took more and more independence. Today the Queen is still theoretically the head of state, but she's just a figurehead with no real power, just a pleasant reminder of our heritage. Canada is the gentle kid that grew up liking its parents; the U.S. is the reactionary kid who had to have a violent split to feel grown up.

Instead of the "black" question in the U.S., Canada has the Quebec question and the Indian question. Although slavery was legal in Canada, there was no industrial use for them, so it remained limited to domestic slaves. There were never more than a couple thousand black slaves in Canada, and blacks make up only a few percent of the population still today. But we did manage to make our own messes. First, when the British defeated the French, instead of making them integrate like you did in the U.S., the British allowed them to keep their culture and language and all. A few decades ago this left-wing weenie Prime Minister named Trudeau enshrined that in Official Bilingualism. So now we have to listent to Quebec's constant whining about their lanaguage rights and not getting enough repect bla bla bla. They dominate federal politics. In the case of Indians, instead of waging war with them to decide a clear winner like the U.S., we negotiated deals with them that we never intended to keep, and didn't keep. So now they're taking us to court to enforce two-century old contracts, and winning big time.

A few decades ago, friction between "the two solitudes" (English and French) lead that same left-wing weenie PM to enact Official Multiculturalism. That is, it is official policy in Canada that there is no such thing as a "real" Canadian or a "real" Canadian culture. Canadian is whatever anyone wants it to be, and foreigners are actually encouraged to retain the culture of their home country. In Ontario they even offer free, tax-funded, "Heritage Courses" to teach foreigners' kids about the language and culture of their parents' countries of origin. Immigration, especially of people from anywhere other than Europe, is practically a religion in Canada. We actually actively recruit immigrants, and bring in about 1% of the population each year. And anyone who has anything to say against it can be prosecuted by quasi-judicial Human Rights Tribunals if it offends anyone. Bascially, if you are not overjoyed by the idea of drowning out all traces of Canada's Anglo and Franco roots in a sea of Muslims and Asians who are encouraged to replace Canadian culture with theirs, you are a hateful racist in Canada and can be prosecuted for your views.

Speaking of religion, it's a big no-no in Canada. In the U.S. you can be a conservative Christian or Evangelical and find a large community to belong to. In Canada, you're just a nut in a fringe movement. The Prime Minister tried ending a couple of speeches with "God bless Canada" a while ago, and there was general apoplexy across the nation that he was trying ram religion down people's throats. That's how total and impenetrable the separation of religion and public life is in Canada. Unless of course you are a non-Christian, then you are a sacrosanct minority. While public elementary schools are doing away with Christmas Assembly for fear of offending any non-christians, public universities are setting aside prayer rooms for Muslims.

As for taxes, I think Captain Capitalism must have used federal numbers. It's well known that by the time you pay federal tax, provincial tax, municipal property taxes, sales tax, etc etc, Canadians pay about 45% ~ 50% tax in total. Tax Freedom Day, the day of the year you have finished working to pay taxes, is around mid-june for most people.

I'm afraid Canada is not a haven for conservative minded people. But such people do need a haven. It's getting scary. Maybe Montana or Alberta will secede and we can all flock there.

las said...

You know... I am a big fan of the United States. I never got into this anti-American knee-jerk pants wetting phenomenon that started just around the time Pierrie Trudeau reshaped the country into his own "vertical mosaic" image.

But because I love American so much, I have had an awful fright of late... most notably with your collective and all pervasive national suicide death wish in the person of your new president.

What are you people doing down there? Islamization is advancing at ten times the rate it is in the "multicultural" heaven that presently passes for Canada. Your Democratic political betters are the most un-democratic, corrupt, intellectually lazy and shameless mooches ever to stick their hands out in a bread line. We have our liberal fools here, but yours are like a high school basketball team away from home with booze on the bus and condoms in their wallets.

I really fear for you guys... I never ever, no never no way in a million years thought that I would be singing the praises of Canada over my best friends you Americans.

Listen... here is the deal! Ship all your dumb ass Democrats here to Liberal la-la land. We conservatives will go there... but in the meantime, should your adoring "Obamamaniacs" bankrupt you before the switch is made, every conservative should grab a bus ('cause that's all you'll be able to afford in the new America of Rosemary's Baby)and head north.

Anonymous said...

There are three problems with Canada. the first is the nationalized health care, which is also politicized. The second is that firearms are highly restricted, and there is no concealed carry. Handguns are highly regulated. Third, there is no free speech - if you offend a protected group, you stand trial and pay through the nose.

I've blogged about all three of these problems on my blog.

Health care

Firearm ownership

Free speech

Anonymous said...

I can attest, being a Canadian, that it's not "free" health care.

It's "free" "health" "care".

Great blog, thank you.

Anonymous said...

There is a difference between American and Canadian attitudes. Attitudes stem from your personal core values. They define you as a person and citizen.

These attitudes define your desired direction for future progress or improvement. As a realist, it is obvious that no system is perfect and there are always trade-offs. Many arguments are simply disagreements on how to achieve the same goal... these are win-win type arguments... how best to achieve a common goal. The desire for fairness is a Canadian core value.

Other disagreements stem from differences in 'valuation' of the trade-offs. A gray area and is often 'time dependent' as situations change within a society. Canada has gone through a long period of fiscal prudence lasting over a decade. This is why health care is 10% of GDP versus 15.3% in the USA (2006).

Still other disagreements stem from differences in core values. These are the toughest to resolve because they inevitably lead to an ongoing win-lose battle. I firmly believe that a core Canadian value is a need for fairness and a core American value is a need to win.

A quick hockey analogy, if I may... I don't like the 'shootout'. A tie is an honourable outcome. It is a win-win outcome usually reflecting the game. The concept of a tie being an acceptable outcome is unpalatable to Americans because it does not define a winner and a loser.

This attitude makes Americans, their institutions, governments and corporations often 'difficult to deal with' at many levels because of differences in desired outcome. I also believe that many Americans see this desire for a 'fair outcome' as a sign of weakness to be exploited in order to win.

That would be a mistake.

Anonymous said...

What's good about Canada is that the crime rate appears not to be as rampant as in the U.S.,though it's a matter of conjecture I feel it's a relief that Canada is culturally similiar to the States. The things I don't like about Canada compared to the States is that Canada doesn't offer certain tourist sites like the U.S.(few examples are Hollywood & Walt DisneyWorld),Canadian taxes seem higher than American taxes (one example appears that a chocolate bar in Canada can cost over a $),in Canada it appears that a parent may be more restricted on how he/she can punish or discipline his or her kid for acting up than parents who reside in the U.S. and finally I sometimes wonder if in Canada the criminal should be protected and the innocent victim should be punished? What I mean is that I get the impression that (though it's a touchy topic) that in Canada if someone attempted to murder you and if you slay the 'physcho' out of self defence that you'll be the one to end up in jail and a friend of mine claimed that a burglar who broke or attempted to break into an unoccupied home ( think he said in Ontario)where at some point the homeowners' dog attacked the burglar where he eventually sued the owners and the judge had the nerve to rule in his favor and tragically the dog had to be put to sleep. If this is so how can Canada have such insensitive & ludricous laws ? This doesn't appear to apply to U.S. laws.

gillbates said...

@Dan the Man:

What? There's virtually no CCW in Canada. In any province.

Unknown said...

i have an even better idea why not move 2 the EU we have free health care in most countries and we are a whole 7 hours away from the usa what more could u ask 4

Anonymous said...

i will remain anonymous.

did you move to canada? are you writing this blog in your canadian province?

i need more input...but am considering a move.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

We in Canada are making the same mistake that the USA is now making with immigration. Western Europeans built both countries, but we are now in the process of proving, as most European countries have already done, that multi culturalism doesnt work. We are bringing in Asian hordes that will soon be running both countries, causing higher crime, welfare dependency and strains on the social services infrastructure. I think that native Americans should move to Canda, we need that type of immigration.

Panneton and Panneton said...

The country and the government no doubt mean business when it comes to making it as appealing as possible for migrants living in Canada.