What's Canada like?

[N3p7uN3]

I know this is a very broad and loaded question, but seriously, how's LGBT life in Canada? I've always heard that society up there is a lot more tolerant overall, so I'm wondering how it would be like to move there from America. Of course, gay marriage is the most important perk, but from what I've at least observed on the internet, almost all Canadians seem to not be the typical 'American idiots' (the kind of people I'm not good at socializing with, and ironically, most Canadians are the kind of people I can socialize with...)

Plz tell me what you think!

[crookedcurve]

I'm sure it's is very close so the states. It does have marriage and you can't be descriminated against at your job BUT as far as our age group goes I doubt there is really a big differnce.

[Totoro]

Originally Posted by crookedcurve

I'm sure it's is very close so the states. It does have marriage and you can't be descriminated against at your job BUT as far as our age group goes I doubt there is really a big differnce.

this.
We just have legalized marriage and stuff... but nothing that's too different.
There's still some that are intolerant, some that aren't, but otherwise we still have gay pride parades and the works.

[jazzrawr]

It really depends on the area and the people.
In general, I'd say we're probably more tolerant than alot of the states. People are cool with it here - I don't run into too many people who have a problem with it, unless they're immature teenagers or conservative old people.

Although most Canadians don't really like Americans, because alot of them come to Canada or to other countries thinking they own the place or that they're better because they're American.
This is all generalization though. I'm just saying what alot of Canadians think. XD

Personally, I love it here. It's a great place to be for gay people in most places - wherever you go there's always a majority who are gay friendly.

We just hate it when people think it snows all the time here. XD

Everyone I've talked to thinks the Cali government is a big ball of stupid for Prop 8 though. XD

[N3p7uN3]

Can't be any worse than here... I'm guess I'm hoping that people are less ignorant that what I deal with daily. I don't have much optimism for American society at all, and it's pretty obvious I'm very bias toward it.

PS: I'd be coming to Canada thinking I'm an inferior BECAUSE I'm an American.. lol

[joeyconnick]

Oh you asked the right person! (No, I know you didn't specifically ask me.)

I really want to tell you that Canada is perfect and wonderful; sadly, I can only tell you I personally think it is scads better than the US. But to be realistic, GLBT life is pretty good in the major cities (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and some others that aren't as noteworthy ) and can be pretty shitty in smaller, less urban places (like suburbs and rural areas). So in that respect, it's very similar to the US.

What I think Canada has that the US doesn't:

• same-sex marriage (as previously mentioned)
• nation-wide protection against discrimination on the basis of your sexual orientation (overall I think our human rights protection, except maybe freedom of speech, are FAR stronger than in the US)
• universal healthcare
• no huge-ass population of religious fundamentalists who want to eradicate gay people
• way less religious fervour
• far more social services for people who suffer misfortune... yes, we are way more socialist than the US, and thus way more communitarian
• higher standard of living
• less of a gap between our rich and poor (although sadly this is widening)
• way higher literacy rates and lower infant mortality rates
• less concentrated poverty in our inner cities
• hotter boys (no, I'm serious... although this is only based on my own anecdotal experience )
• more official languages (English-only is so boring)
• geographically we dwarf the US, and as we all know, size matters
• our very own Texas (we call it "Alberta")
• a way superior form of goverment (two-party systems suck)
• 90% of our population living within 50km of the Canada/US border
• polar bears!
• some shred of humility about how great our country is (i.e. we don't pretend we're the most awesome country in the world)
• maple syrup

Canada's not perfect (no country is) but, for my money, it beats America any day of the week.

Oh yeah, our Supreme Court, while again not perfect, is not dominated by right-wing neocon ideologues.

The tagline for the US is often "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." In Canada, it's "peace, order, and good government." (2 out of 3 isn't bad, I tell you!)

I would say overall our society is less polarised than in the US. I think maybe that gives us the perception of being bland, but truly, there are some very passionate people in Canada (I'm one, Greggers is another, for sure).

One of my most favourite statements about the difference between the US and Canada is about how we came to be sovereign nations: I've heard it described as the US being the unruly teenager (oh ok, maybe this example won't be so popular in EC ) who runs away from home/gets kicked out (Britain and the US War of Independence) as opposed to Canada, the young adult who moved out peacefully. Obviously that's a bit biased, though. Still, I have yet to meet a Canadian who didn't think it was a very funny contrast.

[joeyconnick]

Originally Posted by N3p7uN3

Can't be any worse than here... I'm guess I'm hoping that people are less ignorant that what I deal with daily. I don't have much optimism for American society at all, and it's pretty obvious I'm very bias toward it.

PS: I'd be coming to Canada thinking I'm an inferior BECAUSE I'm an American.. lol

As much as I love my country, trust me, there are still plenty of stupid people here.

[Greggers]

Well, Socially we are a FAR advanced country compared to the states. We have all the equal rights and protections under the law for ALL people here, not just LGBT. I think this is due in part to the fact we are a mixing pot for cultures. With the immigration laws we have set up, its FAR easier to come to Canada (now atleast) to start a new life than it is to go to the states. This means we have a nice blend of all races and cultures. Race is such a non-issue 90% of the time here that people have forgotten about it or become "color blind" so to speak. You dont go to schools with 90% black people or 90% white people, its a mix of everything generally. You still find some racist assholes, but thats not Canada thats just Humanity for you.

So because of that, its no surprise we have had nation wide same sex marriage since 2005, and in select places before that. We also have adoption, work, and hate crime laws protecting LGBT people. Many of our politicians are openly gay. Its almost at the point were its like the race thing, a non-issue.

For example, i was in Vancouver doing some shopping and going for a walk along the sea wall on Sunday and I saw so many gay couples i lost count. They might get the odd stare, but for most people its nothing new or special to see. Its not like that in alot of the smaller towns and cities sadly, but in general its decent bordering good.

[jazzrawr]

Originally Posted by joeyconnick

One of my most favourite statements about the difference between the US and Canada is about how we came to be sovereign nations: I've heard it described as the US being the unruly teenager (oh ok, maybe this example won't be so popular in EC ) who runs away from home/gets kicked out (Britain and the US War of Independence) as opposed to Canada, the young adult who moved out peacefully. Obviously that's a bit biased, though. Still, I have yet to meet a Canadian who didn't think it was a very funny contrast.

I've never heard that one before - that is GREAT. XD

[littledinosaurs]

Originally Posted by jazzrawr

We just hate it when people think it snows all the time here.XD

D=
it doesn't always snow? I'm so disenchanted!!

[Greggers]

Originally Posted by joeyconnick

I would say overall our society is less polarised than in the US. I think maybe that gives us the perception of being bland, but truly, there are some very passionate people in Canada (I'm one, Greggers is another, for sure)..

Gah, ive be caught!

Yes, i love my country. *flag*

And you really hit it on the nail with your post joey. I forgot alot of the things like health care, polar bears, and Alberta

[N3p7uN3]

Originally Posted by joeyconnick

As much as I love my country, trust me, there are still plenty of stupid people here.

Oh of course, but in my experience, every Canadian I've met has common sense that most Americans don't (again, biased.)

[Jim1454]

There truly is a separation of church and state. It is understood that not every Canadian believes in God - or the same god(s). So there simply isn't the same emphasis on religion as there is in the US in terms of government policy. THAT is what I really appreciate as a difference.

In addition to all the stuff that Joey listed. (Hot boys! Woo hoo!)

But it really does matter where you live in BOTH countries. I live in (near) Toronto, which is Canada's largest city. There's a great gay community and a general acceptance of gay and lesbian people. But in more remote places, it isn't as great.

[xequar]

You guys make me want to move to Canada even more. Every time I go to Canada, I see a society that values people. In my observations, the U.S. acts as a melting pot, where as a society we believe that we're made stronger by everyone adding a bit of spice by melting and melding and assimilating into our society and culture, whereas it seems to me as though Canada takes a differing philosophy, that everyone makes Canada better by being individuals and contributing their individuality to Canada.

And there are the Canadian hotties and the healthcare and gay rights and stuff too!

[Greggers]

Here is why i love my city atleast:

http://www.jiwiz.com/StanleyPark.html

So much beauty. SO much...

[Aero]

It would depend on where you moved.

Cities like Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal have more diversity and are generally more accepting. Their gay communities are also more visible. The prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) tend to be more conservative (although conservative and liberal ideals in Canada, politically and socially, are not as polarized as they are in the States).

I live in Alberta which is probably as conservative as Canada gets.
People here are cool, and pretty open minded except... not so much when it comes to homosexuality.
Of course hate crimes and blatant harassment are NOT something you would see here, but I would say homophobic comments are pretty common.. even in the work place.

But I kinda think that's how it is in most places generally.

[joeyconnick]

Originally Posted by Greggers

Well, Socially we are a FAR advanced country compared to the states. We have all the equal rights and protections under the law for ALL people here, not just LGBT. I think this is due in part to the fact we are a mixing pot for cultures. With the immigration laws we have set up, its FAR easier to come to Canada (now atleast) to start a new life than it is to go to the states. This means we have a nice blend of all races and cultures. Race is such a non-issue 90% of the time here that people have forgotten about it or become "color blind" so to speak. You dont go to schools with 90% black people or 90% white people, its a mix of everything generally. You still find some racist assholes, but thats not Canada thats just Humanity for you.

Actually, I would have to disagree with you on the race issue. Granted, we don't have a colonial legacy of slavery of one race in particular (although Canada's record on the Europeans treatment of native people here is just as bad as the US') and on the surface I think that yeah, racial tensions don't run as high, but I've come to believe that one of the reasons for that is that maybe racism in Canada is more of the "polite racism" form. For a Lower Mainland example, consider how some people think of Surrey and Richmond. I've heard a lot of racist remarks about those two places (Surrey has a big immigrant community of people from India and Pakistan, whereas Richmond is very Chinese-dominated) and about, say, the computer science and commerce programs at UBC being "overrun" by Asian people.

So while I don't think our discourse about race in Canada is as blatant as in the US, I'm not convinced we're that non-racist. I think racism here is a lot less overt, and maybe overall less than in the US, but I definitely don't think it's a non-issue.

[Bernard1992]

I was reading along and the one person said that you don't go to school with 90% white people or 90% black people. I think I would disagree with this statement, I live in the more country area where my school only has about 700-800 students and I think I am safe to say that at least 90% or darn close to that is white people. The second largest race at my school would be Native since we are right beside the reserve. Other than that, we have maybe 5-10 black people, 2-3 chinease people, and not too many other races.

[joeyconnick]

Originally Posted by Jim1454

There truly is a separation of church and state. It is understood that not every Canadian believes in God - or the same god(s). So there simply isn't the same emphasis on religion as there is in the US in terms of government policy. THAT is what I really appreciate as a difference.

That separation between church and state is a really important point I left out! The US goes on and on about the separation of church and state like they invented it (which granted, is probably true) but if you look at the role of religiously-based ideologies in US politics vs. Canadian politics, you'll see HUGE differences. For instance, we've had two recent Prime Ministers (Chretien and Martin) who were practicing Catholics who talked about how while their faith made them uncomfortable with the notion of same-sex marriage but who ultimately felt they had to support it because we're a secular nation and it was a matter of equality, not religious belief.

Can you even conceive of a US president saying something remotely similar? I'll be remarkably shocked if it happens in the next 10 years. Even the most supportive major national US politicians plead the "States' rights" card and go on about how they're for civil unions, the weasels. Yes, the vaunted Obama is a TOTAL weasel on this issue. Human rights are not "states' rights." It's so disgusting!

And there's one more thing that Canada has (or doesn't in this case) over the US: no strong "States' right" ideology. I don't even know how the US can call itself a country when they have all those people frothing at the mouth about so-called "States' rights." I mean, their criminal code is regionally fractured! It's insane!

[joeyconnick]

Originally Posted by N3p7uN3

Oh of course, but in my experience, every Canadian I've met has common sense that most Americans don't (again, biased.)

You must have met the cool Canadians.