Brief-Canada

View entire briefing here. Taken from “The Week,” December 10, 2004, Vol 4, Iss 186, pp. 13.

Why move there: Canada has its charms, especially for the liberal-minded. If it were a state, it would be very, very blue. As of now, virtually no one watches the Fox News Channel (it isn’t even available on cable), and if the recent presidential election had been held in Canada, John Kerry would have crushed George W. Bush in the biggest landslide in history—64 percent for Kerry to just 19 percent for Bush, according to a Time poll. Eight Canadians in 10 think Bush is turning the U.S. into a “rogue nation,” and a top aide to former prime minister Jean Chrétien last year publicly called Bush “a moron.” (The aide was forced to resign—not because most Canadians disagreed, but because of the offense it gave to a powerful neighbor.) Most Canadians view the U.S. as a rude, overbearing older sibling, and are very comfortable with social policies many Americans would find shocking.

Such as: Socialized medicine, for starters. All Canadians are entitled to free medical care. Patients must wait months for some procedures, but the fact that every Canadian can see a doctor, regardless of their incomes, is a source of national pride. And then there’s gay marriage—it’s legal in six of Canada’s 10 provinces, and the high court may soon make it a right nationwide. Three provinces have decriminalized marijuana possession, and Canada was the first nation to legalize pot for medical use. Local governments even provide safe injection sites for heroin users so they won’t transmit AIDS and other diseases by sharing needles.

Are Canadians different from Americans: Yes, in subtle but important ways. The population is more homogenous—86 percent white, and 82 percent Christian. But Canada is so vast and sparsely populated that the government has no reason to discourage newcomers, and Asians and Indians are now immigrating to Canada in large numbers. While the U.S. prides itself on being a melting pot, Canada focuses more on respecting multiculturalism. (Quebec, the French-speaking province, fiercely retains its identification with all things French.) Americans revere the rugged individualist; the Canadian hero is the team player. Americans cherish the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; Canada’s motto is Peace, Order, and Good Government. While America was founded on rebellion, Canadians have always nurtured an abiding faith in the good intentions of authority.

How do you become a Canadian: It’s a lot easier than becoming a U.S. citizen. All you have to do is move to Canada and stay out of trouble for about a year; at that point, you can become a legal resident. In two or three years, you’ll be a citizen. But for anti-authoritarian left-wingers, there is one catch: Canada is part of the British Commonwealth, and the oath of citizenship will require you to say the following: “I swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.”

The open door: Canada has a long history of opening its arms to American misfits. After the American Revolution, 50,000 people who remained loyal to the crown fled across the border to Canada, rather than face retribution from their neighbors. During the Vietnam War, draft dodgers and deserters fled to Canada by the tens of thousands. Many of them settled in the town of Nelson, British Columbia, and the town is so glad they came that it announced plans this year to erect a monument to draft dodgers. The idea was scrapped after furious complaints from U.S. veterans’ groups. In the last few years, Canadian communities have opened their arms to Americans who claimed the U.S. government wouldn’t acknowledge their need for medical marijuana, and to a handful of soldiers who deserted rather than be sent to fight in Iraq. And “Bush dodgers,” as some Canadians call them, are welcome to give the country a look, says Maria Iadinardi, an immigration ministry spokeswoman. “The more the merrier.”