I appreciate your perspective. I think another crucial aspect is that the Canadian population is only 10% of the US, and the variation among states here is just like Canadian provinces or even countries in the EU. The US is very decentralized, and one of its secrets is that during times of great internal division the federal government becomes paralyzed while the states becomes empowered, and conversely during times of national unity the federal government can move mountains while the states take a back seat. Currently it’s a paralyzation moment, but that doesn’t really prevent anything from moving forwards as the system is pretty decentralized and individual-focused already.
On the healthcare aspect, there is no doubt the poorest people in Canada are the EU are treated better than the poorest in the US. I do have a suspicion that as the universal systems reach a breaking point they start to look a bit more like the US - where people pay more if they use more - to encourage better economization of scarce healthcare resources. I have heard some really fucked stories of cancer treatment delays leading to death which I don’t think is as common here (they will treat you in the US, but you might go bankrupt). It’s like, would you rather be rationed and die or get treatment and be bankrupt? I’d prefer to live myself.
Canada's population only appears low if you're not looking at its geographical distribution. Toronto is as big as Chicago, and the population density in southern Ontario is as high as any of the US eastern states, and mostly contiguous with them and part of the same shipping routes, etc. etc..
It's a population clustered near the border and really should be seen as one that is culturally and economically contiguous with the US, just not politically. In terms of metropolitan regions, much of Canada is really much the same as the US.
On healthcare / public services, I will give you examples of where the US liberal biases about Canada just don't line up.
At the tail end of the COVID-19 crisis, spring 2021 I went across to go skiing with a friend from Albany. I needed a test to get back across the border to get home. I was able to just go to a US pharmacy and get a molecular test for free, with almost instant results. I was told that if I tested positive I could get anti-virals, for free, immediately, without even showing citizenship. Meanwhile in Ontario all public testing for COVID-19 was cancelled before the end of 2020. My elderly parents in Alberta just tested positive but had to fight to get anti-virals because despite being 1 year shy of 80 they didn't qualify unless they had pronounced comorbidities. So... a country without a universal public health care system was able to offer much better universal coverage (where it mattered) than here.
Another example: say you wanted a blood test for your kid to test blood lead levels. No doctor will offer that here, really. You'd have to really lobby for it and have a serious acute reason for it-- despite all the older cities here being full of lead pipes. I was down in the Finger Lakes a few years ago and there were signs for public clinics all over offering this as a free service.
It is by no means a black and white situation. There are many aspects in which many liberal US states outdo Canadian provinces on certain social programs.
I just think it’s expected that 330 million people would have more variation than 40 million people. The density of Canada is certainly in comparison to dense US areas but the absolute population just puts thing in another order of magnitude - the single US market is insane entrepreneurially speaking. Companies get started and immediately have access to the biggest economy on earth, the biggest pools of investment capital, the richest consumers, the global military superpower, lobbyists who get access to politicians that can change other countries’ laws and regulations, and on and on.
I can’t even remember what we are discussing. In summation, I love the US, but this thread has really given me ammo to counteract the cocktail party liberals who worship Canada.
On the healthcare aspect, there is no doubt the poorest people in Canada are the EU are treated better than the poorest in the US. I do have a suspicion that as the universal systems reach a breaking point they start to look a bit more like the US - where people pay more if they use more - to encourage better economization of scarce healthcare resources. I have heard some really fucked stories of cancer treatment delays leading to death which I don’t think is as common here (they will treat you in the US, but you might go bankrupt). It’s like, would you rather be rationed and die or get treatment and be bankrupt? I’d prefer to live myself.