Yep, we're your good old punching bag. As a Canadian I laugh at our predicament, the largest unprotected peaceful border? Imagine it wasn't peaceful. imagine Americans decided Canada with it's paltry 34 million people, and huge amounts of natural resources would benefit from statehood...how long till 'ally' becomes annexed territory? What could we do to stop it but a Taliban style guerilla warfare... I mean don't get me wrong about it I like America, you guys make great movies, and there's alot of cool stuff in your country...but I'm ok! I like my broken healthcare system(still working kinda sorta) and my colored money(easier to tell apart), my hockey (way better then baseball or football btw you should check it out, you have some great teams), my terrible justice system(I mean if I decide to go looting, I'd like to be out of jail to enjoy it).

My countries government does some stupid things like yours. But I look around my little piece of this nation and I can't help but wonder WTF everyone is always so tense about in the USA. There air is clear, the economy stinks but when doesn't it stink, we're only in one war we shouldn't be and by next year we're done (don't we look smart staying out of Iraq now), as far as I can tell we're the worlds darling like Australia... Sure we've made some terrible mistakes (I'm talking about our own native peoples who are coddled and cursed) but I feel like we learn and most people move on. There isn't as great an undercurrent of racism, hate, and general mistrust among my people (except the québécois...but they just like to be difficult).

When it comes down to it, America and Canada are neighbors with mutual interests. You provide the "beef"(except in Alberta) and we are your PR. But trust me, we don't want to be roommates.
Note to the OP I know you were praising Canada but I needed to express my version of the American/Canadian relationship, the slightly condescending tongue in cheek Canadian humour style.

Canada has Ricky, Bubbles, and Julian
The Trailer Park Boys. Nuf said the place rocks.

Our women rock.....Need I say more ?

the latest conspiracy is why were we denied entry to the un security council? some theories are that global warming will open a shipping lane through the high arctic and the russians want control over it. also the un wants canada to decrease the canadian military precense. sp. in afganistan.

when i first heard this im like "what? i thought we were us's ally so that means were on the un security council" but alas we never were.

Originally posted by Wyn Hawks
...canada - lots of purty places to visit but i'd never live up there cuz its just too dang cold...

...reminds me of this song by the courtyard hounds - "baby your winter is nothing but a prison - it drives me away"... i can SO appreciate that sentiment...

...so, on topic, canada is our greatest ally?... uh, gosh, i dont see how that could be possible... they're probably not even in the top ten - because - they dont have enough oil or gold or whatever or own enough of our assets to compete with the, uh, "allies" (cough) we really suck up to...

...heres that song, just in case someone's in the mood...

It's quite amazing when people make posts like this, yet they haven't a clue what they are talking about.

Eighty percent of the American petroleum imports come from Canada. It has been estimated that Canada has the worlds second largest oil reserves, approximately 180 billion barrels ( A further 315 billion barrels are estimated to be in the oilsands of northern Alberta and Saskatchewan ).

Canada is one of the worlds top gold producers, ranking fourth behind South Africa, the United States, and Australia.

From steel to lumber, from oil to gold, Canada has everything that the United States wants.

Originally posted by Wyn Hawks

...so, on topic, canada is our greatest ally?... uh, gosh, i dont see how that could be possible... they're probably not even in the top ten - because - they dont have enough oil or gold or whatever or own enough of our assets to compete with the, uh, "allies" (cough) we really suck up to...

Right... and what place on this planet has more excess oil than Canada? Certainly nowhere that the US is importing from..

Originally posted by SPYvsSPY
Canada has Ricky, Bubbles, and Julian
The Trailer Park Boys. Nuf said the place rocks.

I moved out of my college dorm because there was a poster of those neanderthals on the wall in the common area.

Take the idiots away, please. Just like you did with Justin Bieber. We don't want them, they are embarrassing.

Healthcare is by no means free. When I look at my pay stub and see that 47% of it is paid in income taxes and knowing that 23% of that is for healthcare, it's far from free. I don't mind spending 13 hours in the ER with my son because he broke his wrist snow boarding, I mean, I wasn't the one in pain, right? Plus, because no one in the hospital was qualified to put on a fiberglass cast on my son's arm, the doctor put a temp cast on him and told us to show up at a different hospital the next morning.

Once there we waited an additional 5 hours just so he could get his arm in a cast. Wow...Public healthcare is awesome, ain't it! I swear I could of gotten better service in Cuba !

P.S. Because the cast was fiberglass, an optional choice they call it, I had to pay $55.00.

Now days, when we have to consult, I see our family physician and when we need to see a specialist, I ask her to refer me to a private facility so that we may get better treatment faster.