5 reasons to flee the U.S. for CanadaPublished: Aug 29, 2014 4:02 p.m. ET
Burger King followed Tim Horton’s across the border. Should you?
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Vancouver, British Columbia: It’s better than where you live.By
QUENTIN
FOTTRELL
PERSONAL FINANCE REPORTER
Burger King BKW, +2.33% said this week that it will move its headquarters to Canada, after agreeing to buy bakery chain Tim Horton’s THI, +0.34%
The move is move partly motivated by lower tax rates in Canada, but there are plenty of other reasons why Americans might want to follow.
Canada has the world’s best reputation internationally as a place to do business and live for the third consecutive year, according to the latest annual survey of more than 27,000 people around the world by the Reputation Institute, an international corporate advisory firm.
“Canada’s results confirm that it is only possible to maintain a strong reputation in the long-term when a country has the ability to transmit its leadership globally in each of the three key criteria:
an effective government, an advanced economy, and an appealing environment,” Fernando Prado, a managing partner at Reputation Institute, said in a statement.
Economic wealth is only one factor that contributes to a country’s reputation. The study measures the reputation of 50 countries based on levels of trust, esteem, admiration and respect, as well as people’s perceptions related to other attributes that include a country being viewed as a safe place to visit, a beautiful country, having friendly and welcoming residents, passing progressive social and economic policies, and being run by an effective government. (The shutdown of the U.S. federal government last October, for instance, would have lost the U.S. some valuable points.)
Boston native Russell St. Cyr, a Montreal-based IT consultant, moved to Canada in 2008 from the U.K. with his Canadian wife and two children.
It didn’t take him long to feel at home. “I am close to my family, with all the positive aspects of being on the Canadian side of the border,” he says. “It’s a manageable size for a country and there’s a sense of social cohesion that America lacks. I feel like I’m part of this manageable group that—by and large—gets along.”St. Cyr, 46, also says
Canadians aren’t obsessed with their Canadianness in the same way his compatriots south of the border obsess about being American. “Canadian pride is based on modesty and gratitude.
American identity is based on being at the top of everything and being No. 1 in the world.” But he says the American entrepreneurial spirit is unique and enviable, and not just because Silicon Valley has become the de facto center of the world’s high-tech industry. “It really is a nation that generates ideas and wealth that are in some ways just staggering when compared to other countries.”
Vancouver Mayor Robertson: So confident, he’s practically American.
Canadians do have one thing in common with Americans: They don’t lack confidence. “Canada is an extraordinary country, and our vibrant, thriving cities give us the potential to be even greater,” Gregor Robertson, 48, mayor of Vancouver, told MarketWatch. “Our cultural diversity is one of our foremost strengths.” Vancouver, he says, plans to become the “greenest” or most energy-efficient city in the world by 2020. Bicycle paths are on the increase and designed to complement pedestrians and traffic, and cyclists must wear helmets by law in British Columbia. Perhaps coming a little late to the party, Vancouver plans to start a public bike share program in 2015.
I traveled to Vancouver this week for some rest and relaxation, encouraged by an Economist Intelligence Unit report ranking Vancouver as the third most livable city in the world. Two other Canadian cities—Toronto and Calgary—were ranked fourth and fifth. Vancouver was beaten only by Melbourne and Vienna. Adelaide, Sydney, Helsinki, Perth and Auckland were ranked 5 through 10.
No American city made the top 10—not even San Francisco or Portland, Ore., two West Coast cities often praised for their quality of life. The Economist’s index takes into account factors like safety, health care, educational resources, infrastructure and the environment of 140 major cities around the world.
Here are 5 reasons to emigrate to Canada:Less firearm-related homicideThe rate of homicide with firearms in the U.S. (3.2 per 100,000) is more than six times higher than in Canada (0.5 per 100,000), according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. In fact, the U.S. holds the dubious honor of outpacing most other developed countries in this category, including Norway and England and Wales (all 0.1 per 100,000); Australia, New Zealand and Germany (all 0.2 per 100,000); and the Netherlands (0.3 per 100,000).
One explanation for the differences may be that only licensed individuals can buy firearms in Canada. Licensing is a lengthy process that requires a safety course and exam, a 45-day wait to process an application involving a variety of background checks, and a minimum 28-day waiting period for those who don’t currently own a firearm. There are also bans on certain types of powerful handguns and magazines for automatic and semiautomatic firearms.
More socially progressive governmentIn the U.S., same-sex marriage is legal in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Couples who tie the knot in states that don’t allow it are still entitled to federal recognition of their marriage due to a Supreme Court ruling last year that struck down much of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. But Canada legalized same-sex marriage in 2005 at a federal level. When Canada’s Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper took office in 2006, he chose not to revisit same-sex marriage law, says author and Toronto-based gay rights activist Bert Archer. “That was the first time I really understood that Canadian and American political spectrums were entirely different things, and that Obama probably couldn’t get elected here—he’s way too right-wing.”
Universal health careGiven the confusing surrounding the impact of Obamacare on insurance premiums and the difficulty in its online rollout, it may be hard to believe that Canada has had universal health care since the 1960s through the Medical Care Act of 1966. Like many national health care systems, Canada’s isn't perfect. In Canada, patients have little to no financial burden, which has helped lengthen life expectancy and prevent disease, according to a 2014 report on health care by the Commonwealth Fund. But they too often experience long wait times for health-care services. The same report offered stinging criticism of the U.S. “The U.S. health care system is the most expensive in the world, but this report and prior editions consistently show the U.S. underperforms relative to other countries,” it said.
Generous parental leaveThe U.S. is one of the few industrialized nations that doesn’t require paid family leave for new moms and dads. “There’s a much better government and cultural acceptance of parental leave here than in the U.S.,” says Wendy Roth, associated professor of sociology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Depending on the length of employment tenure and the number of hours worked in the preceding year, new moms in Canada can take 17 to 52 weeks of unpaid leave from their jobs. And Canada’s employment insurance plan offers 15 weeks of paid leave for moms, plus 35 additional weeks for either parent after the parent is born or adopted, at 55% pay, up to a maximum payment of about $485 a week. “It takes the burden off women and strengthens the bonds between fathers and their children,” Roth says.
Canadians are funnyThere is a stereotype that Canadians are boring. Blame Peter Ustinov’s famous line: “Toronto is New York run by the Swiss.” But Canadians are funny. John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Carrey, Michael J. Fox, Howie Mandel, Mike Myers, Leslie Nielsen, Catherine O’Hara and, even, William Shatner all hailed from Canada. And it’s not just the professionals. Traveling on a packed bus along Davie Street in Vancouver on Tuesday evening, the driver told people waiting at the bus stop, “There will be another one along in a few seconds.” But as soon as the doors closed, he said, “I just made that up.” And at a branch of Tim Horton’s in Vancouver earlier this week, the sales assistant announced to a long line of confused customers, “Welcome to Burger King.”
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-reasons-to-flee-the-us-for-canada-2014-08-29
