Is Canada better than the United States?

[Callum]

Foyer...fuck. That word, when Americans say it, drives me insane. It's not foyUR. Pronounce it foYAY. Gah!

 

[gsdx]

Foyer...fuck. That word, when Americans say it, drives me insane. It's not foyUR. Pronounce it foYAY. Gah!

There are a few French words and terms which have a variety of pronunciations:

Armoire
Pièce de résistance
Chaise Lounge
Voilà
(and my favourite) Trompe l'Oeil

 

[HorndogPaul]

Best thing about Canada? There Taco Bell's have "Supreme Fries" and they are delicious!!!

 

[resonance]

And I'm staying in the United States to save on my cable bill.

Did you know that some Canadians don't get any broadcast channels? Complete travesty!

 

[Esquire0399]

I know how we say 'house' and I know how different it is from the American pronunciation. It's much shorter and rhymes with 'grouse' unless you say 'growse'. 'Out' and 'about' also rhyme with the way we say 'house', but there is most definitely no 'ooo' sound except, perhaps, in the Maritimes.

Ever heard of hyperbole?

 

[bankside]

I'm not going to American bash but bringing up "American supremacy in pop culture" is like bringing up "American supremacy at spray cheese and canned cocktail wieners."

It is not something to brag about, but I know that won't stop comrad-types from trying. Why not brag about separation of church and state? Pretty much only the Americans and the French have done it as thoroughly, both in different ways and both with strengths and weaknesses.

Uh-oh. I think I'm a Canadian with some kind of American accent then.

I pronounce all of those words the American way.

LOL. Spy! Traitor! Five years in a pronunciation reprogramming gulag, or you could take a spy swap deal: you go to the states and in exchange the Americans give us Mike Myers' career back from oblivion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_raising
A bit of a technical article but this gets to the point. House shouldn't have the same vowel sound as in "Doogie Howser."

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe_f8ccswHw[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM6-h4vtg34[/ame]

 

[gsdx]

Why not brag about separation of church and state? Pretty much only the Americans and the French have done it as thoroughly, both in different ways and both with strengths and weaknesses.

Where is the separation of church and state in the US? The government is run by religion, and the Christian religion at that.

Both Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Jean Chrétien were/are devout Catholics, but both got us where we are today. What was right for Canada was far more important than their religious beliefs. Chrétien even faced excommunication when he stood up to grant gay Canadians equal rights.

Bush, on the other hand, used his religion to try to rewrite the Constitution to prevent the very same thing.

Canada is decades ahead in keeping the church out of the government. Have you forgotten Harper's attempt at using religion to bring the same-sex marriage issue back into play? It doesn't work up here.

 

[bankside]

Canada is decades ahead in keeping the church out of the government. Have you forgotten Harper's attempt at using religion to bring the same-sex marriage issue back into play? It doesn't work up here.

Remember that whole stink when Bush started funding "Faith-based initiatives?" He allowed religious groups to use government funding to delivery public programs in a religious way. People howled about that, though I see they still haven't gotten rid of it yet.

The trouble is, in Canada we've never stopped doing that. Churches and religious groups get money every day to run programs, hire summer students, and basically plough our common tax dollars into their private agendas.

We're not all that enlightened up here. We've had some successes, but remember it was Trudeau who pulled god out of thin air and crammed it down our throats in the Charter.

 

[gsdx]

The trouble is, in Canada we've never stopped doing that. Churches and religious groups get money every day to run programs, hire summer students, and basically plough our common tax dollars into their private agendas.

Receiving government funding for programmes and jobs is a helluva lot different than running and influencing the government.

Perhaps you misunderstand the term 'separation of the church and the state'. Harper has tried governing according to his Christian ideals and it simply doesn't work. Canadians won't stand for it.

Can you imagine what would happen if any other religion tried to influence/rule the government the way Christianity often tries to do? It would very likely lead to revolt.

 

[FanofFiction]

I have to admit, I believe Canada is vastly superior to the United States... unless you are really concerned about having a strong army... which right now is all the United States really has going for itself.

We have healthcare, the Canadian Charter of human rights, the economic depression never hit Canada as hard as it did the US, Canada has better standing in world relations, gay marriage all across the country, and we don't have Sarah Palin.

 

[gsdx]

I have to admit, I believe Canada is vastly superior to the United States... unless you are really concerned about having a strong army...

For the most part, Canada's armed forces have been peacekeepers. We have joined wars occasionally as allies, but we're known world-wide as a nation of peacekeepers.

 

[Gussss]

Why aren't there any "Canada is better than France", "Germany is better than Egypt", "The UK is better than Mexico", or "Australia is better than Japan" threads?

We get it, y'all think you're better than we are. For the most part we realize that we don't dominate everything anymore. We have problems, but we are trying to work them out. It won't be too long before we figure out the right path for our country to take. Give us time. Compared to most of your countries, with the exception of Canada, whom we are being compared to in this thread, we're still just a baby. We'll grow up some day.

So if you really want to feel superior about yourselves, quit comparing your country to the US. Since you already think you're better, it's sorta moot.

 

[gsdx]

So if you really want to feel superior about yourselves, quit comparing your country to the US. Since you already think you're better, it's sorta moot.

FYI, in case you missed it, it was an American who asked the 'comparison' question. He wanted to know the similarities and differences to help him decide if he might want to consider moving here.

 

[Gussss]

FYI, in case you missed it, it was an American who asked the 'comparison' question. He wanted to know the similarities and differences to help him decide if he might want to consider moving here.

I was adressing the other non-American posters who were posting there disdain for America, not the OP.

 

[gsdx]

I was adressing the other non-American posters who were posting there disdain for America, not the OP.

My apologies. I was trying to remind everyone (myself included) what the original intent of this thread was. Very often the original intent gets lost as response posts increase in number.

 

[bankside]

So I did a tally of the posts, sorting them into different categories. The totals don't add to 100% because some posts could be categorised in more than one way. However, here's the breakdown:

Americans liking/recommending Canada: 8
Americans dumping on Canada: 7
Americans neutral/balanced: 8
Americans liking/recommending the States: 4
Americans dumping on the States: 3

Canadians liking/recommending the States: 3
Canadians dumping on the States: 3
Canadians neutral/balanced: 7
Canadians liking/recommending Canada: 11
Canadians dumping on Canada: 5

Other/Unknown liking Canada: 1
Other/Unknown neutral/balanced: 1

My cat's breath smells like cat food/other commentary totally off topic: 32
Americans whining that it's no fair that they're being judged and dumped on: 6
Americans whining that it's no fair that Canada's being judged and dumped on: 0
Canadians not worried about it: All of them

So there you have it, Phillyurban. The answer to your question is "My cat's breath smells like cat food."

 

[Comrad]

Best thing about Canada? There Taco Bell's have "Supreme Fries" and they are delicious!!!

Ohh its refreshing to see that the you guys also enjoy such weighting gaining fast food joints such as Taco Bell, which is an AMERICAN based company. Wonder what else you guys are enjoying out there.
Take a seat _/

I'm not going to American bash but bringing up "American supremacy in pop culture" is like bringing up "American supremacy at spray cheese and canned cocktail wieners."

You think pop culture is funny, your off. It controls more than you know. I found it extremely hilarious when Lady Gagg first came out people thought she was from Europe. You guys are eating our pop culture up and only make American business stronger. From TV, Movies, Gaming, Music, the lines have been blurred so tough most of you just see it as a way of life. And if you truly cannot respect that, then i will go back to my old poster just a few pages up.
Just how many Nobel Peace prizes have Canadians won this far ? Do you know? Do you KNOW! I will tell you, 16, sixteen. Compared to the U.S 260. Oh yea, do you not remember what happen this past summer Olympics ? Your gene populations its flat out pathetic.
Sit down _/

*shrug* I agree with most of what you've said, but I really don't get what the OP said that was so bad. Americans are fucking idiots. Truth hurts.

Is that so love ? Let me make a quick point here, had it not been for American idiots you wouldn't be on the internet this very moment being educated, think about that while i make this quick list.
Ranking of World Universities
1 Harvard University *
2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3 Stanford University
4 University of California Berkeley
5 Cornell University
6 University of Michigan
7 University of Minnesota
8 University of Washington
9 University of Wisconsin Madison
10 University of Texas Austin
Every last one of those Universities are on US soil. And the list continues on with the same theme until we get to number 23: University of Cambridge Which is in the U.K. Canada isn't seen ANY WHERE on that list UNTIL 31: University of Toronto. You guys are below average. Nothing to be seen.
Take a seat sir _/

 

[gsdx]

Every last one of those Universities are on US soil. And the list continues on with the same theme until we get to number 23: University of Cambridge Which is in the U.K. Canada isn't seen ANY WHERE on that list UNTIL 31: University of Toronto. You guys are below average. Nothing to be seen.
Take a seat sir _/

Where did you find that list? Wiki?

I have 3 lists from 2010 in tabs at the moment (including a list from USA Today) and all three lists put Cambridge on top.

 

[bankside]

And really, if your aim is to make Americans look more intelligent, you should just stop posting altogether. Your putrid syntax does you no favors.

See, in Canada you would have to say "Your putrid syntax does you no favours."
So, you'd need to learn you some spellin' too there, Mr. Bigshot fancy pants grammar critic.

But, on the upside, you wouldn't be in the same country as comrad any more, and I say that is worth taking a small hit to the Nobel Prizewinning tally that I know you are so eager to brag about. Because the Nobel Prize is clearly not about the universal human commitment to knowledge, it is about which country has bragging rights, like the Olympics. Did you know the East Germans used to dope their scientists with Ritalin so they could get more research published? It's a fact!™

So...Canada = no comrad. He's clearly staying in your country. That's pertty much the extent of my sales pitch for Canada. But, Razorz, if, as most people do, you're looking to base your future citizenship on the number of Nobel Prizewinners, you might want to look at this list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_laureates_by_country_per_capita

Canada is clearly out. Faroe islands has more geniuses per capita by a long shot.

 

[Callum]

It should be noted those 'American universities' are for the most part private, and their researchers are predominantly foreigners. Giving a university a nationality is stupid. They're all international institutions. They just happen to sit in countries.