10 Reasons Why Canada is Better than America (As Told By a Native New-Yorker)

Let's be real people: there's a reason people are flocking to the Great White North. Many, actually. It's time to get Canadian, eh!

1. The Drinking Age

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As someone who is not quite 21 yet, I’m not going to lie—the drinking age being 18 in Quebec was appealing. I’m not a hardcore partier, and I’m not out drinking all the time, but the ability to go and get a drink with my friends or end a hard day with a glass of wine is something I love. It really made me feel like I was graduating into full adulthood when I went off to university. The lower drinking age isn’t something I take advantage of all that often, but I definitely don’t take it for granted. I’m reminded of the difference every time I go back to the States to visit my family. Maybe it won’t mean as much to me when I turn 21, but for now, I still enjoy it.

2. Universities

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I am not rich. I am not a genius. I don’t have the right connections. So when choosing a university, my options were rather limited. I could have stayed in New York, and gone to one of the state schools at a rather reasonable price, but none of those schools appealed to me. I could have chosen one of the private schools I was accepted to, but they were all upwards of $50,000 a year, and had few scholarship opportunities. With all these options unavailable or unwanted, I turned to Canada.

For the sake of comparison, we’ll look at my university, McGill. Where a high-quality education in America would cost me a ridiculous amount each year, I can attend McGill University for about $17,000 a year. And the quality of my education is not suffering. In fact, McGill University was ranked 18th in the world last year. I am certain that right now I’m paying less for a better education than I would get at some of those $50,000 schools.

3. Healthcare

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I know, I know. This is the point that everyone brings up when they’re talking about Canada, but hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. As a university student, any day I can save money is a good day for me, and the Canadian healthcare system definitely helps with that. Doctor’s appointments cost less; medication costs less. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever paid more for something in Canada, at least not when the exchange rate is even. To be fair, the healthcare system was not at the top of my list when I decided to move to Canada, but it is most definitely one of the best perks of living there.

4. Quebec

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Honest to god, Quebec is a little piece of France smack in the middle (well, actually to the side a bit) of Canada. It is legitimately the closest you can get to Europe without getting on a plane. Go to Quebec City, go to Old Montréal, then you’ll understand what I mean. Quebec City has the loveliest buildings, preserved perfectly for you to admire. And in Old Montreal, the streets are paved with cobblestones like you fell into some old movie. Now to be fair, both of these places are now huge tourist traps, with souvenir shops as far as the eye can see. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still admire their beauty. I do all the time.

5. Scenery

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Okay, stop it. I can hear you rolling your eyes, thinking, ‘Scenery? What scenery? Isn’t it all covered in snow?’. Well it’s not! At least not all the time. Not to say that it isn’t gorgeous seeing the city blanketed in a new layer of snow, but Canada can also be appreciated without it. During the summer (short as that may be), the parks and greenery are nothing short of magnificent. There is nothing like looking out over Montréal from the top of Mont Royal when everything is in bloom. In American cities, the greenery is usually confined to one set area (e.g. Central Park), but in Canada, it’s spread out everywhere.

I think the appeal also has to do with how much cleaner Canada is. Everyone there seems to have more respect for there surroundings. This just serves to make it an all-around more beautiful place.

6. Poutine

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This reason is not really a personal choice, it’s more an “I was peer-pressured by everyone I know to put this in because they’re obsessed with it”. For those of you who don’t know, poutine is a very famous Canadian dish. It is basically french fries slathered in gravy with cheese curds (which I have learned are basically the same thing as cheese, but they squeak when you chew them). As a vegetarian, I haven’t really had the chance to sample the traditional version of this culinary delight. Didn’t I mention? It’s covered in chicken fat gravy! To be fair, many establishments do make a good vegetarian version, but I have been informed by my meat-eating counterparts that it is “just not the same”. Either way, it is not something you should miss when passing through the Great White North.

7. Other Foodstuffs

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I don’t think it’s fair to put poutine on the list without mentioning the other delectable foods that Canada has to offer. First and foremost being maple syrup, which is totally a real food (it’s even a food group, just ask Buddy the elf). Now, I’m not talking about that corn syrup crap that most Americans think qualifies as maple syrup. I am talking about straight-from-the-maple-tree real syrup. The kind that’s so good they sell it in candy form, so you can enjoy it after breakfast too. If there’s any place to get maple-flavored things, it’s Canada. They have maple-flavored everything here. Take advantage of that.

There is way too much good food in Canada to mention it all. Especially since a lot of it isn’t even Canadian. Canada is a big melting pot full of people from all cultures, and the food definitely reflects that. One particular favorite on my campus is samosas. Every club in the entire university has, at one point or another, sold samosas to raise money. And it always works. Another thing worth mentioning is the crêpes in Quebec. As I mentioned before, Quebec is basically Canada’s version of France, and the crêpes definitely reflect that. So get ‘em while they’re hot!

Oh, and there’s one that I forgot to mention in reason #1: Canadian beer. I am not a big fan of beer, but I have to say, Canadian beer rocks. If you have never tried it, you should probably get on that. Here, have a Molson on me.

8. Hockey

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The national sport of Canada. When living in that fine nation, you learn to love hockey, mostly as a method of self-preservation. But really, it has everything! Hot guys for the girls, big fights for the guys, and everything going at lightning speeds to shock and amaze people. What more could you really want? And the way people support their teams is amazing. I would even venture to say that Canadians are more dedicated to their respective hockey teams than Americans are to their baseball teams. Inconceivable, I know. Anyway, I’m not obsessed, but I know and appreciate it enough not to get beat up in any given Canadian bar.

9. The People

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It is generally accepted that Canadians are the nicest people in the world, and I’m here to tell you that’s completely true. People smile at you on the street, say good morning, and even apologize for bumping into you. Anyone from New York will tell you, that is shocking. I think the best example of Canadian kindness is the story of one of my trips back from New York. My mother had packed extra things for me, so I had way more stuff than I had originally arrived with. This made getting through the bus station and then the metro rather difficult. In New York, I had to drag my incredibly heavy suitcase up several flights of stairs. As I struggled, dozens of people walked by without a second glance, some even pushing their way past unapologetically. It wasn’t a huge problem. This was New York; I was used to it. But when I got to Canada, that’s when I was shocked. I was slowly making my way up a staircase in the metro station when two men stopped next to me. As someone from New York, my first thought was of course, ‘Oh crap, they’re totally going to steal my stuff’. To my surprise, they offered to carry my things for me. They took my suitcase and heavy backpack, carried both up two flights of stairs, and then neatly put them down. Without trying to steal anything! I was shocked, so I thanked them over and over. They said it was no problem, and wished me a nice day. Without a doubt, that was the biggest culture shock for me when I moved to Canada, but I’ve grown to absolutely love it.

10. Timmie's

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Starbucks, Schmarbucks. Tim Hortons is where it’s at. If you have never tasted the ambrosia that is a Double Double, then you have not lived, my friend. You go to Starbucks when you want all that frou-frou crap that they put in the coffee. Whipped cream and caramel and whatever else. You go to Timmie’s when you want your coffee straight up, and manly. If you like your men like you like your coffee, then honey you definitely want a hot, steaming cup of Tim Horton’s finest.

Not to mention the roll-up cups. Oh, the roll-up cups are a gift from the coffee gods. When you go to Starbucks, you pay an arm and a leg for a damn cup of coffee, and that’s all you get. When you go to Timmie’s just throw down a loonie or two-nie, and not only do you get your heavenly cup of coffee, you also get the chance to win a ton of stuff just by rolling up the lip of your cup.

Now I can hear some of you whining that you’ve already tried Tim Horton’s, and you didn’t like it. Really? Did you? Did you think going to an American Tim Horton’s counts? That’s B.S. That’s like trying to get a decent bagel anywhere but in New York. You want real Timmie’s, go to Canada. You’re welcome.