Canada’s culture is in many ways very similar to culture in the United States. This in part due to the proximity the two countries are to one another. However, despite their similarities, there are some very distinct differences. Many Americans have several misconceptions about the large country to the north, which are largely out of ignorance and lack of insight. Thus, it is important to understand that Canada has its own unique history, characteristics, holidays and demographics.
The name Canada is derived from the word Kanata which translates to “Village” in the Iroquois language. The country of Canada is so large it surpasses the United States in size in terms of land mass, even when Alaska and Hawaii are included (Drozdow, n.d.). Canadas large land mass consists of ten Provinces and three Territories, with its Capital City of Ottawa sitting in the Province of Ontario (Jasuja, Sehgal, Gartman July 2017). Canada is a geographically vast country that has enormous regional differences that include climate, population, language, and culture (Drozdow, n.d.). The population of Canada is over 35 Million, while the population of the United States is over 321 million. Both countries religious majority is approximately Seventy percent Christian (Jasuja, Sehgal, Gartman July 2017).
Canada even has a similar monetary system to the U.S. One Canadian Dollar is equal to eighty American cents. One striking difference to the monetary system was when Canada stopped minting
Canada’s media industries have played a huge role in the Canadian culture. The Canadian culture has integrated with other countries forming a successful globalization. Many countries including the United States have contributed to the success in Canada’s media industries. The success of globalization between all of the countries was predicted by Marshall McLuhan and ever since his prediction, the world can be depicted as a global village. The global village can be viewed as a tool, a tool that is bringing the world together, despite the different languages, locations, and diverse cultures. With new technologies being developed more often, the communication skills between different countries are very successful. Canada’s diversity in their media and policies has established a global village with people around the world, allowing them to relate to the Canadian culture.
After the passing of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, Canada and the other British Dominions gained much independence from Great Britain. For Canada, this newfound independence eventually led to a less dependent relationship with Britain and a stronger relationship with the United States. The United States, partly due to its close geographical proximity to Canada, has influenced and shaped many Canadian cultural and societal components, such as sports, seasonal traditions, music, and social media. Since the passing of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, Canada’s culture has irrefutably become highly influenced by the United States.
While Canada and the US are very close in location, this does not always mean that the human and physical characteristics will be similar. For instance, Canada has a colder climate due to the location while the US has a larger population. In terms of the economy, both the US and Canada have a strong one partially due to NAFTA, which has also caused much unsettlement for both countries while also showing signs of development.
Since the country’s conception in 1867, Canada has lived in the shadow of it’s southerly neighbour, the United States of America. Through the years, what started out as a country with very distinct culture has morphed and become Americanized. Historically speaking, American influence has had a great economical impact on Canada. Speaking about the Americanization of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, former Prime Minister of Canada, has said, “Americans should never underestimate the constant pressure on Canada which the mere presence of the United states has produced…” This pressure has changed the way Canadians live and conduct business. This pressure has Americanized the Canadian economy. American culture has a very far reaching effect on Canada with many trickle down effects. Americanization of the Canadian economy has lead to the American control of the Canada’s corporate structure, Canadian dependence on American capital, turned the Canadian economy into a mirror image of the American economy, and has led to loss of
Due the the geographic reason, Canadian culture is often seen as similar to the United States. For instance, language, political beliefs, food, religion and social well-being. I agree that most part of the American popular culture is being adopted by most Canadians because of the powerful media such as movies, films and books are produced by the American. Massey-Leveque, who is a chancellor of the University of Toronto, argued that “ Canada is cultural dependent in its ‘uncritical use of American education philosophy”(as cited in Gasher, M., Skinner, D., & Lorimer,R., 2012,p.196). Hollywood, one of the biggest and most famous film corporations in the world, is devastating part of the Canadian culture. The reason is that by multi-billion
Name a famous American who has greatly impacted history. Chances are both Americans and Canadians would be able to do this. However, if one were to ask for a historically famous Canadian, most Americans would not be able to do this. Even some Canadians would struggle. This is because the relationship Canada has with the United States has greatly overpowered who Canada is today. American influence on Canadian popular culture, media, and economy has overshadowed Canada in the twentieth century.
Being Canadian is so much more than just the cliché stereotype of living in igloos, playing hockey 24/7, and drinking Tim Hortans coffee every day. Being a part of the Canadian culture means that all Canadians are unified as one big family. Culture is defined as “a set of human made objective and subjective elements that have increased the probability of survival, and resulted in satisfaction for the participants” (Samovar, 1991). Every culture has their own attitudes, customs and beliefs that differentiate one culture from another. Canadian culture can be very distinctive from other cultures. Usually the first impression of Canadians is that we are very polite and we live in an extremely friendly and accepting country. Being Canadian is about having big hearts and appreciating our diverse environment. Our country shares a wide variety of different ethnic backgrounds which makes being Canadian unique.
The geography of Canada affects our culture considerably. Canada is located north of the United
Although Tremblay talks about the American culture’s influence on Canada as a whole, his main concern in this article is Quebec, which is in a separate league than the rest of Canada due to its different linguistics. Tremblay
After the second World War, and the destruction of the Nazi regime, the U.S.A being one of the primary contributors in the war, became a worldwide superpower, which would retain itself to this day. While the U.S is a separate nation in North America, its influence, and reputation, has affected Canada’s national identity in a negative aspect. Because of Canada having a close political, social, and economic relationship with the U.S, much of Canada's culture has been associated with stereotypes, popularized by primarily the U.S. This is evident in ‘’I’m not a lumberjack or a fur trader. I don't live in an igloo, or eat blubber, or own a dogsled’’.
There are always many differences and similarities between two countries, even they are in close geographical area. Both United States and Canada are on the America continental, therefore the United States and Canada are in close geographical location and in the neighborhoods, most people think that culturally they are same .But this is not true. Despite all similarities between these two countries, there are many differences between them.
Canada has been known by many as country of diverse culture, people move from all over the world to live here. There is certain traditions/objects that are thought of as being Canadian, although that would just be a matter of opinion for the most part. While all
What is Canada? What is a Canadian? Canada, to employ Voltaire's analogy, is nothing but “a few acres of snow.”. Of course, the philosopher spoke of New France, when he made that analogy. More recently, a former Prime Minister, Joe Clark, said that the country was nothing but a “community of communities”. Both these images have helped us, in one way or another, try to interpret what could define this country. On the other hand, a Canadian could be a beer, a hockey-playing beaver or even a canoe floating in a summer day's sunset. A Canadian could also be a “sovereigntyphobe”, refusing to see the liquefaction, albeit political, of the second largest country in the world.
Canadian and American cultural views were different which was proved because one is multicultural and the other is not. Canada was known as “mosaic” which means immigrants from any ethnic group were accepted here and were allowed to practice their religion. Therefore, they have a double identity ,meaning they are their ethnic group before a Canadian citizen as in Japanese-Canadian, Asian Canadian and so on . Whereas ,American culture was known as the “melting pot “, where they accept other cultures however they encouraged their citizens to give up their original culture ( Wells ,10 and 11 ). Canadian’s usually describe themselves as “NOT AMERICAN“(Wells,35) . Many Americans view Canada as a positive nation and as a better environment to live in then the United States . A legal sectary from Gastonia ,North Carolina said “Canada’s such a terrific place, I’d move there tomorrow if I could” (Wells, 35). This proves that Americans want to come to Canada since it is a safer environment due to it’s unique culture. Canadians are recognized as more modest, less aggressive and more down to earth then their southern neighbors (Wells,35).
Each and every one of the world's many nations is unique in its own way. No two nations are the same in terms of the way they live. Whether it is driving on the right or left side of the road, pronouncing words a certain way or using hand gestures to communicate different meanings, each nation of the world has something that allows it to stand out. This uniqueness can come from certain religions, cultural practices, geography, history or from a multitude of other reasons. Despite this, a unique nation usually gains its originality and identity from its people. The way the people interact, live, work, play and have come to exist dictate how others perceive them as a culture. Canada is a provocative country with a divergent population.