Canada has two official languages;
English and French.
The USA does not have an official
language.
Each province in Canada is able to
change it’s official language. It can
choose any language(s) as the
official language(s), and does not
have to include French or English.
Many Americans believe that linguistic
diversity is an important aspect of their
heritage, while others think that the
USA should establish English as their
official language.
The only provinces that do not
have this ability are Quebec,
Ontario, and New Brunswick.
These three can also change their
official language to any language,
but they must include French and
English.
82.1% of the USA population speak
English; 10.7% speak Spanish; 3.8%
speak other Indo-European; 2.7%
speak Asian and Pacific island; and
0.7% speak a different language.
Hawaii does have an official language;
this being Hawaiian.
The Canadian Flag is a red maple leaf on a
white square with red borders on either
side. The flag is twice as wide as it is long.
The day that the flag was inaugurated,
Maurice Bourget, Speaker of the Senate,
said “The flag is the symbol of the nation’s
unity, for it, beyond any doubt, represents
all the citizens of Canada without
distinction of race, language, belief or
opinion.”
O Canada was made Canada’s national
anthem on July 1, 1980. The entire song is a
representation of Canadians to the rest of
the world. O Canada uses a lot of
symbolism in its lyrics.
The American Flag has thirteen equal
horizontal stripes of red alternating with
white. There is a blue rectangle at the topleft corner of the flag bearing fifty white
five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset
horizontal rows of six stars alternating with
rows of five stars.
The stars represent the 50 American states,
and the stripes represent the original 13
colonies.
The Star Spangled Banner was officially
made the American national anthem in 1931.
In contrast to O Canada, The Star Spangled
Banner is very straightforward.
Canada is a constitutional monarchy,
has a parliamentary-cabinet
government, and is very decentralized.
The Queen is the Head of State, while
the Prime Minister is the Head of
Government. Nobody in Canada’s
government is elected for a fixed term..
When a Canadian Prime Minister is reelected, he or she does not have to be
sworn in all over again.
The United States have a republican
government, and has a presidentialcongressional government, and is highly
centralized. The President is the Head of
State as well as the Head of
Government, and therefore has
substantial power. The presidential term
is fixed at four years, and if a President
is re-elected, he or she has to be sworn
in again.
Both Canada and the United States are
Democracies, as well as Federal States.
In both governments, the precise
meaning of the written constitution is
settled by the courts.
Canada’s approach to immigrants can
be described as mosaic. Each wave of
immigrants can contribute something
new to the society. This approach
stems from Canada’s multicultural
ideals.
America’s approach to immigrants is
described as a melting pot. Immigrants
to America are asked to cut off ties with
their roots and culture and adopt
American practices.
Canada’s health care system is
funded by a mix of public (70%)
and private (30%) funding.
USA is the only wealthy
industrialized country in the world
that doesn’t have some form of
universal health care.
70% of health care spending was
financed by the government in
2006.
46% of health care spending was
financed by the government in 2006.
The life expectancy in Canada is
80.34 years.
The life expectancy in the USA is
78.6 years.
The USA have a higher infant
mortality rate than most of the
world’s industrialized nations.
These similarities and differences make Canada very separate
from the U.S.A., but not quite as much as Canadians would
like. I think that Canadians will always be slightly meshed in
with the U.S.A because our backgrounds, languages,
lifestyles, media, and military are very intertwined.
Canadians wish for multiculturalism, and their wish to be
completely unique from the U.S. cannot both be fully fulfilled.
To be multicultural, we must be willing to take in every
culture, including that of America.
http://ask.yahoo.com/20011107.html
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/l
an_lan-language-languages
http://www.gsea.org/awardinfo/locate/
PublishingImages/flag_canada.gif
http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceemcced/symbl/df1-eng.cfm
http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceemcced/symbl/anthem-eng.cfm
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/graduation/
portfolio/student_evidence/1.4oh_can
ada.pdf
http://people.eku.edu/pedersonn/mongol
iaFire/american-flag.qif
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the
_United_States
http://www.contemplator.com/america/s
sbanner.html
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/About
Parliament/Forsey/can_am_gov_01e.asp
http://freedomroadproject.blogspot.com/
2007/12/melting-pot-or-mosaic.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison
_of_Canadian_and_American_health_c
are_systems