Canada and America share many similarities, but there have been times when many Americans have been jealous of their neighbor up north.
Election night 2016
As results from the 2016 U. S. presidential election began to come in, thousands of panicked Americans knew they wanted to get out of the country. So many viewers clicked over to Canada’s website to figure out how to move north that their official immigration page crashed due to millions of American visitors simultaneously landing on it.
Medical bills
There’s nothing like opening a hospital bill to make an American look northward. They reach peak jealousy when they receive a huge bill for thousands of dollars after going to the ER for something simple. Canadians literally walk out of a clinic having never seen a cash register nor worrying about bankruptcy from being sick.
Student loans
Canadian college isn’t completely free, but the government regulates and subsidizes tuition rates, so they don’t become astronomical. Graduates in America who are stuck with decades’ worth of overwhelming loan debt envy kids who went to school in Montreal or Toronto. Degrees here run a fraction of the price.
Movie magic
A lot of favorite “American” films and television shows from the 1990s were actually filmed in Vancouver or Toronto due to enticing tax incentives. Sooner or later, Americans discover the quaint, picturesque neighborhoods with spotless streets they fell in love with in Chicago or New York were actually shot in Canada, and a little cross-border longing sets in.
Global rankings
Whenever international rankings are released showing how safe and healthy countries are and how good life is overall, Canada ranks near the top. Americans fed up with bitter partisanship and their relatively high violent crime rate can dream of living in such a peaceful, safe society.
Baby leave
The U.S. is one of the richest countries in the world, where there is no paid time off guaranteed for new parents. American mothers who must head back to work only weeks after childbirth view Canada’s 12 to 18 months of government-funded job-protected parental leave with utter jealousy.
Border closures
With the border closing at the start of the pandemic, power dynamics between the neighboring nations reversed as Americans were barred from entry to Canada. Seeing Canadians travel domestically in their spacious, picturesque provinces made lockdown sour in the U.S. and sparked unprecedented envy.
Strong Canadian dollar
Between 2007 and 2012, the Canadian dollar rose above the U. S dollar briefly. This inverted the traditional border shopping habits of North America. Canadians crossed into the U. S. to purchase inexpensive real estate and automobiles. Americans crossed into Canada and discovered how far behind the Canadian dollar their own currency had fallen.
Real syrup
If you grew up with that watery, inexpensive corn syrup pretending to be maple syrup on your pancakes, real Canadian maple syrup will change your life. Once you learn that Canada harvests about 75% of the earth’s genuine syrup (and even stockpiles a huge contingency maple syrup reserve), your breakfast back home in America will never look the same.
Gun violence headlines
When another horrific mass shooting makes the nightly news cycle in the United States, a tidal wave of grief and border envy washes over the nation. Canadians’ gun control laws and vastly lower incidence of violent crime leave Americans mourning the loss of anything resembling peace of mind. During these tragedies, a country where kids don’t have to go to school with active- shooter drills feels like heaven.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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