Love me some Canuckians.
Way more socially democratic than we are is my impression? When are you guys going to invade us? Please????

In my opinion most Americans associate socialism with communism. We have been fed that crap as long as I can remember.

Right wing media has been drumming up the socialist boogeyman for so long that it has basically lost all meaning in casual conversation here. Too many Americans not only don't know the definition, but they'll apply it in areas outside of economic organization. Basically, anything Alex Jones is against is socialism.

I thought it was before the NAFTA agreement thing but I now lean toward it becoming close to many of the USA things, that darn thing of money overriding principle and what NAFTA has caused.

Sounds like you’re talking to conservative trumpets or something. Yeah that’s not news to me or anyone that’s had a global frame of reference at all. I’m the first generation to grow up with the internet though and made friends from all the commonwealth countries in some of the early 90s message boards. I could see how some older conservative people might be misinformed enough to think this, but those are also the kind of people that think trumps doing fantastic work making us great again. ‍

And while we’re at it, none of the European countries often cited by the US right are socialist either - Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, UK, France, Germany, etc. All are social democracies with fully functioning capitalist economies, and all often have right wing governments, as does Canada. The only one of them that has right wing governments that consistently seek to erode the social democracy is the UK. The Tory (Conservative) Party would prefer that we were more like the USA. It’s a constant struggle.

Socialism, in regard to whether America or Canada is socialist, is over-hyped. Obama was "accused" of being socialist, yet the nation was overwhelmingly unsocialist for his entire term: it was just a GOP political label to demonize him. The truth being, pure capitalism does not work, and it's up to the propagandists to convince everyone that we are leaning too far towards socialism in order to maintain pure capitalism. This is part of the corruption of America.

People need to learn what the heck "socialist" means before throwing it around like a bad word. that would start with the OP's clumsy definition as well.

a lack of economic freedom is not the definition of a socialist country. it may be a characteristic depending on what you are observing and comparing it to - but the term itself means simply doing things for a social goal or in a social manner. thus either the ends or the means will be social ... that is directed towards satisfying a group of people vice an otherwise-specified goal or method. nothing more.

now if you wanna get into means of production and ownership then we should bring in the word communism to show that these 2 terms are different. communism is one way to run a country in a socialist manner, but not the only way. thats why it is called "scientific socialism". ideally you want a economic method that is a fusion between socialism and capitalism. socialism to keep the state functional and protect the workers with some capitalistic tendencies to promote growth and investment.

No not at all.

I applied to immigrate to Canada 8 years ago subsequent to my divorce seeking a new start on life. But I didn't have enough points to qualify for approval. The Canadian immigration attorney said that the only way I could qualify was if I was to marry to a Canadian woman. Sadly, I no longer have the resources to go now. But I would move in a heartbeat if I could.
I've been there a few times and I was impressed with the people and government compassion for taking care of the citizens.

NO
If Canada was where Mexico is l would have moved there years ago. I hate long winters.

When you compare America to just about any other civilized country it clearly paints a picture of how badly we suck. Latest poll shows we ranked 18th in quality of life. Canada is usually at the top. If you're Canadian, your lucky.

It sure is a hell of a lot more Socialistic than we are, but Socialism is, sadly, threatened in Europe these days and I believe it has a lot to do with Russia. I am sure they were behind the Trump victory but also were instrumental in "Brexit" and are working hard to influence other European countries. Putin wants to destroy NATO and return the eastern bloc to the fold. Make no mistake about it. there is no connection between Socialism and Totalitarianism (Putin's X KGB mentality). The USSR or Stalinism called themselves Socialists but they were Fascist. The US has equated Socialism with Communism since the fourties (and especially the Fifties).

Yes they are

Of course not but the American right would have you believe anything not Libertarian/Ayn Randish must be socialist.

Yes, I think Canada is a socialist country. I also don't think socialism is a bad idea

The people who message you are confused about both countries it seems. USA is an oligarchy.

I say yes! Reason being is about your health care system. Not bad at all! A friend of mine has lived in B.C. all his life. He told me that 90 CND is taken out of his check every month. The last time I checked the exchange rate, that was about 70 USD. My co-pay with insurance is $50. Even for a check-up. That covered him, his daughter, dental, vision, and extended stay! Now the Province pays for his daughter's. He has never been declined medical. Ever. My insurance is about $300/mo! They deny certian things. You can judge a country by how it treats it's sick! Justin is a class-act compared to our president!

Americans are largely uninformed, ignorant, and brainwashed. This is not a criticism, rather a sad observation. In a dictatorship, people know the leader lies, and he knows they know. It is a giant game. Think North Korea or Saddam's Iraq. In the US, the lies are more subtle and large parts of the population buy the lies totally. To cite just one example, working class people voting for Trump, who turns around and guts social programs while giving 85% of the $1.5 trillion tax cut to the top 1%.

A good primer is to read Chomsky's essay on Manufacturing Consent, which explains how the process works.

It's not.

Canada runs on a capitalist economic system with some elements of socialism built in which are designed to cater to the public good.

It's what the United States used to be before religious and massive private interest groups infiltrated our government and turned us in to a theocraric plutocracy.

IMO socialism does not require lack of economic freedom; that is cold war rhetoric. There are many who believe it in the US, but it is bunk. Today the US has become an awful place to live for the majority of its citizens. Enjoy Canada, I wish I lived there, but I'll stay here and fight back against fascist-Nazis, and try to make America great again, which Trump against.

You can't have a socialist country without a degree of capitalism if you're going to run on a currency system. The entire point to having a government is to govern the tribal tendencies of humanity. Even a full blown socialist government will be open to corruption and hording of wealth. Capitalist use socialism as a means to scare the population into the belief their free market ideology is the only way that works. There's nothing free about it when it provides the means to monopolize. Capitalism mixed with neoliberalism eventually leads to fascism. And Canada is presently experiencing some afforded movements along with Europe towards those changes. Follow the issue with these trade deals closely! They are simply a means to help corporations make more and take more from us! "Out Of The Illusion "

I adore Canada. I've spent a fair amount of time over the years, having been involved with women in Ontario and BC. I would live there in a heartbeat if the possibility came.

First of all Master Trumphole has brought a lot of our idiots out of the woodwork. They want to make America great again by wrecking all the good we have accomplished. Bring us back to an era where big business has free reign to do whatever it wants to do for the enrichment of the well connected and entitled few. This is NOT progress. They want their perverted version of fascist christiantiy insanity to reign supreme. This is NOT progress. They want atheists and agnostics to be second class citizens if not be sent to concentration camps. This is NOT progress. They want women to no longer have control over their own bodies, their own destinies, their own lives. This is NOT progress. It's going to be a real struggle to beat them back. They have stacked the courts with regressive minded judges. This is NOT progress. We need to resist them. We need to stand up and vote despite all their rather successful voter suppression laws. Their gerrymandering. It is an up hill battle but one we cannot afford to lose...