In July in both the U.S. and Canada, people will be respectively celebrating the birth of their countries. However, these past few years have demonstrated a concerning growth in divisive politics, much more so in the U.S. than in Canada. Most recently, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade allowing states to ban abortion. This is despite the fact that polls have shown that only one in ten Americans want an absolute ban on abortion. In Canada, the right to abortion is supported by all major political parties and the vast majority of Canadians. When it comes to restrictions on accessibility to guns, the majority of Americans support increasing restrictions to gun ownership, while the gun lobby holds sway in Congress and many states. Supported by the majority in Canada, there are restrictions on guns, especially handguns and military-style weapons — a number of the latter are outright banned. Although numerous American organizations and groups have lobbied to eliminate the death penalty in half of the states where it exists, Canada did away with the death penalty decades ago. It is now believed that the recent Supreme Court’s decision could also lead to a reconsideration of Americans’ right to same sex marriage, something which has been legalized in Canada for sometime now.
A new poll of Canadians by the U.K.’s well known pollster Lord Michael Ashcroft showed that Canada, rather than the polarized society on display in America, is described as a nation that is proud and hopeful. He concluded that most Canadians are a lot more confident, empathetic, proud and trusting of their own democracy and national identity, frequently seeking a middle ground on controversial issues. Fully seven in ten Canadians think Canada is one of the best places to live and multiculturalism is a healthy and important element of Canadian society and thus encourages immigration to the country. Yes, there are some small vocal dissident groups who surface from time to time in Canada, but nowhere near the numbers of American right-wing and social conservative groups who even emerged to contest the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Thankfully, there is no equivalent to Donald Trump in Canada.
The current infringement on the rights of American women with the overturning of Roe vs. Wade will further increase the division among Americans across the country. This will become a highly contentious issue in the upcoming November elections, with pro-life and pro-choice candidates slugging it out on the hastings. When a draft copy of the decision was leaked in May, even Donald Trump began telling friends and advisers that it would anger suburban women, a group who helped tilt the 2020 race to President Joe Biden. He felt that would lead to a backlash against Republicans in the November midterm elections. However, as per the New York Times, with the decision Trump put out a statement taking a victory lap, including applauding himself for sticking by his choice of nominees. On top of which, the court’s decision is unfortunately expected to disproportionately affect minority women who already face limited access to health care. In addition, for those women who can afford to come to Canada, Canadian abortion services are currently examining the potential impact in welcoming these Americans.
With respect to another grouping, our indigenous people of North America, both the U.S. and Canada in the past had used residential schools in an attempt to assimilate indigenous populations by eliminating their culture and languages. However, unlike in the U.S., Canadians began a national reconciliation process reflecting honestly on the darkest parts of history and attempting to move forward to correct past abuses. Canadians of all backgrounds have come forward to fully support the truth and reconciliation initiatives at all levels of society. The same issue has barely been recognized in the States.
All in all, one cannot but conclude that there is far more political and societal division among Americans than among Canadians. The next decade could prove to be one of the most explosive in American history, with the current polarization of American society almost as great as that preceding the American Civil War between the North and South over the abolition of slavery. Only time will tell. Not a great time to be living in the States!
FROLITICKS 
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