Move to Canada!

 We had a reader send in this question for the answer man:

Would you move to Canada from the United States?

AN American curmudgeon answered:

If not for my wife adamantly refusing to go? I’d have left for Canada no later than November 2016!  (Trump!)

Why? My list is too long to put here, but I’ll just cite the top five…

Here in the U.S., should I suffer an arrest, I’ve the right to an attorney. If however I suffer a cardiac arrest? I’m financially ruined. Despite having health insurance, the monthly premiums for which exceed my mortgage payment by 35%. My last hospital visit (2021), comprising a four hour ER stay, a few tests, but no admission, generated a bill for $6,200 beyond what my insurance covered. In Canada, meanwhile, my tax dollars would be used toward a national health care system that would’ve greatly reduced if not eliminated that liability. Instead of worrying about particular doctors being on my insurance plan? I could see whomever I chose. I’d not have avoided seeking emergency care for months while my wife begged me to go; and I’m pretty certain I’d have spent less on a trip to the ER than I did my first car.

Here in the U.S., when we err by electing the bad (1976, ‘80, ‘84), the hopeless (2000, ‘04), or even the utterly batshit insane (2016) as a national leader? We’re stuck with them for four years unless someone takes one for the national team and etches their name into infamy by killing them. In Canada, meanwhile, during my lifetime there’ve been 3 instances where an incompetent or unpopular Prime Minister has been shown the door within a year of taking office. There, MP’s are held directly accountable by the electorate, with no seat truly in the stranglehold of one of its six major parties. Here, we literally tailor electoral districts to elect politicians rather than tailor the politicians to the people of the district.

Here in the U.S., there is a very vocal, very xenophobic group of people who if given the means would stand at the Mexican border and shoot dead anyone who dared try to cross it. In Canada, meanwhile, one in five Canadians is an immigrant, and they’re comparatively welcomed with open arms. Being multicultural is a feature, not a bug. Canada gets that.

Here in the U.S., we are paranoid as a society. Crime is allegedly rampant. We’re on the brink of destruction from the Chinese. Your neighbor could be a cross-dressing interracial pedophile. Despite actual crime being about half of what it was fifty years ago and violent crime down two thirds? We see fit to have our police are better armed than most nation’s militaries. In Canada, meanwhile, at least in rural areas house doors tend to remain unlocked. China’s seen in proper context and not some global bogeyman. Police possess common sense. Crime exists, but the people aren’t constantly fearing for their safety. Oh, and… people aren’t massacred in public settings on a regular basis.

Finally… have you ever met a Canadian? Unless you’re disparaging a Labatt or Molson, or claiming hockey’s a sport for wussies? Odds are, you’ll have a nice, civil encounter. By contrast, there are significant swaths of Americans who simply can’t resist injecting their religion, politics, or narcissism into a discussion within 5 minutes of meeting you. Canadians are, by far, better people to be in the presence of.

Had I my life to re-live? I’d have crossed the Peace Bridge at 18, and I’d have stayed there. While I’ve done far better than most Americans, I’d be exponentially better off had I gone to Canada; and if someone came to me with an offer to buy my business and properties at anything close to their fair market value… and I could somehow be assured permanent Canadian residence? Wife or not, anyone searching for me would likely only see a vapor trail heading north instead.

The American Curmudgeon!