| Posted: 16 November 2019 at 2:34pm | IP Logged | 1
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So many differences. The Canadian head of state keeps out of political affairs, despite having great skills in statecraft and a wealth of political knowledge... and occasionally visits the country (about once every two years on average). Plays less golf than the US head of state; has more corgis. Has her head on the Canadian money, the notes of which are made of plastic and near indestructible.
Adding to what Peter Hicks said about the politics, from where I sit (as a British person living in Canada), Canada is more similar to the British political system. As a country, there's a bit of a split. Very broadly, I'd categorise the three prairie-provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) leaning to the right of the political spectrum, while the rest of the country leans more to the left. That is a massive oversimplification, of course, and these things can shift (and have shifted) with time.
Oil-rich Alberta, I would say, is more 'Trumpian' (for desperate want of a better word), opposed to carbon tax, don't want the Federal government poking their nose in so much, etc. Pacific-coastal BC, their neighbour, is more environmentally-conscious and liberal. And there has been some friction between BC and Alberta of late because of these marked differences.
In terms of mass media, Canadians consume a vast diet of American product. Where I am, if you want to watch the Boston local news on your TV, you can. If you want to watch Boston weather reports, you can. The major US networks are all readily available here. But to further boost things along, the same programmes are often replicated on the Canadian networks. So if you want to watch Grey's Anatomy on a Thursday night, you can choose to watch it on ABC or you can alternatively choose to watch it on CTV.
Canadians do make their own TV shows, but I don't think they are watched anywhere near as much the US shows. US shows do love to film in Toronto though and pretend it's New York (Suits for example).
Canada has produced all sorts of famous actors, but they tend to go to the US to make their name. There are numerous iconic American characters played by Canadians. Captain Kirk. Marty McFly. Ace Ventura. Deadpool. Uncle Buck. Chandler Bing. Ray Stanz. Ted Cruz. You can tell them all by how they pronounce project (apparently).
When it comes to sport, it is the US major leagues that Canadian watch. There is CFL, but anyone who likes gridiron prefers NFL. Hockey is bigger in Canada than in the US. Canadians love their hockey. And their Timbits.
As JB says, it's a big country though and there a big regional differences, as there will be in the States. Country music is big here, as it is (of course) in the States ( in contrast to, say, the UK where 99% of the people do not listen to country). Where I live, in Nova Scotia, if musicians played live in a bar and they pulled out a fiddle and a guitar and played some kind of celtic jig or a shanty, the audience would be receptive (or at least not bat an eyelid).
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