How do US citizens view Canada and it's involvement in world affairs

What do our Superpower neighbors think about our involvement on the world stage as of late good or bad? Is Canada a nation that just enjoys the benefits of living next to a Superpower without giving back or helping out in Iraq? The UK has stepped in from the beginning why hasn't Canada?

The US shouldnt be in Iraq to begin with, it was a false premise war and your better off not being involved so that way when the history is reveiwed generations later, your country wont be blamed for being a part of a massive lie.

Cheers!!!!

I work witha guy from new orleans who moved up here after the flood. It was "canadian thanksgiving", and it was on the news and stuff, like usual. The guy scoffed at our holiday and said we were full of ourselves over just a couple of people dying in ww2 (the number is around 40-50k in ww2 alone). I just looked away, shocked. I don't know it just seems to me that americans have no clue about canadians or our history, for good or bad.

I think Canada does what is best for Canada as it should. So what that they didn't help out in Iraq. They have more than made up for it in Afghanistan. I may not know a lot about the history of Canada, but in my book they are a country well deserving of respect.

reply to post by tarpon68


It also lessens the possibility of a "terrorist act" on your country. The US is doing nothing but making mistake after mistake...fueling the hatred many have for us. Sadly we are going to get the "blowback" as RP would say.

I'm posting on pure ignorance here xD

When I think Canada, I just picture this passive, neutral, country that doesn't really effect international affairs at all. Hockey, snow, and Mounty Police is all that comes to mind about Canada. Oh, and also the place to go to dodge a U.S. military draft :p

Don't get me wrong, I'm very sure that Canada has an army and has a voice on the international stage, but it doesn't come to mind at all on first thought reactions.

Sorry if my ignorance offends any Canadians xD

I have great respect and love for you our northern neighbors. I kinda see us as brothers , we (usa) as the hormone hopped up jock and you guys as the more laid back intellects who try to bare with us and even moderate our hyper active behaviour. Sure you might not get in neck deep in all of the fights we pick but I have no doubts whatsoever that if it was life or death you would stand with us or fall with us. I could just put it this way , I wouldnt or couldnt pick a better neighbor for us to have.

reply to post by savagediver


Very nicely said! I never thought of it that way! Canada sure is a great neighbor for us Americans to have. On the other hand, it sure would make some great weekend trips if Amsterdam was our neighbor

Originally posted by savagediver
I have great respect and love for you our northern neighbors. I kinda see us as brothers , we (usa) as the hormone hopped up jock and you guys as the more laid back intellects who try to bare with us and even moderate our hyper active behaviour. Sure you might not get in neck deep in all of the fights we pick but I have no doubts whatsoever that if it was life or death you would stand with us or fall with us. I could just put it this way , I wouldnt or couldnt pick a better neighbor for us to have.

Wow. Great post. I was just about to post on how if Canada were in a life or death situation or absolutely needed military help, the first people there to stand shoulder to shoulder and die along side of us would be the Americans.

We do have a relationship that is unique in the world. We should cherish what we have rather than bicker about where we are different.

Thanks for the awesome post.

As a former military officer in the US, I am very appreciative of the Canadians and their support through many generations.

Canada is at the butt of many jokes just for their innocence and French citizens.

Personally, I can respect Canada for it not being involved in so many violent affairs. I do not have sufficient knowledge of your history or government to make any more statements besides my view that you guys are just chill

Originally posted by Sahabi
I'm posting on pure ignorance here xD

When I think Canada, I just picture this passive, neutral, country that doesn't really effect international affairs at all. Hockey, snow, and Mounty Police is all that comes to mind about Canada. Oh, and also the place to go to dodge a U.S. military draft :p

Don't get me wrong, I'm very sure that Canada has an army and has a voice on the international stage, but it doesn't come to mind at all on first thought reactions.

Sorry if my ignorance offends any Canadians xD

I think Ill let he UK boys answer this post for us Canucks. (By the way , do they still teach American businessman how to act Canadian when they travel abroad ) Any of you guys in the Military may want to inform Sahabi where the terms "Devil Dogs" "Dogs of War" can from

[edit on 28-2-2009 by branty]

Canada and the united states has a great relationship
always have and hopefully we always will there is a couple exceptions
but for the most part we get along great

we both have allot to be greatfull for it would be hard to bring other examples of any other country's getting along as successfully as we do

as for the wish it was Amsterdam up north in allot of ways it is we do not put many people in jail for cannabis and the police could almost care less if you smoke it

i would say thats one of our differences is the war on drugs we dont have one and if it wasnt for the u.s. i would think we would have already legalized it

i for one have always been proud of how well our countrys play together besides we have the bigger sandbox lol

I'm sorry to say that I know almost nothing about your country other than you've got people called mounties. It's mostly my fault... America is just SOOOOO Interesting and complicated that I have no need to look at other countries problems.

Well as a fellow Canuck I do have to say we are pretty darn tootin amazing.

No but really, thanks to all of our American friends here on ATS who appreciate and love us, as much as we do you.

Canadians may be a little more laxed than other countris. But what do you expect from the country who literally created the term Peace Keepers. I mean, how crazy does one have to be to stand in the middle of two parties fighting and just..well stand?

We fight when we feel the need is there, when it is OUR duty as a world people to protect others and promote freedoms abroad.

I am very glad of our relationship with the US thus far. We have the biggest trade relationship in the whole world and help eachother wherever we can. Although I think it has hurt us in some ways while traveling abroad, I would not change it for anything. (seems people consider all countries in the Western Hemisphere to be part of the "west" according to militants.)

Then again even if our governments did not agree with eachother, we as a people share the same basic values and opinions and would still hold this friendship regardless of governmental affairs and policies.

~Keeper

Canada has been there for the States in WW1. WW2. and so on, and now Afhaganistan . What country would you rather have living above you? Your best trading partner buddy China?(All 1.6 billion of them.) America has got it pretty good, poor Mexico and mineral rich under populated Canada for neighbors. Not to mention vast Oceans on both sides of it to protect it's flanks.I think Canada is a bit of a "Taken for granted neighbor."

Originally posted by korath
Canada has been there for the States in WW1. WW2. and so on, and now Afhaganistan . What country would you rather have living above you? . . . I think Canada is a bit of a "Taken for granted neighbor."

Amen to that. I'm Canadian. I thought people might be interested to see what those nice folks living in the attic did in WW2.

This page has a great list of the battles that Canadian troops were involved in, in WW2.

wwii.ca...

They don't mention the bombing campaign against Germany. The Royal Canadian Airforce was involved in that.

Canada also made huge contributions in the industrial sphere, merchant shipping, convoy guarding and in training Commonwealth pilots and also training espionage agents at the famous Camp X, (Ian Fleming did a course there.)

www.wwii.ca...

During the Second World War, Canadian industries manufactured war materials and other supplies for Canada, the United States, Britain, and other Allied countries. The total value of Canadian war production was almost $10 billion - approximately $100 billion in today’s dollars. . . .

Canadian industrial production during the Second World war.
11 billion dollars of munitions
1.7 million small arms
43,000 heavy guns
16,000 aircraft
2 million tonnes of explosives
815,000 military vehicles, 50,000 tanks and armoured gun carriers
9,000 boats and ships
Anti-tank and field artillery
Naval guns
Small arms and automatic weapons
Radar sets and Electronics
Synthetic rubber
Uranium for the ’Manhattan Project’ . . .

It lent money to Britain interest-free, gave it a gift of war supplies in January 1942 and then donated surplus production to Canada’s allies through the Canadian Mutual Aid Board.
Canada was making war production available to the Allied countries which could not afford to buy it. . . .

Canadian war factories were safe from bombing. Canada became an arsenal, and was Britain’s chief overseas supplier of war materiel.

Canada did not accept American Lend-Lease aid. Actually Canada ran its own lend-lease program for its allies called "Mutual Aid", supplying its allies with four billion dollars worth of war materiel. A further credit of a billion dollars was given to Britain. . . .

By 1945 Canada’s war production was fourth among the Allied nations, less only than that of the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom. Only some 30% of this was needed for Canada’s armed forces: the remainder went overseas.. . .

Another of the most important was the mass production of 815,729 military vehicles, including 45,710 armoured vehicles. Canadian-made vehicles were crucial in equipping the British Eighth Army in North Africa and Italy. Canada also produced rifles, submachine guns, light machine guns, antitank guns and antiaircraft guns, as well as the multipurpose 25-pounder artillery piece.
Britain had entered the war with 80,000 military vehicles of all types; however, 75,000 of these British vehicles were left behind in the evacuation at Dunkirk in 1940. Virtually defenceless on the ground, Britain turned to Canada - and particularly the Canadian auto industry - to replace what had been lost. Canada not only replaced these losses, it did much more.
Canadian industry produced over 800,000 military transport vehicles, 50,000 tanks, 40,000 field, naval, and anti-aircraft guns, and 1,700,000 small arms.
Of the 800,000 military vehicles of all types built in Canada, 168,000 were issued to Canadian forces. Thirty-eight percent of the total Canadian production went to the British. The remainder of the vehicles went to the other Allies. This meant that the Canadian Army ’in the field’ had a ratio of one vehicle for every three soldiers, making it the most mechanized field force in the war. . . .

Here's an important stat:

www.reenactor.net...

Of a population approximately 11.5 million, 1.1 million Canadians served in the armed forces in the Second World War.

Interestingly, the 1st Special Forces unit was the "Devil's Brigade", a joint US/Canadian outfit.


[edit on 3-3-2009 by ipsedixit]

[edit on 3-3-2009 by ipsedixit]

Canada is the best neighbor we could possibly ask for. We balance each other out and seem to learn from each other's mistakes.

Clearly, we take Canada enormously for granted. In my own personal experience, our school system teaches next to nothing about our next door neighbor, which to me is a lapse that is inexecusable. I even know some people--adults who actually managed to graduate from high school, who think Canada is a part of the U.S.A.

My education is as spotty as the next person's so I'm trying to remedy such ignorance in my later years by reading posts by Canadians to get a feel for what your country is like. Thanks to the internet I'm learning a lot about other countries directly from the people who live there.

I do get the impression a lot of Canadians view the USA with contempt and suspicion. I think our ignorance of Canada comes across as us being too arrogant to care, and surely that contributes to poor relations. In some cases, that is true. But for most people that I know, the challenges of living in such a large, heavily populated country full of very diverse subcultures is so consuming that it is too daunting to study what goes on beyond our borders.

Where I live it's a reality that we have to deal with immigrants from all of the various nations south of our border, as well as refugees from various countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Our schools are crushed under the weight of trying to educate these folks without holding non-immigrant children back. Our public services are strained to the limit. The police are at their wits end. Just having so many different kinds of people as neighbors makes for culture shock just going grocery shopping!

So, at day's end, it's not too shocking when, if we think of Canada at all, we can only summon up mental images of Mounties and the other usual stereotypes. But that doesn't mean we don't appreciate what good neighbors you are. And a lot of us take comfort in the fact that if things get really beastly here, we can sneak across YOUR border! Just kidding.

[edit on 9-3-2009 by SheepleFlavored]

reply to post by SheepleFlavored

Dont feel to bad , i saw a poll from high school grads in the US, 40% think Alaska is a island

reply to post by SheepleFlavored


Interesting post. One doesn't see an introspective post by an American very often. Canadians are world leaders in navel gazing, so I notice it when I see self-analysis in a post. You paint a picture not often appreciated by observers of the US.

To branty: On most classroom maps isn't Alaska depicted as an island off the coast of California? lol.