Canada and the United States share a border of more than 5,500 miles. It’s a very active border, crossed by more than 300,000 workers and travelers each day.
While the United States and Canada are similar in size, the climate and population concentrations are quite different.
Land Mass
Canada occupies 3,855,100 square miles of territory. This makes it slightly larger than the United States at 3,796,742 square miles.
Canada includes 10 provinces and 3 territories while the United States has 50 states and 5 territories, as well as a federal district.
Population
The United States has a larger population than Canada; as of 2021, Canada had a population of 36.99 million while the United States counted nearly 335 million at the same point in time.
However, the demographics of population health and happiness show provide a striking breakdown.
While Canadians and Americans have similar access to doctors, Americans have a greater risk of being obese and of dying earlier.
American women tend to have their babies earlier and have nearly twice the risk of dying in childbirth. While Canada has a lower birth rate, Canada also has a lower infant mortality rate.
Finally, while Canadians are fitter and less likely to die in childbirth or face the loss of an infant, as of 2016, their healthcare costs are markedly lower.
Canadian parents also get more support from their government and their employers. Paid maternity leave is at least 15 weeks. After that, paid parental leave can be up to 35 weeks for either parent.
Because paid parental leave contributes to the financial stability of families and their little ones, this very marked difference between the generous parental policies of Canada and the rather stingy ones found in the United States are worth looking at.
Parental leave in the United States is capped at 12 weeks and is unpaid. New parents can take additional leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, but it is similarly unpaid.
Population Concentration
While Canada has a smaller population than the United States, the cities of Canada offer world-class opportunities for vacationers and residents alike.
The population of Canada is highly concentrated along the border and along the coasts. In fact, 75% of Canadian citizens live within 100 miles of the border.
A great deal of this population concentration is due to pressures from weather. The winters of central Canada, particularly as you head north, can be quite challenging.
Of course, history also plays a part; the European immigrants and refugees that settled Canada needed access to others for trade and community.
The oldest cities of Canada were positioned close to the border for commercial reasons.
There are several sizable Canadian cities that are an easy drive from the United States, such as
- Montreal
- Toronto
- Vancouver
Curiously, the United States population density seems to spread from the east toward the west.
While there are concentrated outlying cities such as Los Angeles and Seattle, Americans are most densely crowded along the east coast and grow sparser across the plains to the west coast.
Educational Considerations
Canada ranks far ahead of the United States in terms of adult literacy. The ability to read, reason, think critically, and develop an opinion is much higher among Canadian citizens than among those in the United States.
While an American high school student should be able to transfer easily into a Canadian school, the literacy discrepancy should be monitored to help a transferring student to remain confident.
While the struggles of American children in math have long been a worry to the American business community, the load on teachers does not get enough attention.
Canadian children have more access to a teacher due to smaller classroom sizes from kindergarten through high school.
Natural Resources
Canada has a longer coastline than the United States. The ocean shoreline of Canada is over 151,019 miles long. The nation of Canada also offers more access to fresh water.
There are more than 2 million freshwater lakes across this nation, more than any other country in the world. There is a reason that one of the symbols of Canada is the canoe.
The Mackenzie is the longest river in Canada, starting in Slave Lake and traveling north through the Northwest Territories to Mackenzie Bay.
If you’d love a canoeing challenge and want to paddle part of the Mackenzie, dress warm. Slave Lake can hold onto the ice cover until June!
This river travels through mostly unspoiled wilderness and is more than 1,000 miles long.
The longest river in the United States is the Missouri at just over 2,300 miles.
Unlike the Mackenzie, which travels through a great deal of empty territory, the Missouri has been altered and redirected many times by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
It starts near Three Forks, Montana, and empties into the Gulf of Mexico.
There was a time when the Missouri was dredged to make it easier for commercial vehicles, such as paddle boats, to travel.
American author Mark Twain referred to this waterway as “Too muddy to drink and too wet to plow!” Because the waterway was moved a few times, relics of failed shipments have been found around Kansas City, Missouri.
Fans of history may love a trip to the Arabia Steamboat Museum. The Arabia went down fully loaded and was ultimately buried in a cornfield.
Treasure hunters dug her up and are still cleaning items that survived over 150 years in the mud.
There are 37 National Parks in Canada and 63 in the United States. The remarkable beauty of North America, from the tip of Key West, Florida to Ellesmere Island of Canada should not be missed.
Canada is larger than the United States in land mass and has more coastline than any nation on the planet.
Travelers to Canada can find cities to visit, unspoiled country to enjoy, and remarkable natural beauty.
