JR: Hi, this is JR, the producer of Plain English. I want to say thank you for being with us for 200 episodes! Today, Jeff will tell us the differences between living in Canada and living in the US. And he’ll have a little help from me, since I’ve lived in both.
Jeff: That’s right, thank you JR, and welcome to Plain English to all of you out there around the world, as we celebrate our two-hundredth episode. The full transcript of today’s episode, plus all our additional Plus+ resources, are available at PlainEnglish.com/200. I like the sound of that. PlainEnglish.com/200.
On today’s episode: the differences between living in Canada and the US. I’ve heard from so many of you who are planning to come to either Canada or the US to live, maybe to study, so I thought I would share some differences between the two. And a special thanks to JR, who helped me with the research for this episode. He has spent an extended amount of time in both countries.
We might have reached 200 episodes, but we’re not slowing down. One member of Plain English Plus+ , Vitoria, said she wants three episodes a week. I’m not promising anything—we did three a week during the World Cup and it was exhausting! Do you remember that? That was a lot to keep track of, and I even confused the episode numbers once. Anyway, I don’t want you to miss a single one of our next 200 episodes, so I really want you all on the email list. If you join, you’ll get a summary of each episode’s topic, plus another word or phrase from the episode. If you’re with us for another couple of years, you’ll get 200 more words or phrases in your English vocabulary—all for free. Can’t argue with the price! Get on the email list now by visiting PlainEnglish.com/mail.
Differences between living in Canada and the US
Canada and the United States are similar in a great many ways. The two countries are neighbors, friends, and allies; the border between the two countries is the world’s longest undefended border. Our northern states are, economically, closely integrated with Canada; many people cross the border every day for work. Culturally, too, we are similar. What’s trending in the US is often trending in Canada, too. American TV networks are broadcast in Canada. The movies, music and TV shows popular here are often popular in Canada too. Every now and then, you’ll hear that a business leader, news anchor, actor, or other prominent person in American culture is Canadian—and it causes you to raise an eyebrow, but it’s not surprising in the least. The host of our most popular quiz show, Alex Trebek, is Canadian.
Related: Episode 141: Why America loves Alex Trebek, host of quiz show Jeopardy!
One of the most popular news anchors of my childhood, Peter Jennings—he was on every night in my house growing up—he was Canadian. Canada’s sports teams play in American leagues—except in ice hockey, where the tables are turned: American teams play in Canada’s hockey league.
So you might think there are few differences between the two countries—but that’s definitely not the case. In this episode, we’ll talk about some of the ways the United States and Canada are different.
Number one: Canada is cold. If you like the great outdoors, and if you don’t mind the cool weather, then Canada is a great place to be. But you have been warned: Canada is cold. The most temperate place to live would be the west coast, Vancouver and thereabouts. But almost anywhere else you go, the cold will be a part of life. Even the southernmost cities like Toronto still have cold and snowy weather for a large part of the year. Canada has some good geographic diversity. They have plains, coastline, forests, mountains, and glaciers. The Canadian Rockies are beautiful. The US arguably has more geographic diversity: take all of that, and add deserts and beaches. If you like the outdoors and don’t mind bundling up, then you can be happy in either place.
Number two: health care. This is probably the biggest day-to-day difference for people going to live permanently in either country. If you’re going to study, you won’t notice much difference. But the whole system of health insurance in the United States is messed up. There’s no other word for it. It works very well if you get a good health insurance plan at work as part of your compensation at work. But if you don’t, then health insurance is very, very expensive—and you might not even qualify for it here. In Canada, by contrast, health insurance is run by the government and included in your taxes. It’s a lot simpler, and nobody gets left behind. The tradeoff is that you sometimes have to wait longer for service, and the very best hospitals and most cutting-edge technology is in the United States. Is Canada better, then? Some people think so. I think Canada is better if you are not going to have good insurance provided by a job. If I need a lifesaving surgery, though, I’d rather be in a hospital in the United States.
Number three: culture wars. The US is very politically divided, and the divisions are often very personal. Twenty-five years ago, we certainly had political divisions and rivalries. But the two sides are now highly polarized. The two sides—it’s almost like they can’t speak to each other. The word we have for it here is “culture wars.” Issues like abortion, gun ownership, taxes and regulations, the role of religion in public life, are all parts of the culture wars—deep social divisions between two polarized camps. The two sides seem to have their own media—their own TV networks, newspapers, web sites. And increasingly, they live apart. We now talk about “red states” and “blue states,” based on how the states tend to vote—as if entire states of the Union belong to one side or another. Canada has largely escaped the culture wars that divide Americans. They have lively politics and meaningful differences between parties, but they don’t have the kind of cultural divisions we have here.
Number four: income. Americans, on average, make a higher income than Canadians—and they can keep more of what they make. Americans are risk-takers in business and in their careers; Canadians—and obviously I’m generalizing—but Canadians are more “sure and steady.” If you want the best chance to make a high income, start a company that changes the world, work in high-tech, innovative finance—then you probably want to be in the US.
Number five: shopping and entertainment. In a way, this is almost an unfair comparison simply due to the size. But it must be said: your options are limited in Canada. Now, it’s all relative. We live in an age of material abundance and a middle class family in either country will have a lot of options—options just a generation earlier would scarcely believe. So this is a matter of degree. But the US is a much bigger market, so we tend to have a wider variety of goods available for home delivery, better options for cell phone plans, more retail shops to choose from, things like that.
Now for the lightning round. Canada is a bilingual country, so there’s a lot of French spoken there. If you’re in Quebec, you’ll notice everyone speaking French first. In the US, we don’t have a second official language, but a lot of people speak other languages. Canadian money is much more colorful: purple, green, blue. They also have dollar coins. American money is homogenous by comparison. We do have dollar coins, but nobody uses them. Paying a bill at a restaurant is so much better in Canada. They bring a small credit card machine to your table and you type in your tip, press “okay” and you’re done. Here, the server brings you the check. You send him or her back to the kitchen with your card. Then your receipt comes. You have to do the math on a tip yourself—in the year 2019!—and sign your name with a pen. Canada’s system is better.
One last difference. This makes Canadians seem like they’re from another planet. They have milk in bags. That’s right. In the grocery store, at least in Ontario and Montreal, milk comes in bags. You take the bags home and pour them in a pitcher and you serve them at home out of the pitcher.
In all seriousness, if you’re choosing between the two countries—there are some differences, but both are great places to live. I love visiting Canada and Canadian people are very nice and welcoming. If you are going to Canada, get yourself a warm winter coat, and you’ll be fine.
JR: This might be something small and simple but this was the first difference I noticed after I got to the airport in Montreal: Cars have only one license plate, and it’s on the back side. I didn’t like that because I was waiting for my Uber and I was expecting to see the license plate on the front, you know, once you are sure about your car then you can signal to the driver to stop. But I could only see the plate once the car was gone, and by then, it was too late.
And you know how in many countries, the plates have a graphic design, a drawing of something emblematic from the state? In the United States, for example, Florida’s plates have oranges; Illinois has a picture of Abraham Lincoln, a famous president. But in Canada they have phrases and not drawings. The one in Quebec is “Je me souviens” which means, “I remember.” Every province in Canada has a different phrase.
Let me tell you what I like best about Plain English Plus+. I remember when I was studying English in Mexico. Back then, I felt prepared to live in the United States, but when I finally got to Chicago, let me tell you everything was hard because my English teachers were Mexicans so my ear was used to the Latino accent. In the US, I felt like everyone spoke so fast that I could not understand all the words. It made me feel shy speaking English.
I love the grammar videos from Plain English Plus+ because after listening to the podcast and getting your ear used to the American accent, you can watch the videos and learn tools in English that are very helpful for living in any English-speaking country. Remember there is a new video for every episode. You can learn all about it at PlainEnglish.com/Plus.
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