Europe is often praised for its history, culture, and public services, but Canada quietly wins at more than you might think.
Vast wilderness
There’s a lot more open space in Canada than in Europe, including massive forests, mountain ranges, lakes, and northern landscapes that stretch from sea to shining sea.
Often, there will be hardly any development around for miles. Drive hours in Canada and you’ll still be seeing empty fields and lakes instead of towns and busy highways. Europe has beautiful countryside, but there are fewer truly wild areas due to its high population and longer history of settlement.
Freshwater access
Canada has a lot of lakes, rivers, and freshwater bodies. Many neighbourhoods are near clean bodies of water where residents can swim, fish, canoe, or just enjoy sitting outside.
The Great Lakes alone are one of the largest freshwater reserves in the world. Europe has lakes and rivers too, but Canada has far more lakes and larger bodies of freshwater. In fact, it holds roughly 20% of the world’s surface fresh water supply.
Spacious homes
Canadian houses tend to be bigger than what you’ll find in most European cities. Outside of Toronto, Vancouver, and the other costly cities, you can often find family homes with a garage, basement, spare bedrooms, and yards that are decent-sized.
Many European cities have older buildings, smaller lots, and cramped city centres. Canadians usually have more space for storage, hobbies, guests and family.
Cultural diversity
Canada has built communities with individuals from diverse backgrounds living together. Major Canadian cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal consist of people from all around the world.
This diversity can be seen through local cuisine, festivals, stores, languages and neighbourhoods. While there are many multicultural European cities, Canada embraces immigration as part of its modern-day identity.
Cleaner air
Air quality is generally better across much of Canada. With relatively few people and so much land, huge swaths of forest and miles between cities keep urban air pollution at bay.
Granted, wildfire seasons and certain industrial zones can pollute air quality as well. Nevertheless, the air feels fresher in many Canadian communities and smaller cities than you’ll find in densely populated areas of Europe with cars and factories everywhere.
Outdoor lifestyle
Canada allows you to take advantage of outdoor activities year-round, from camping, hiking, fishing, canoeing and hitting up lakes during the summer, to skiing, skating, snowshoeing and playing hockey during the winter.
A lot of Canadians have trails, parks, beaches or forests very close to them. Europe has great outdoor places too; however, you normally have more space and fewer people in Canada.
National parks
One great thing about Canadian national parks is their size. There’s a feeling of untouched wilderness whether you visit Banff, Jasper, Gros Morne, Pacific Rim, or elsewhere.
Mountains, forests, coastline, glaciers, and wildlife can all be seen by hiking, camping, paddling, or just driving for days on end without another city in sight. European parks are nice too, but generally not on the same scale and not as remote as Canada’s are.
Friendly service
Customer service in Canada is often laid back, polite, and helpful. Shop workers, restaurant staff, hotel employees, and public service workers are expected to treat customers politely and fix any issues without embarrassing them.
Service may vary from location to location, but you will notice the polite nature. European customer service can be much more direct or even rude by Canadian standards. Some may be more formal, while others are not as friendly.
Night skies
Canada’s large size and sparse population mean that it has some of the darkest skies on Earth. Outside urban centres, it’s common to see thousands of stars, the Milky Way Galaxy, and (if you’re far enough north) the Northern Lights.
Canada has multiple Dark Sky Preserves that are internationally designated. In most of Europe, finding truly dark skies at night is difficult due to high population and light pollution.
Stable banking
Canada’s banking system is among the soundest in the world. This is due to stricter banking regulations and financial scrutiny. Canada’s Big Banks fared better during the 2008 global financial crisis than some countries in Europe, where banks were bailed out by governments, forced into emergency mergers, or went out of business.
While there are many countries with responsibly run banks today, Canada’s banking sector has earned a reputation for stability and reliability over the long-term.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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