Is that Canuck or Yankee?

Language. Language is a major issue in Canada. In the US not so much. French is one of two official languages in Canada and one (Quebec) and a half (New Brunswick) of its provinces also have French as its official language, while eight and a half provinces have English as its official language. Canadian English is different than American English. It is sort of a half-way between British and American. In Canada spelling is often British with minor acceptable Americanisms such as analyze (both -ise and -ize are accepted) or program. So -our, -re, and -ce (as in licence or practice) are the norm in Canada. Canadians have opted for "Program" rather than "Programme" yet Canadians will continue to spell dialogue and analogue with the -gue ending. Accents vary accross Canada as they do accross the United States. While accents in North America are somewhat similar to European ears, a Canadian will 19 times out 20 find a Canadian in a crowd of Americans. Oh and there's that whole bit about eh? in Canada which is sometimes compared to the American huh?, yet eh? has much more meaning than huh? does. "Out and About" is a sure indentifier from Americans although most Canadians can't hear the difference on how we say it and how Americans say it.

International Relations. We are generally better seen around the world than Americans are for some reason. Maybe its because Canada is still little known to Europe and it tends to stay more in the sidelines and tries to play mediator between the European though and the American thought. Canada and the United States are both members of the United Nations, of NATO and of NORAD, the WTO and other international organisations. Canada's other two communities are the Commonwealth and the Francophonie Mondiale, both of which incidentally show Canada's biculturalism. Canada approves of the International Court, the US doesn't. Canada is topsy-turvy on Kyoto which the US flat out rejects. Canada has great trading relations with Cuba and Cuban cigars are readily available anywhere. Relations with eachother tend to be good although the Softwood lumber dispute is but one example of trade relations gone wrong. Yet the US and Canada are good friends as they shouls be. I mean, they are each others biggest trading partner.

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