Is Canada a good country to learn, live, and work?

 By Marty Frolick

Im a Canadian who lives in a border town. A lot of what you hear about Canada is based more on rumor and folklore than reality. It is not necessarily colder here. Northern California is at the same latitude as southern Ontario - check out a globe! Yes, we do have northern communities where weather is severe but we also have cities with climates like Chicago, Seattle, New York, and Boston.

We have superior health care to anything in the US, if you judge by accessibility by all citizens and affordability for all. We have better education - Canada has always ranked much higher than the US on any measure of education around the globe. We have world class universities that attract students from all over the world. Canadian ingenuity has given the world the zipper, insulin, the canadarm for the space shuttle, and even basketball.

In terms of living, we have a longer life expectancy, much stricter gun laws, better social safety nets, and a general “niceness” that is renowned world wide. Canadians are tolerant, respectful, polite, and always willing to please. (Yes, we have our share of nasty people but I’m speaking in generalities)

As for working, Canadian industry is highly competitive globally. I must admit that there may be more opportunities in the US, due to its size, but Canadians do pretty darn good. Our dollar is strong, but we are smart enough to keep it just under the value of the American dollar because this brings many Americans into Canada to do business cheaper.

Our Military might not be as large as the that of the US but we have a reputation for highly trained forces, and world wide success as liberators and peace keepers. We do not use weapons for protection - we don’t need it because we do not allow our criminals to freely arm themselves. We live in a much safer, more peaceful and less stressful environment than you would find in much of the US. Even in our largest cities, violent crime is much lower when compared to similar sized cities in the US.

Canada has an unimaginable beauty of landscape and we preserve it in our national parks. We have four seasons - and our summers are beautiful. Winters are cold but are also amazingly enjoyable.

Our politics are vastly different. Canada invests in its people. We have incredible social safety nets to support those who can’t support themselves.

When you read rankings of countries based on any number of factors, Canada always scores high, and much higher than the US.

If I had to choose, I would take Canada over the US any day. Besides, our Prime Minister is much more adept than the US president and, in a boxing match, he would easily take him!