Canada and the United States explains, across fifteen diverse areas, why and how Canada and the United States are still so different. The book discusses whether or not these differences are growing, the key results of such differences, and the major challenges to be faced in each system.

Focusing on institutions, political cultures, and social values, the book shows how both federal systems are extremely complex and how our institutions, cultures, and historical experiences often lead to very different outcomes. The fifth edition discusses the emergence of vital new issues, including the pandemic and its effects, climate change, energy requirements, increasing international tensions, and new trade problems. This book also reviews massive budgetary changes, new forms of protest emerging in Canada, and an ongoing political crisis in the US instigated bya former president convincing millions that the 2020 election was a hoax. Written by leading scholars in their field, Canada and the United States reveals how the two countries compare when dealing with similar problems that often spill across the border.

This book investigates why and how Canada and the United States – while so close and seemingly so similar – remain different in many significant ways.

Introduction
David M. Thomas

Part 1: Populations, Impressions, and Values

1. North America’s New Demographic Destiny
Darryl Bricker and John Ibbitson

2. Imagining Each Other
Stephen Brooks

3.  American Backlash, Canadian Compromise: 30 Years of Divergence
Michael Adams

4. Together and Apart: Canada and the United States and the World Beyond
Deanna Horton and Roy Norton

Part 2: Governance and Governing Mechanisms

5. Elections: Why Such Differences? 
Michael Boda and Keith Archer

6. Past Futures: Federalism under Yet More Stress
David M. Thomas

7.  Prime Ministers and Presidents: Institutional Differences and Political Convergence
Thomas Bateman

8. How Partisan Polarization Affects the Workings of the US Congress and the Canadian Parliament in the Twenty-first Century
Melissa Haussman and Lori Turnbull

9. Courts and the Law
Chios Carmody

Part 3: Economic Systems, Taxation, Safety Nets, and Democracy

10. The Complex World of Budgetary Policy: Made Even More Complex by COVID-19
Munir Sheikh

11. Healthcare in Canada and the United States
Antonia Maioni and Pierre Martin

12. Inequality: Choose Your Parents Wisely
John Harles

Part 4: Policy Differences, Policy Challenges, and Policy Change

13. Protests, Diversity, and Differences That Matter – For Some
Kathy Brock and Andrea Migone

14. Twin Crises – Twin Ambitions – Twin Vulnerabilities: Confronting Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss in Canada and the United States
Andrea Olive and Debora VanNijnatten

15. Energy Interdependence and the Future
Monica Gattinger and Julien Tohme

Conclusion
Christopher Sands

Index

"Clearly written and brimming with ideas, this book is hugely valuable in the classroom. As its popularity attests, it is fair, balanced, and insightful. No student of Canada–US relations should be without a copy."

"The new edition of Canada and the United States is better than ever. The editors have assembled a team with a range of valuable experiences in academia and the policy world. The subject matter includes demographic futures and their implications, institutional and governance questions, economic issues, and key policy challenges. This comprehensive volume is essential reading for those interested in Canada and the US, as well as public policy in general."

"Thomas and Sands have assembled an impressive group of academics, public intellectuals, and former government officials to tackle the question of whether institutions, political culture, or policy leadership drive the Differences that Count. Information-rich chapters cover topics from economic inequality and the courts to protest and health care and are accompanied with useful data sources and reflection questions that will challenge experts as much as students.."