Influence Of The American Culture On Canada example essay topic

During the past decade there have been numerous reports, both official and academic that imply that Canada has finally blossomed into the liberated, independent and admirable nation that it so desired to in the past. Independent meaning, one who is not subject to control by others, but that is not the case with Canada. Although the citizens of Canada believe that Canada is an affluent and soviet nation, it has never actual been independent; instead it has allowed itself to be mocked by other nations. In the 19th century Canada was under the British Empire and now in the 21st century, Canada is apart of the new American Empire.

Manifest Destiny has always been on the minds of the Americans when its northern neighbor was involved, although the United States failed in its attempts to annex Canada; it somehow has gained unlimited economic power and control over Canada. Through migration and immigration, there has been a significant degree of intermingling between the citizens of the two countries over the generations. In the course of the 20th century they have developed the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world, Canada and the United States also have shared a common political, economic, cultural and geographic heritage over the past two centuries. The United States of America has made itself so disposable to Canada, that Canada not only began to look towards the United States for approval but it also became dependant on the United States for prosperity.

The people of Canada have been exposed to the American culture through technological advancements of the twentieth century, like the radio and television. The influence of the American culture on Canada has been met with minimal resistance; in fact, the American culture has always been welcomed in Canada. It has often been said through politicians that "its this kind of diversity that makes Canada unique", but in this case, the American culture has dominated any traces of the Canadian culture. In 1920, the first radio broadcast took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and it marked a new era for technological beginnings.

Later in the decade, hundreds of stations were established, including Canada's first radio station, which was based in Montreal. Although Canada tried to keep up with these new advancements, it was clear that the people of Canada began to look towards the United States for any and all means of entertainment because through their eyes, Canada was far too behind. Television became a standard household item in the 1950's; the Canadian Television Network (CTV) began operating in 1961 but by then many people living in Canada began to demand that American programs be aired. As the demand increased, many people just set up outdoor antennas to receive signals from America. Today in 2003, there are four main American television networks that are supplied to Canada: CBS, NBC, FOX and ABC yet there are only three major networks in Canada: CBC, CTV and Global. Of those three networks, CBC is the only one who broadcasts all Canadian television programs, including the news, the other two networks, CTV and Global mostly air American programs.

According to a study conducted by CBC, a Canadian child will spend approximately 23 hours of watching television per week, meaning he or she will spend up to 13 000 hours of watching television by the age of 12. With a ratio 1: 6, the odds of the children watching only CBC are very slim, meaning that they are watching a lot of American programs. As a result of this, the American programs receive higher ratings which in turn makes the American economy stronger and the their culture well known throughout Canada. Whether it is listening to the radio or watching television at home, Canadians have had and will always continue to have a gut-ranching thirst for the America culture, rather than creating and preserving its own.

Canada as a democratic society should make its own decisions, decisions that are represented by the majority of the people and their views, yet Canadian politicians continuously look over their shoulder for the "US stamp of approval" before making any colossal decisions. This clearly indicates a lack of leadership in Canada, where most of the time, Canada folds rapidly under US pressure and ultimately allows the United States to influence its decisions. For instance, Canada backed down in the Cuban crisis; they cut back aid programs to Cuba to meet the demands of the United States. Canada not only cancelled numerous exchange visits of government representatives, but Canadian ideologies collapsed under United States pressure when Canada ended up criticizing Cuba at the UN Commission on Human Rights meeting in Geneva. An independent nation never falls victim to influence or control, unless it is apart of a larger union and that is the case concerning Canada, as its quite evident that Canada is apart of the new American Empire.

Canada has not only crumbled under US pressure, but has also found the need to gain approval from the United States. An example of this would be when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Canada, just like the United States began to persecute the Japanese residing in their country. Over 23,000 people of Japanese decent, 80% of them Canadian citizens were evacuated from their homes and were forced to live on internment camps. Thousands of Japanese-Canadian fishing boats were seized and impounded, while any and all persons of Japanese decent were fingerprinted, photographed and were required to carry registration cards. It is difficult to justify the actions and decisions of the Canadian government at that time, but one aspect of it is crystal clear, the mistreatment of the Japanese in Canada was a charade put on to impress and also to gain approval from the United States. Canada has been clinging onto Canadian investors simply because of the fact that Canada is dominated by American investors who have created American business chains in Canada.

These investors are gaining profits and putting their share into the American economy, although these businesses are run on Canadian soil and by the Canadian people, the Canadian economy does not benefit from it at all. By allowing American businesses and influences into Canada, Canada along with its people are becoming more and more dependent on the United States. In 1972, 99 percent of Canadian petroleum and coal industries were owned by foreign investors, as was 82 percent of Canadian chemical product industries. Almost all of this foreign ownership was from the United States.

In 2003, nothing has changed to wavier the tide of American buisness expansions in Canada. Best Buy, an american owned chain of electronics recently expanded in Canada, and have been attracting Canadians to its line of products by offering lower rates. Canadians have welcomed Best Buy with open arms, ignoring the fact that they are contributing to the profits of the American economy rather than the Canada in economy. That fact seems to be the furthest thing on thier minds, as Canadians will go anywhere for the cheaper deal. Throughout history, Canadians never favoured reciprocity, although a free trade agreement was made with the United States in 1854, it only lasted for a period of 12 years.

The topic of reciprocity arose once again in 1911, when American President William Taft offered Canada an agreement of free trade. Laurier claimed that a better Canada would result from this agreement, but his true intentions were to gain and win votes, especially among the prairie farmers. This clearly shows that the intentions of Laurier were not to take care of the Canadian people, or their economy, he only wanted to benefit himself. Today, Canadian views are similar to those of 1911, Canada needs to protect its economy by implementing tariff walls as a barrier to stop American produced goods coming into Canada. Many Canadians opposed the agreement because they feared that it would hurt Canadian industries, and it has. Due to the NAFTA agreement numerous Canadian companies moved production to the United States and Mexico, and were even sold to American companies because it was cheaper to produce goods in there rather than Canada.

In 1992, over 250 000 Canadians lost their jobs because of such relocation of Canadian companies. When Canadian companies relocated, so did the people to seek more employment opportunities, for Canada people who migrated meant a decrease in population and a high unemployment rate but for United States it was the complete opposite. The recession in the years of 1990-1993 was partly caused by cutbacks as Canadian companies tried to compete with American ones, of Canada's 2000 imports, 74 percent of them came from the United States. This undoubtedly shows that without that 74 percent of imports coming from the United States, Canada would defiantly not be where it is today. In rare cases some Canadians feared that reciprocity would lead to annexation by the United States, ironically that is exactly what occurred, the United States has stertgically taken over Canada's social and economical power. The Republican administration of William Howard Taft described that there was no desire on the part of US officials to obtain political control or to acquire Canadian territory, but in economic and later strategic terms wanted Canada and the United States to be viewed as a single unit.

As Canada joined the NAFTA agreement with America it defiantly took away any chances for Canada to support itself economically. In the past Canada largely relied on the US for economic stability and this fact still holds to date. Although the US is on the other side of the bargaining table, the United States still continues to maintain strong international relationships with countries around the world. In order for Canada to have create its own economy, a tariff wall must be constructed which in time will allow Canada to keep control of what is coming in and leaving the country. In retrospect, Canada without NAFTA is somewhat like picturing the United States without a government system, there can not be one without the other, meaning that Canada has become severely dependant on the United States due to the free trade agreement.

Canada has never been an independent country, instead it has always been taken under the wing of another nation, first it was Britain and now it is the United States. Many factors contribute to the influence that the US has had on Canada. In the early 20th century, it was the United States who had created such technological advancements like the radio and television. Canadians were not only curious of their southern naghbour but were excited that they were able to experience what the Americans were experiencing at the time and that continues to be the case today. With the NAFTA agreement in effect, Canada and the United States will continue to have a strong relationship, meaning that the United States will continue to benefit from Canadian raw materials and alternative goods. It is truly unfortunate that the majority of big businesses in Canada are American owned, including food chain restaurants, television networks, and technology as profits are not being included in the Canadian economy but rather they go towards the American economy.

It was Mackenzie King who once stated that there were two roads open to Canada, being independent or join a union with the United States, he stated that he wanted to choose 'the American road' if the United States would make it possible for him to do so. Every powerful empire has its rise, it passes the climax of its power, the British Empire was once the most powerful country in the world, as was the Russian Empire but, every empire will have its fall. There will always continue to be a power struggle in the world, and once the new American Empire falls, there will be no traces or remains of Canada left behind, since Canada depends on the United States, it is only seem as a small extension of the United States.