Day-to-day life in Canada & America looks very different, depending on what side of the border you’re on. That’s mostly because some of America’s biggest problems don’t hit Canadians the same way.
Yes, different laws and workplace rules have meant that Canadians don’t have to deal with the same issues that America has to, and they’re much better for it.
That’s not to say Canada has no problems, simply not the same ones as America. Here are twelve ways that Canada avoids America’s loudest problems. Which of these differences do you think would change your daily life the most?
Hospital & doctor bills aren’t personal invoices
You’ll find very few Canadians receiving massive hospital or physician bills for medically necessary care. The national health system funds these services publicly, but in America, health spending per person is much higher.
American patients have to pay through insurance premiums & deductibles. They also have co–pays to worry about. Such a structure means that they have more personal billing & financial strain to worry about than most Canadians ever will.
Paid maternity leave exists nationwide
It may sound strange to Canadians, but paid maternity and parental benefits aren’t the norm in the United States. Canadians get access to them through Employment Insurance, which allows them to get paid leave at a national level.
The U.S. is one of the few high-income countries that lacks a federally paid maternity leave program. Instead, any chances of paid time off depend on your employer, rather than a national policy that guarantees it for you.
Paid vacation is a legal minimum
Federally regulated Canadian workers are entitled to minimum paid vacation under employment standards laws. Each province also has its own similar requirement. However, in the United States, there’s no such federal law requiring employees to provide paid vacation at all.
It’s a real issue for many Americans. They have to fight for their right to have some time off as a kind of benefit, rather than a legal standard for the whole country to follow.
Paid sick leave
Another loud issue is the sheer lack of paid sick leave for federally-regulated employees in the United States. Any chances of paid medical leave are all down to state rules & employer policies over there.
But Canada gets up to ten paid sick days per year. You can get even more in some provinces, and that means that most Canadians avoid the issue of uneven coverage that many Americans suffer from.
Gun death rates
It’s no secret that the United States has a much higher firearm death rate than any other high-income nation. That includes Canada. However, it’s not due to a lack of guns, as Canadians do have them, but rather because Canada’s gun laws are far stricter.
Large-scale firearm violence doesn’t really exist in Canada in the same way that it does in America. Neither do gun-related fatalities.
The scale of prisons
America locks people up at one of the highest rates in the world, with more than 500 prisoners for every 100,000 residents. The incarceration rate is a lot lower in Canada by comparison.
In fact, some sources place it at 127 per 100,000 people, meaning the country avoids a lot of prison-related problems that America faces.
Canadians don’t have to worry about mass incarceration being a constant policy issue like Americans do. Our prison system works on a much smaller scale.
Student debt totals
The student loan debt in America is currently around $1.64 trillion. That figure makes it one of the country’s largest debt categories. Sure, student debt is high in Canada as well, but trillion-dollar totals don’t dominate national figures & public discussions in the same way.
The Canadian population is a lot smaller, but the figure is still “only” at $23.5 billion in Canada, and it’s partly because the average tuition fees are lower. It also helps that there are higher government subsidies & more accessible, interest-free government loan options.
Payday loan pricing
Yes, payday loans do exist in Canada, but the issues with them are nowhere near the same scale as in America. That’s because Canada has a nationwide cap on payday loan costs.
This limits lenders to charging no more than $14 per $100 borrowed, which creates a federal limit on high-cost, short-term lending.
America doesn’t have the same limit. As a result, payday loan pricing rules are different from state to state, and that means that the fees in some areas can be much higher than in Canada.
Getting fired for no reason
The majority of American states follow an at-will model in terms of employment. Essentially, that means that employers can fire their workers without a given reason, as long as it’s not because of discrimination. It’s not the same case in Canada.
Employment standards over here require employers to give their workers notice, or pay in lieu, when they’re ending employment. It gives Canadians much more protection. They don’t have to worry as much about being fired for absolutely no reason.
Tipped worker wages
Tipping is a widespread practice in the United States, mostly because of the low hourly wage. The federal tipped base rate is $2.13 per hour.
But in Canada, restaurant staff who earn tips still receive a guaranteed hourly wage, so they don’t have to rely on tips to make their income.
They know that they’re still going to get a fairly decent wage from working.
Prescription drug ads
The Canadian government has strict laws on how prescription drugs can be advertised to consumers across the country. Ads may only show the drug’s name & price, as well as the quantity.
They’re not allowed to promote any benefits or claims.
But in America, companies have much more free rein, and the FDA’s regulations are nowhere near as strict. It’s one of the contributing factors for higher drug spending and addiction in the United States.
Eviction filings
Eviction is a much bigger issue in America than in Canada. Millions of renters face eviction filings each year down south, and data shows that initiation rates are consistently high. It’s different in Canada.
Fewer than one in ten evicted renters said it was because they were behind on rent. It’s all because tenant protections & tribunal systems have helped landlords handle disputes differently for solvable problems.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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