WASHINGTON -- While one American presidential candidate mocked Canadians on Wednesday for the misconception that there aren't that many people living in the Truth North Strong and Free, there are really a whole 35 million up there enjoying, on this Canada Day, some progressive policies that Americans could only dream of.
Canadians are celebrating the 148th anniversary of their relatively nonviolent and gradual separation from the British Empire. Canada isn't perfect, of course, but there are some significant policy differences that make this Canadian-American reporter wistful for life above the 49th parallel.
While Americans celebrated the Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide last week, for instance, Canadians smugly noted that they had been enjoying marriage equality for a full 10 years.
The United States also still bans transgender soldiers from openly serving in the military, unlike Canada.
And while state legislatures have passed an increasing number of restrictions on abortion, and support for abortion continues to showcase partisan divides, Canada has mostly avoided national fights over access in the last few decades.
"The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation!" former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau famously declared. Canadians living in rural areas still face challenges accessing the procedure, as do Americans, but America does make access easier for patients in the first trimester in one significant way: Health Canada still has not approved the abortion medication mifepristone, as the FDA has.
As President Barack Obama's health care law continues to face legal obstacles, Canadians are more satisfied with the availability of affordable care in their publicly funded system, and believe that universal health care is crucial to the country's identity. A challenge to Canada's system -- if it ever goes to trial -- could make the country's balance between private and publicly offered care look slightly more like what the United States offers.
Canada also has a higher life expectancy than the United States and a lower rate of maternal mortality, to cite just two metrics that illustrate how citizens fare in each country. Our northern neighbors also have less gun violence and recently legalized physician-assisted suicide.
To top it off, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms includes an affirmative right to vote -- the United States Constitution does not -- and Canada automatically registers every eligible voter. Canada also has much stricter campaign finance laws, while Americans continue to see the fallout from the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision.
Finally, Canada has largely avoided the sorts of calamitous financial crises that the United States experiences.
But don't worry, America: Independence Day is just three days away! Soon, you too will have your turn to celebrate all that makes the United States great.
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