And do I have to come back?
this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2026
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It's generally cheaper because the USD is higher. Having said that, it's been about the same exchange rate for the last four years. Though there is a strong anti-US feeling here because of your threats to take us over, you won't see it unless you try to promote Trump or something similar.
What if we want to come up and join you in this sentiment?
Canada has a fairly stringent immigration pollicy. It's not that easy to move here. Also, you'd probably be surprised how different it is. I've lived in the States, and it took me a while to get used to it. As a tourist, you don't notice it much, but living day to day, attitudes and beliefs are quite different.
I wasn’t necessarily suggesting to move there, more suggesting to considerate and propose Canada starts annexing parts of the west coast.
I don’t want to move, I’d rather have my state leave the union and form one with Canada.
I realize this is way less realistic than emigration, but this is mostly just a fantasy. I love Canada and it’s culture, and I think the Pacific Northwest would fit right in.
I know you mean well but generally Canadians find it annoying when Americans propose we annex them. This is a common joke we get. But just like we don’t like it when Trump jokes about Canada being the 51st state, we also don’t like it when Americans joke about joining Canada. We like the boundaries between our two countries to be respected. Because we are different cultures, and have very different values/attitudes, and very different legal systems, we don’t always speak the same language (French has equal status to English here, and despite what most Americans think not all French Canadians live in Quebec). And generally we don’t like it when these differences are downplayed. Also, with all due respect, we don’t want to inherit your baggage. We still want to be friends with you guys though! But as different countries.
Fair enough, I get the boundaries.
Interesting. Can you elaborate, please?
I've heard a U.S. person call another person aggressive as a compliment. In Canada, it's an insult. Also, there are fewer individual rights and more group rights. It's obviously more socialist than the States. Government hospitals, universities and schools. Private schools are rare. Even the Conservative Party supports abortion, same-sex marriage, and universal health care. People are more reserved and more polite.There's a common joke about holding the door open for the next person and saying sorry for everything. We are not as fanatical about sports. We are not really patriotic (unless we are travelling or someone mistakes us for a United Statesian). We are a bit insecure, having lived beside a powerful and dominant country all our lives. People from the U.S. who have moved here have told me there's an absence of a pervasive, background fear that they didn't realize was there until they moved to Canada.
Tbh, what you described doesn't sound weird at all. Sure, it's different from what the US has, but there's a lot of people in the US that want those things implemented in the US.
fellow Canadian here (Toronto, FWIW):
I’ve heard a U.S. person call another person aggressive as a compliment. In Canada, it’s an insult.
agree.
Also, there are fewer individual rights and more group rights.
I'm more into individual rights. Here in Toronto, I wonder if a topless woman wearing a hijab could smoke a big fat spliff in front of a police station and not get hassled.
We are not as fanatical about sports.
How about hockey?
How about hockey? Yeah, I still don't think we're in the same league. Their high schools have stadiums that would make our universities jealous.
Seconded, the differences from the U.S. seemed kinda subtle most of the time (but same issue, what I noticed as a tourist kinda thing).
Alcohol is expensive, I'll tell you that much.
Stronger USD does help, though exactly how much I'll leave someone from the U.S. who has made the trip to comment on here.
Very similar culturally. Our proximity to the U.S. has had a massive impact on our culture (what exactly constitutes distinct 'Canadian culture' is a bit of a fraught question, even if you just stop at 'Canadian settler culture'. But, beyond leaving this provactive song, I digress.). But lots of regional differences - your experience in Antigonish, NS will be different than Toronto, ON, which is different from Trois-Riviere, QC; Brandon, MB; Saskatoon, SK (lol, jk, no one goes to Saskatoon), etc. Then there's the North, which is very different from anywhere in Southern Canada.
There's an impression that we are more polite, in aggregate, than the U.S. I don't know how true that is and believe it's a function of population difference (U.S. has way more people, so if the % of assholes is the same that's still a whole lot more assholes), but whatever.
If someone from the U.S. comes here and isn't a knob, they'll generally be treated fine (though perhaps the usual jokey jabs have a little more spike to them these days, given the state of U.S-Canada relations). They usually marvel at the little differences (bagged milk gang what-what).
Very similar culturally.
This is true for big anglo cities like Vancouver and Toronto but Quebec, Newfoundland, and the North all have very distinct local cultures. Even Manitoba is relatively distinct imo
You're not wrong, and I tried to communicate this in my caveats. But considered as a whole, Southern Canada at least doesn't seem all that different from the U.S imo (though there's a U.S. immigrant in this thread who mentioned a little bit of culture shock, interested to read their take if they feel like expanding on that). And I say this as someone who has visited a lot of it (though not everywhere - cheap shots at Saskatoon aside I really would like to go explore Saskatchewan one day).
Most of us get our groceries from large, pretty evil corporations. Most of us want to own single family homes that few can afford anymore. We generally watch the same TV shows, listen to the same music, and have many of the same pop cultural reference points (Quebec, as in most other aspects, being a huge exception. Honestly find their media industry fascinating.). There's a generation of Canadians that knows waaay more about U.S. history than Canadian history. etc.
Then again, I suppose this is the bird's eye view - zoom in and you'll see lots of regional differences (still recall disparaging remarks about 'Upper Canada' when chatting with old timers in NS the last time I went).
Southern Canada
You keep saying that.
You know that 90% of the population lives within 100km of the border, right?
I've done a bunch of work with folks in Nunavut before, and I find it's a useful distinction given that very fact. Life's pretty different up north and it's a term they use to talk about the rest of us.
(Will say I don't know if it gets as much play in NWT or Yukon).
Edit: According to StatsCan, the line's further down than I thought it'd be, but honestly it still makes sense. Source: map from this release.
Strangely enough my family would often drive to the states to buy things because even with the exchange things were cheaper there. I don't know if that is still the case though.
Sometimes cheaper, sometimes simply more available (ex used to go for all sorts of sugar-free shit we don't get here).
Can't help but wonder how Ogdensburg, NY is doing these days.
but does a stronger USD help against a weaker CAD?
Yes. Because a roll of oeros cost 2 USD in USA and maybe 1.50USD converted from CAD.
You can buy Oreos by the roll?
I prefer to buy them by the gram in baggies from a guy in an alley wearing a trenchcoat
I was in Montreal last summer. I felt like things were a little cheaper, but not enough that I could point to it. I mean gas is absolutely more expensive. Were other things less expensive? IDK.
As far as culture, no not the same...but I was in Quebec so it's going to be different.