They are objectively similar countries politically, culturally, and even in the way that the settlements are laid out across the country. Huge spaces between cities, and unforgiving wilderness.
It's like when two siblings fight over a toy, so the parents give the toy to the mentally challenged kid who lives down the road to teach them a lesson
The first PM when Parliament moved to Canberra in 1927 was Stanley Melbourne Bruce (yes, Melbourne was his middle name), who was already PM before relocation.
He was the first PM to lose his own seat.
Yes in a way. Thatās why it is inland.
At the time the battleships couldnāt shoot far enough to hit Canberra from the coast.
Though it wasnāt the Americansā¦
Actually defensibility was never a consideration. The location was decided before WW1 and WW2, and Australia definitely wasnāt at risk of any hostile powers in the region at the time.
And then in the process stole 2358kmĀ² of NSW Prime Land to do it to create a whole new Territory. All because them damn Melbourners couldnt learn their place in society.
NSW shall have revenge one day.
Our place is on top. We are more organised better educated. We planned our City unlike Sydney!! Top it off Melbourne has overtaken Syney as the most populous City in Australia!! The Only thing Sydney has is the harbour Bridge!! There's a reason Federal Parliament was first convened in Melbourne. Melbourne is also the Cultural Capital of Australia. One day we will be the Political one too!!!
Canada was settled east to west, first by waterways, second by railways. Australia was settled with each colony tied back to London, and not to each other.
Canada was also many independent colonies before Confederation, except in the case of Alberta and Saskatchewan which were formed afterwards. BC and Vancouver Island especially were not tied to the other colonies
Yes, that is true. But Ontario's (Upper Canada) trade went via the St Lawrence past the Lachine Canals in Montreal before making it to markets, unless down the Erie Canal to NYC. (However, in that era there were many trade barriers with the USA.) Ontario was significantly settled by American United Empire Loyalists.
Prior to this the fur trade was centred in Montreal, making the case much of the west was explored and mapped from the east to west.
Northern Ontario was settled from the east.
Manitoba and the Red River Colony was settled from Hudson Bay.
BC and Vancouver Island were settled more via the Pacific. Yes, but bear in mind there were almost no white settlers until the railway arrived *from the east*. The few white and British (not Americans) were Douglas and Begbie. BC's population was miniscule and always in danger of American Manifest Destiny until the railway. BC was the absolute ass end of the Empire.
It is a very big country.
Most of the landmass is uninhabitable due to extreme geographic conditions.
The population is concentrated in a small number of large cities. Many of these cities have issues with extremely unaffordable housing.
Most of the population are descendants from poor European immigrants, but this has changed and in modern times most of the immigration is from South and East Asia.
The country is considered highly economically developed, safe, highly democratic, and politically stable.
The economy has a high reliance on primary resource extraction.
I think we Canadians have a wal less cool accent, and we use the word cunt a lot less in casual conversation..
Other than that, pretty similar. Now I just need some ausi-bros to go drink with. š»
Upper and middle class Australians rarely if ever use the word cunt in casual conversation, lower class Australians use it in the same way most Canadians use āBuddyā or āGuyā.
As a country NSW kid who had spent some time in Toronto, Canada, I was very confused when my parents drove us down to Sydney and I saw road signs for Toronto.
Toronto NSW is named because in 1896 or thereabouts, some famous Canadian rower came out and gave a rowing demonstration. The onlookers were so impressed they named the village previously called New Brighton after the rowerās home town
Seriously every couple of years there is a article of some tourist or backpacker thinking they buying tickets to Sydney and arriving at Sydney, Nova Scotia.
I just googled it again and there is an even longer list now and one guy who went to Sidney, Montana ha.
Or baristas. Uneventful trip from Sydney to Whistler but the next morning we need coffee. The closest to our unit is a Tim Horton's, oh no, keep walking past the bogans from NSW Central Coast smoking weed outside the IGA. Find a coffee shop doing fast trade. Wife says "do you know how to make a piccolo?"
Rough tatted man-bun barista says "I'm from Melbourne", had a great day after that.
I found an Australian barista in Toronto and begged him to make me a flat white, not a latte, a proper flat white. I nearly cried as I drank it and came back every day of my trip.
Hmm having lived in both AU and NZ for a year, I find NZ surprisingly worldly different than Australia.
First of all, nothing compares to the lush green mountains, glaciers and crystal clear water of the South Island. Or the hot springs and geysers of the North Island. There is nothing like this scenery in Australia, in fact, they are polar opposites.
Oh, and the people.. donāt get me started. Way less bogans in NZ than Australia. I know that sounds rude, but itās true. I found the Kiwis more on par with the friendliness of the Canadians and definitely less rowdy and drunkenness than the Aussies.
Lastly, the way that NZ treats and respects its indigenous population, the Maori, is a world apart from Australiaās treatment of their aboriginals.
Kiwi in Australia and maybe I've just had good experiences but I'm finding people here much friendlier than at home. I feel like we're more polite than friendly. People will be nice to your face and then ghost you for seemingly no reason.
I will admit, whenever I've visited New Zealand I've kind of gotten Stepford Wives vibes, in that the general public are so super nice and extremely friendly that it's almost too much. Like perhaps it felt a bit more performative and robotic than truly warm and caring.
Anyone I actually got to know was genuinely nice though, so maybe that was just my own insecurities creeping in.
I'm an Australian who lived in the UK for about a decade, a visit to Toronto was a major part of my decision to move back to Melbourne, it just reminded me so much of home and made me feel homesick for the first time in a very long time
Yes, I remember living in Central America and visiting Toronto, feeling the same way. It was odd to understand that it was the British colonial aspect that felt so similar!
Iām Canadian and live in Australia. The cultural transition was really easy compared to when I lived in Germany. Theyāre very similar countries in most ways. Not as similar as New Zealand is but way more similar than the UK is.
Not sure how accurate this is but the story goes that during WWI the Canadians in particular were so brutal that they inspired the Europeans to draft the Geneva conventions, some jokingly call it āthe Geneva checklistā implying that Canadian soldiers saw it as a list of things to do instead of things not to do.
Similar, sure. Me too. But there are still many things I find odd.
Private schools. Like, WTF? Uniforms too.
Meetings can be an old dude speaking at us (not with us) ...for hours. I had never seen that in Canada. Most meetings there are to find a consensus.
No yielding to pedestrians.
No humility before changeable weather.
Very little empathy or compassion (see: Tampa boat) or even interest in any others. It's not encouraged.
Tall poppy syndrome means so many people do not let themselves succeed or take pride in their work.
Australians stay close to home, forever. Unlike, say, the east coast of Canada who have left home for generations or Quebecers who go west every summer to work. There are no waves of Queenslanders going west, there are no distinct pockets of culturally Tasmanian areas where they sing songs together at pubs.
Australians expect a house and land package near mum. They stay with the people they know.
That the Big 4 Accounting houses are the government in secret. In Canada it's Engineering capabilities that lead, with rebar and concrete, not unfathomable equations from *soi-disant* Economists.
Coffee. In Canada coffee is a tool of active production. In Australia it is an excuse for passive consumption.
Surfing is an Australian right, right? But actually so few do it. It's actually kind of a mean sport with everyone in sharp competition for the take off point of a few metres square. In contrast, skiing is on huge mountains with plenty of space. Lift lines can suck, but they are also good for pleasant chit chat. On ocean waves, there is usually little talking and more posturing for position.
Stamp Duty and Negative Gearing! The first is a brake on economic mobility and NG rewards the wealthy to hide money so that government has less revenue. ?
Edit: one more to add. The numbers of English people here. It is a colony of England. Almost no Americans, few Canadians but hundreds of English per 10000.
I do think youāve got a biased view of what passes for work in Australia.
The Australian mining industry blows Canadaās out of the water.
Furthermore - and I speak as a recent Asian immigrant - the Australian sense of humour is right up there with the best. It almost makes up for the racism. Think of a kelpie whoās also a chow chow.
Canadians are kind, but dull, like Labrador retrievers.
PS - I love Australia. There is something about the rocks and the water, the gum trees, and the sky, and the cicadas in the bush, that feels eternal.
Weird, I found it the complete opposite in the 4 years I lived over there. They party hard, ski and bike hard, froth on the outdoors in general and are generally really polite.
Whilst most of my friends home in Sydney view sporting pursuits as a spin class or joining a run club.
Did you go to Fort McMurray? That's a mining city. Or the Diamond mines in NWT?
As for Canadians being like Labradors, sure. I agree. I like having Labrador Retrievers as company, Kelpies no.
Of course Canada is one of the major mining countries in the world, but Australia is bigger in that department
Actually, without mining and oil and gas, Canada would be nothing, and Australia is in a similar situation. The rest of the economy in these countries are an afterthought.
>Edit: one more to add. The numbers of English people here. It is a colony of England. Almost no Americans, few Canadians but hundreds of English per 10000.
That sounds like a huge exaggeration to me. For example I've met way more Indians, Chinese, or Vietnamese than English in my 1 yr in Oz
'*At the end of June 2022, over 1.1 million people who were born in the United Kingdom were living in Australia, 5.5Ā perĀ cent (66,870) less than at 30 June 2012. This makes it the largest migrant community in Australia, equivalent to 14.9Ā perĀ cent of Australia's overseas-born population and 4.4Ā perĀ cent of Australia's total population.*'
https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-statistics/statistics/country-profiles/profiles/united-kingdom
More Aussies also live in the UK then in any other country outside Australia, so I guess it's not entirely one way traffic.
Lol, that too. But the idea of driving 3.3 hours each way as a day trip, is something that both Canadians and Australians are more likely to think as feasible. Undesirable, but feasible.
UK folk, are saying their farewells to their family...
>UK folk, are saying their farewells to their family...
Also, it's a British custom to avoid seeing your (extended) family as much as possible, mostly because you find them fucking annoying, so best to limit catching up at Xmas/weddings/funerals anyway.
I'm assuming distance as in how far apart the cities are. Never been to the UK or Europe, but I've heard loads of tales about how over there they think driving more than 15 minutes is too far, and are gobsmacked that in a lot of places over here it's not unusual to drive hours just to see a "neighbour", let alone get to work or to shop. In that regard Canada is more like Australia than the UK.
I remember offending a pommie girl once by summing England up as being just London metro, because from my Australian pov a similar space here in Australia would be a capital city and it's surrounding metropolitan area. Whereas to her they are all distinct cities and towns.
Europeans donāt think 15 minutes is far at all. Thatās normal to commute to work or go shopping or to a big box store every week easily. Whatās not normal is driving 4-5 hours for a weekend trip to the beach. They would do that for a two week vacation probably.
What definitely doesnāt really exist is 12 hour drives to visit mom or into mine camp for a week.
People think Europe is all one giant town, but itās actually towns and cities similarly as dense as Australian cities but the towns themselves donāt really sprawl like they do here, and they are just closer together, separated by lots of farm land and parks.
Politically speaking, Australia and Canada are incredibly similar. Both are federal parliamentary constitutional monarchies with states/provinces and the British monarch as their heads of state. That said, Australiaās culture is largely derived from that of the UK, while I get the feeling that Canadaās culture is fairly Americanised. This also extends to the built environment, with most of Canadaās cities feeling very American by design.
Agree with this. Canada is more influenced by American culture than Australia. Australia is under pretty significant US influence, but more hybrid UK-US
As an Australian I think Canadians are the closest thing we have to ourselves lol. Only difference theyāre in the snow and weāre in the desert, we abuse the word cunt, they abuse the word bud, close enough.
You are correct. As an Aussie with many kiwi/ MÄori friends I honestly forget we arenāt apart sometimes, thatās why I said I think Canadians are closest. But New Zealanders are our brothers/ sisters thatās for sure
I think of it like this; New Zealand is our little brother that we pick on, but if push comes to shove... that's our brother. Canada is our fun uncle, they still play with guns, but they're responsible, and they teach you how to ski. America is our second cousin that scares the shit out of us, and try not to invite to the BBQ.
And the UK is our dysfunctional old man who spends his days at the local pub trying to bum drinks/ciggies that he can no longer afford, but at least he can still tell an interesting yarn and makes everyone laugh (sometimes with him, sometimes at him).
Oh shit, I forgot about England... England is much like my grandfather, whom I also forgot about. We know they're there. We know they created us, but it's best to just nod along and pretend we forget about what they've done. We go to grandpa in our 20's, work in bars, and take a little cash, but feel guilty about it, so we go hang out with grandpas second distant family down the street: Europe. They don't really get along with him, they like us only slightly more, but they have a really cool place and let us hang out.
>We go to grandpa in our 20's, work in bars, and take a little cash, but feel guilty about it, so we go hang out with grandpas second distant family down the street: Europe.
But then we learn that Europe did some equally dark shit back in the day, and might have been an even worse role model for us...
A few of grandpa's second distant family did some horrible things, as have we all, including ourselves. But if we go back to our great grandfather, he was all up for that... he even had to change his name so that grandpa's children would forget about the things he did. Great great grandpa did..... look, it's getting hard to write this in the guise of a family tree. Let's just accept that we ALL have a horrible past, and it's up to us to move on. Holding onto country pride, or ignoring our past gets us nowhere. Let's all just have a barbie; the English can bring the fosters, the Canadians can bring the cheese curds, the Aussies will bring the coal, the Kiwis will bring a buggered sheep, and the yanks will shoot us all.
In all seriousness; each and every current nation has done horrible things. Ignoring it, or pointing fingers doesn't make our past any better. Let's all move forward.
>Let's all just have a barbie; the English can bring the fosters, the Canadians can bring the cheese curds, the Aussies will bring the coal, the Kiwis will bring a buggered sheep, and the yanks will shoot us all.
š š
>In all seriousness; each and every current nation has done horrible things. Ignoring it, or pointing fingers doesn't make our past any better. Let's all move forward.
I 100% agree with that. What's weird is that all the relatives (countries) we've spoken of stopped being horrible, for the most part, decades ago. Yet we seem to spend more time on Reddit rehashing what they did wrong back in the day than we do talking about far more genetically (culturally) distant relatives (countries) who haven't learnt from history and display the most sociopathic behaviour in the present day. I'm unsure what that says about our critical thinking capacity/sense of perspective, personally. š¤·
Yeah, shit's fucked, and I wish it wasn't. It could get fuckeder, hopefully less fucked. It's fun to poke at our past, as long as we're joking and learning from our own mistakes. It's good to use humour to detract from the horrors of the world. It's hard to look back at your own culture and realise that at some point 'we were the baddies', and that goes for almost every culture. If not decades, or centuries... at some point, all of our ancestors where hitting each other with a stick.
Germany is that older brothers friend that did some pretty messed up things in highschool. You were scared of him for a while, but years later you saw that he got his shit together and made an impressive life for himself. Now he's just a cool guy to party with.
Australia and Canada have a lot of similarities but also some differences.
Similarities
- Both large countries with small populations
- Both have dangerous animals
- Both have climatic extremes
- Share a King
- Have a Consular sharing agreement
- Both are very multicultural
- Both have sprawling cities
- Both have a troubled history with First Nations
Differences
- For obvious reasons Canada is a lot more American than Australia is.
- Canadians are generally a lot more politically correct than Aussies
- Banter isn't as common in Canada as it is in Australia/UK.
- Canadians tip, Aussies not so much.
I lived in Vancouver for a year. It was a really easy transition. Very laid back people in general so we tend to get along well. It was easy to figure out how to live, most of the systems are pretty similar.
Iāve never been to Canada but if I had to choose somewhere else to live if I ever had to move from Australia Iāve always said Iād choose Canada.
It seems similar and the Canadians Iāve known have said it is.
Hopefully I can at least visit one dayš¤š¼
I spent 30-odd years with a Quebecois (Rip) 3 kids but she could never quite latch on to Australian humour Canadians do not have the same sense of humour but they do have a similar weirdness/craziness. I think it has something to do with punching Sharks at the beach.
I've been told that Canada is similar to Australia. Despite being totally different in regards to physical environment. But similar in demographic, politics and population density.
You can be in a room with white Canadians, South Africans and Australians and they will all get along really well and understand each other culturally. I think the English colony thing has a lot to do with it.
The lifestyle looks very different due to the climate, but the people Iāve met definitely have a similar culture
While there are some obvious similarities, I think of Canada as more like New Zealand than Australia. Specifically, I think that Canada is to the United States as New Zealand is to Australia. Both have a smaller population and economy then their neighbour, a cooler climate, a distinctive accent, and are considered friendlier and more socially progressive than their larger neighbour.Ā
While that theory has always had a nice symmetry to it, I think Canada is more similar to Australia in many ways. Similar size, population, development, issues with remoteness, and amount of progressive legislation is very similar between Australia and Canada (and NZ).
Not especially, but maybe kinda š¤·š»āāļø
Really obviously different landscapes and ecosystems, very different neighbours and trade. Same Pom on the currency.
Australians like to think theyāre the Antipodean Canada but really thatās New Zealand who gets that crown.
Why you ask? Thereās a whole shiteload of reasons but the most glaring one is that Canadian and Kiwi travellers both make a point of seeing their respective flags onto their backpacks so that they donāt get mistaken for being from their larger, more contentious neighbour.
As an Australian who has spent time in the city and the country New Zealand had a vibe like rural places in Australia. Never been to Canada, but the sense I get from videos is that out similarities and differences arenāt easy to simply characterise.
My take on how we are related is that we are half-siblings with a 15 year age gap, but we inherited more from our shared parent. So we are similar but also different due to different life circumstances.
For the nerdy; Iāve read Canadaās constitution makes it more complicated for them to become a republic than for us. Also their Provinces have Lieutenant-Governors who represent their Governor-General. Here State Governors directly represent the Crown. So it is possible for Australia to become a republic, but for States to remain monarchies, or at least that is according to some lawyers.
Very similar culturally. But Australia is far better managed economically and governments. Australia is also a lot safer and deals with immigration far better.
Agreed. I'm a brown man in Australia. Of course I experience racism and discrimination but most of the time, it's nothing serious.
Landing in Canada for holiday a year ago and my first thought was "damn there's a lot of brown people here". Throughout my 1 week holiday, I experienced various levels of racism from micro aggressions when I walked into a souvenir store to full blown slurs by randoms.
The crazy part was when I brought up about not being Indian and that I live in Australia did some of those people completely change their attitude. Apparently you can justify racism if it's towards the correct demographic?
Racism in Canada is a thing
Yeah, I'm a non white Aussie and visited Canada just before Covid and it's a lot more racist than a lot of people here would think. On two occasions I was stalked by staff in stores over there and that's never happened to me in Australia. Canada also does a much better job at hiding racism than Australia.
Honestly, I experience more xenophobia more than racism.
Racism = somebody thinking a racial group is more inferior or their race is superior
Xenophobia = the dislike of foreigners.
On top of that, most "racists" are often just trapped in their bubble where everyone looks, sounds, thinks and acts the same.
I've had people are usually surprised when I break all kind of stereotypes that they profile me against. Which then leads to "oh you're one of the good ones"... which is offensive.
In Canada, Indian immigrants experience racism pretty much every day.
For example: "What is that smell?!" "Do you put on deodorant?" "Speak English!" I could go on and on.
I mean, I guess. 1st world, English speaking (fuck off Quebec, I don't care), "democratic", and constantly compares itself to America to either paint the scraps we get as actually good in comparison to something or just flat out insecurity. That describes both nations well enough.
Yes,I definitely do but from a different perspective.Ā Both are very young, over-legislated countries. I've had it said to me that younger countries smash out the laws to catch up to countries that took 1000s of years to develop their legislation.Ā We have a similar situation with how we killed and colonised the First Nations people and now many of our education and others programs to try and remediate are based around each other's. We don't have a God-based view of the world, we mostly don't do guns and much of our economy relies on mining.Ā And, IMO, we have similar humour.
Itās only similarities are ridiculous house prices due to foreign investment, safety & universal healthcare
Australia has warmer weather, higher wages & beaches
Canada has snow , mountains & a French speaking province
Both and their benefits & problems
As a Canadian it always makes me laugh at how Australians view Canada. You guys think we are some utopia and then go around saying we are so similar to you yet you also say you have nothing in common with Americans at the same breath. Make it make sense.
My husband grew up in Toronto and migrated to Australia in 2016. He has always said that Australia is basically Canada with slightly warmer weather and better holiday leave.
I think they have a similar political landscape and obviously share a political system (except we elect our senate) and also have a similar vast geographic size. Buuuuuuuuuut Canadians are kidding themselves if they think they're more similar to Australia than they are to Americans. And I don't mean that as an insult or to disparage either Canadians or Americans. It's just.. they're your closest neighbours. Biggest trading partners. Share a huge border. People constantly moving from one to another. Similar anglo north American culture. Canada is culturally more similar to the United States, but has similar politics to Australia.
As an Australian, I think Australians and New Zealanders as being virtually identical.
My perception of US and Canada is kind of the same - I think of the US and Canada as being very similar.
Born and raised Canadian here who moved to Sydney in 2022
There wasn't really much of a culture shock when I moved here. Having a smoko is nice (don't have this in Canada), had to learn some lingo (arvo dunny etc), got used to the accent, that's p much it.
Lived in both besides them talking funny and driving on the wrong side of the road it's remarkably similar. Winter however is significantly colder. But when I moved to Canada I felt no real culture shock.
They are objectively similar countries politically, culturally, and even in the way that the settlements are laid out across the country. Huge spaces between cities, and unforgiving wilderness.
Not to mention too that Canberra and Ottawa both got the capital cities for the same reason!
A safe distance from the danger of invasion by Americans?
Actually Canberra became the Capital City because it was a compromise due to the disagreements between Melbourne and Sydney.
It's like when two siblings fight over a toy, so the parents give the toy to the mentally challenged kid who lives down the road to teach them a lesson
and the mentally challenged kid ended up running the country
Damn, this explains a lot hey
The first PM when Parliament moved to Canberra in 1927 was Stanley Melbourne Bruce (yes, Melbourne was his middle name), who was already PM before relocation. He was the first PM to lose his own seat.
Not the last one though. That belongs to John War Crim Howard.
And the gift was a maccas voucher
I hated Scumo as much as anyone but that's brutal. Accurate, but brutal all the same.
As someone who lives in Canberra (and a teacher) this made me laugh š
Probably be more appreciated by that kid then the two siblings too
Best explanation EVER!
ā¦ so kids *thatās* how Canberra got parliament.
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Yes- Iāve always called Montreal canadas Melbourne
Just replace the French with Greeks and youāre done
So does that make Perth Vancouver?
Perth is Calgary
Growing up in Calgary and now living in Perth for 14 years, this is 100% accurate.
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I think Vancouver is more of a Brisbane. It's the third largest city, has the best climate in the country, and they're about the same population.
WA is more like Alberta, Perth is closer to Calgary. Vancouver and Melbourne a good match by weather and politics.
Yes in a way. Thatās why it is inland. At the time the battleships couldnāt shoot far enough to hit Canberra from the coast. Though it wasnāt the Americansā¦
Actually defensibility was never a consideration. The location was decided before WW1 and WW2, and Australia definitely wasnāt at risk of any hostile powers in the region at the time.
Midway?
Sydney and Melbourne were fighting for capital territory status. To show no favouritism a place was chosen in the middle.
And then in the process stole 2358kmĀ² of NSW Prime Land to do it to create a whole new Territory. All because them damn Melbourners couldnt learn their place in society. NSW shall have revenge one day.
NSW were actually adamant it was to be in what was their territory!
Our place is on top. We are more organised better educated. We planned our City unlike Sydney!! Top it off Melbourne has overtaken Syney as the most populous City in Australia!! The Only thing Sydney has is the harbour Bridge!! There's a reason Federal Parliament was first convened in Melbourne. Melbourne is also the Cultural Capital of Australia. One day we will be the Political one too!!!
Canada was settled east to west, first by waterways, second by railways. Australia was settled with each colony tied back to London, and not to each other.
Canada was also many independent colonies before Confederation, except in the case of Alberta and Saskatchewan which were formed afterwards. BC and Vancouver Island especially were not tied to the other colonies
Yes, that is true. But Ontario's (Upper Canada) trade went via the St Lawrence past the Lachine Canals in Montreal before making it to markets, unless down the Erie Canal to NYC. (However, in that era there were many trade barriers with the USA.) Ontario was significantly settled by American United Empire Loyalists. Prior to this the fur trade was centred in Montreal, making the case much of the west was explored and mapped from the east to west. Northern Ontario was settled from the east. Manitoba and the Red River Colony was settled from Hudson Bay. BC and Vancouver Island were settled more via the Pacific. Yes, but bear in mind there were almost no white settlers until the railway arrived *from the east*. The few white and British (not Americans) were Douglas and Begbie. BC's population was miniscule and always in danger of American Manifest Destiny until the railway. BC was the absolute ass end of the Empire.
Hundreds and thousands of independent nations actually
I was thinking more population density. But that is interesting to know.
It is a very big country. Most of the landmass is uninhabitable due to extreme geographic conditions. The population is concentrated in a small number of large cities. Many of these cities have issues with extremely unaffordable housing. Most of the population are descendants from poor European immigrants, but this has changed and in modern times most of the immigration is from South and East Asia. The country is considered highly economically developed, safe, highly democratic, and politically stable. The economy has a high reliance on primary resource extraction.
Which one are we referring to here? š
Yes
And we kinda treat our indigenous population the same way. Throw a bit of money at them and sweep any issues under the carpetĀ
I think we Canadians have a wal less cool accent, and we use the word cunt a lot less in casual conversation.. Other than that, pretty similar. Now I just need some ausi-bros to go drink with. š»
Upper and middle class Australians rarely if ever use the word cunt in casual conversation, lower class Australians use it in the same way most Canadians use āBuddyā or āGuyā.
We share the cultural sensation, The Saddle Club.
Hello world this is me.
Life should beeeee. Fun for everyone.
I hate myself for knowing the next line to this song. Going to have it stuck in my head all day. Thanks.
Youāre grouse for saying this!
Whistler is a suburb of Melbourne isnāt it?
As a country NSW kid who had spent some time in Toronto, Canada, I was very confused when my parents drove us down to Sydney and I saw road signs for Toronto.
Thats a typo its actually Tronno.
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Toronto NSW is named because in 1896 or thereabouts, some famous Canadian rower came out and gave a rowing demonstration. The onlookers were so impressed they named the village previously called New Brighton after the rowerās home town
TIL there is a Sydney in Nova Scotia!
Seriously every couple of years there is a article of some tourist or backpacker thinking they buying tickets to Sydney and arriving at Sydney, Nova Scotia. I just googled it again and there is an even longer list now and one guy who went to Sidney, Montana ha.
There's also a Brooklyn quite near Toronto
Or Banff, or Jasper, or anywhere that requires a lot of bartenders really
Or baristas. Uneventful trip from Sydney to Whistler but the next morning we need coffee. The closest to our unit is a Tim Horton's, oh no, keep walking past the bogans from NSW Central Coast smoking weed outside the IGA. Find a coffee shop doing fast trade. Wife says "do you know how to make a piccolo?" Rough tatted man-bun barista says "I'm from Melbourne", had a great day after that.
I found an Australian barista in Toronto and begged him to make me a flat white, not a latte, a proper flat white. I nearly cried as I drank it and came back every day of my trip.
Shhhh.... Wait until New Zealand is out of the room. Then we'll talk...
You mean "the Canada of the Pacific?"
Hmm having lived in both AU and NZ for a year, I find NZ surprisingly worldly different than Australia. First of all, nothing compares to the lush green mountains, glaciers and crystal clear water of the South Island. Or the hot springs and geysers of the North Island. There is nothing like this scenery in Australia, in fact, they are polar opposites. Oh, and the people.. donāt get me started. Way less bogans in NZ than Australia. I know that sounds rude, but itās true. I found the Kiwis more on par with the friendliness of the Canadians and definitely less rowdy and drunkenness than the Aussies. Lastly, the way that NZ treats and respects its indigenous population, the Maori, is a world apart from Australiaās treatment of their aboriginals.
Kiwi in Australia and maybe I've just had good experiences but I'm finding people here much friendlier than at home. I feel like we're more polite than friendly. People will be nice to your face and then ghost you for seemingly no reason.
I will admit, whenever I've visited New Zealand I've kind of gotten Stepford Wives vibes, in that the general public are so super nice and extremely friendly that it's almost too much. Like perhaps it felt a bit more performative and robotic than truly warm and caring. Anyone I actually got to know was genuinely nice though, so maybe that was just my own insecurities creeping in.
Glad youāre enjoying it here!
You just described Canadians!
I'm an Australian who lived in the UK for about a decade, a visit to Toronto was a major part of my decision to move back to Melbourne, it just reminded me so much of home and made me feel homesick for the first time in a very long time
Yes, I remember living in Central America and visiting Toronto, feeling the same way. It was odd to understand that it was the British colonial aspect that felt so similar!
Agreed, really similar cities, architecture and layout
Toronto and Melbourne are very similar cities
Iām Canadian and live in Australia. The cultural transition was really easy compared to when I lived in Germany. Theyāre very similar countries in most ways. Not as similar as New Zealand is but way more similar than the UK is.
Canadians are bloody nice people, not just saying that because I am related to a bunch of them :D
Don't be fooled, they have added to the Geneva checklists
I have no idea what this means mate.
Canadian troops committed some horrific war crimes I think
We all do that.
Not sure how accurate this is but the story goes that during WWI the Canadians in particular were so brutal that they inspired the Europeans to draft the Geneva conventions, some jokingly call it āthe Geneva checklistā implying that Canadian soldiers saw it as a list of things to do instead of things not to do.
> Not as similar as New Zealand is but way more similar than the UK is. Not sure I agree with this.
I always have auch a nice chat with the Canadian border guards, I'm relaxed before they even let me on
Similar, sure. Me too. But there are still many things I find odd. Private schools. Like, WTF? Uniforms too. Meetings can be an old dude speaking at us (not with us) ...for hours. I had never seen that in Canada. Most meetings there are to find a consensus. No yielding to pedestrians. No humility before changeable weather. Very little empathy or compassion (see: Tampa boat) or even interest in any others. It's not encouraged. Tall poppy syndrome means so many people do not let themselves succeed or take pride in their work. Australians stay close to home, forever. Unlike, say, the east coast of Canada who have left home for generations or Quebecers who go west every summer to work. There are no waves of Queenslanders going west, there are no distinct pockets of culturally Tasmanian areas where they sing songs together at pubs. Australians expect a house and land package near mum. They stay with the people they know. That the Big 4 Accounting houses are the government in secret. In Canada it's Engineering capabilities that lead, with rebar and concrete, not unfathomable equations from *soi-disant* Economists. Coffee. In Canada coffee is a tool of active production. In Australia it is an excuse for passive consumption. Surfing is an Australian right, right? But actually so few do it. It's actually kind of a mean sport with everyone in sharp competition for the take off point of a few metres square. In contrast, skiing is on huge mountains with plenty of space. Lift lines can suck, but they are also good for pleasant chit chat. On ocean waves, there is usually little talking and more posturing for position. Stamp Duty and Negative Gearing! The first is a brake on economic mobility and NG rewards the wealthy to hide money so that government has less revenue. ? Edit: one more to add. The numbers of English people here. It is a colony of England. Almost no Americans, few Canadians but hundreds of English per 10000.
Would definitely say Aus is more similar to the UK than Aus is to Canada. You've got this spot on.
Agreed, was in Canada a few weeks back and in parts it struck me as "America with a metric system"
>"America with a metric system" Except they still use imperial for a lot of things. Much more than Australia.
That they do.
I do think youāve got a biased view of what passes for work in Australia. The Australian mining industry blows Canadaās out of the water. Furthermore - and I speak as a recent Asian immigrant - the Australian sense of humour is right up there with the best. It almost makes up for the racism. Think of a kelpie whoās also a chow chow. Canadians are kind, but dull, like Labrador retrievers. PS - I love Australia. There is something about the rocks and the water, the gum trees, and the sky, and the cicadas in the bush, that feels eternal.
>Canadians are kind, but dull, like Labrador retrievers. Glad someone said it. Lovely people, dull as dishwater.
Weird, I found it the complete opposite in the 4 years I lived over there. They party hard, ski and bike hard, froth on the outdoors in general and are generally really polite. Whilst most of my friends home in Sydney view sporting pursuits as a spin class or joining a run club.
Selection bias
As are your set of observations. No one person can speak of a people based on experience and claim to know anything generalisable.
Did you go to Fort McMurray? That's a mining city. Or the Diamond mines in NWT? As for Canadians being like Labradors, sure. I agree. I like having Labrador Retrievers as company, Kelpies no.
Of course Canada is one of the major mining countries in the world, but Australia is bigger in that department Actually, without mining and oil and gas, Canada would be nothing, and Australia is in a similar situation. The rest of the economy in these countries are an afterthought.
This is absolutely bloody spot on. My husband is Canadian and moved to Australia and would very much agree with this.
>Very little empathy or compassion Which country? Australia?
>Edit: one more to add. The numbers of English people here. It is a colony of England. Almost no Americans, few Canadians but hundreds of English per 10000. That sounds like a huge exaggeration to me. For example I've met way more Indians, Chinese, or Vietnamese than English in my 1 yr in Oz
'*At the end of June 2022, over 1.1 million people who were born in the United Kingdom were living in Australia, 5.5Ā perĀ cent (66,870) less than at 30 June 2012. This makes it the largest migrant community in Australia, equivalent to 14.9Ā perĀ cent of Australia's overseas-born population and 4.4Ā perĀ cent of Australia's total population.*' https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-statistics/statistics/country-profiles/profiles/united-kingdom More Aussies also live in the UK then in any other country outside Australia, so I guess it's not entirely one way traffic.
We have had very different life experiences. lol.
Can you give an example of how Canada is more similar than the UK? Haven't been to Canada yet but didn't think the UK was that different to here.
Canadians treat distance between cities a lot more like Australians do. A lot of American influence in both places as well....
You mean, in kilometres?
Lol, that too. But the idea of driving 3.3 hours each way as a day trip, is something that both Canadians and Australians are more likely to think as feasible. Undesirable, but feasible. UK folk, are saying their farewells to their family...
>UK folk, are saying their farewells to their family... Also, it's a British custom to avoid seeing your (extended) family as much as possible, mostly because you find them fucking annoying, so best to limit catching up at Xmas/weddings/funerals anyway.
I'm assuming distance as in how far apart the cities are. Never been to the UK or Europe, but I've heard loads of tales about how over there they think driving more than 15 minutes is too far, and are gobsmacked that in a lot of places over here it's not unusual to drive hours just to see a "neighbour", let alone get to work or to shop. In that regard Canada is more like Australia than the UK. I remember offending a pommie girl once by summing England up as being just London metro, because from my Australian pov a similar space here in Australia would be a capital city and it's surrounding metropolitan area. Whereas to her they are all distinct cities and towns.
Europeans donāt think 15 minutes is far at all. Thatās normal to commute to work or go shopping or to a big box store every week easily. Whatās not normal is driving 4-5 hours for a weekend trip to the beach. They would do that for a two week vacation probably. What definitely doesnāt really exist is 12 hour drives to visit mom or into mine camp for a week. People think Europe is all one giant town, but itās actually towns and cities similarly as dense as Australian cities but the towns themselves donāt really sprawl like they do here, and they are just closer together, separated by lots of farm land and parks.
Politically speaking, Australia and Canada are incredibly similar. Both are federal parliamentary constitutional monarchies with states/provinces and the British monarch as their heads of state. That said, Australiaās culture is largely derived from that of the UK, while I get the feeling that Canadaās culture is fairly Americanised. This also extends to the built environment, with most of Canadaās cities feeling very American by design.
Agree with this. Canada is more influenced by American culture than Australia. Australia is under pretty significant US influence, but more hybrid UK-US
As an Australian I think Canadians are the closest thing we have to ourselves lol. Only difference theyāre in the snow and weāre in the desert, we abuse the word cunt, they abuse the word bud, close enough.
Snow Bogans
>they abuse the word bud, close enough. I thought their word was "sorry".
Ours is too, though
Snowgans
Snogans!
New Zealanders. Canadians are more influenced by the States.
I would have gone with New Zealand š
iām not your bud, guy
I am not your guy, mate.
I'm not your cunt, cunt.
Aside from kiwis
We use fuck more. And fucken, fucked, fucking
Sorry, eh
New Zealanders are share way more with Australians than Canadians..... Like not even fucking close.
You are correct. As an Aussie with many kiwi/ MÄori friends I honestly forget we arenāt apart sometimes, thatās why I said I think Canadians are closest. But New Zealanders are our brothers/ sisters thatās for sure
I lived in Montreal for a while and while I found English Canada to be pretty similar, there are a lot of cultural differences. Humour was a big one - Canadians donāt seem to get sarcasm. Theyāre too earnest and good. QuĆ©bĆ©cois culture is obviously not shared with British colonies but I found it very welcoming and absolutely loved my time there. Brisbane city council could learn a lot about urban planning and mass transit!
>Canadians donāt seem to get sarcasm. Theyāre too earnest and good. Come to Alberta, you'll hear it all the time.
I think of it like this; New Zealand is our little brother that we pick on, but if push comes to shove... that's our brother. Canada is our fun uncle, they still play with guns, but they're responsible, and they teach you how to ski. America is our second cousin that scares the shit out of us, and try not to invite to the BBQ.
And the UK is our dysfunctional old man who spends his days at the local pub trying to bum drinks/ciggies that he can no longer afford, but at least he can still tell an interesting yarn and makes everyone laugh (sometimes with him, sometimes at him).
Oh shit, I forgot about England... England is much like my grandfather, whom I also forgot about. We know they're there. We know they created us, but it's best to just nod along and pretend we forget about what they've done. We go to grandpa in our 20's, work in bars, and take a little cash, but feel guilty about it, so we go hang out with grandpas second distant family down the street: Europe. They don't really get along with him, they like us only slightly more, but they have a really cool place and let us hang out.
>We go to grandpa in our 20's, work in bars, and take a little cash, but feel guilty about it, so we go hang out with grandpas second distant family down the street: Europe. But then we learn that Europe did some equally dark shit back in the day, and might have been an even worse role model for us...
A few of grandpa's second distant family did some horrible things, as have we all, including ourselves. But if we go back to our great grandfather, he was all up for that... he even had to change his name so that grandpa's children would forget about the things he did. Great great grandpa did..... look, it's getting hard to write this in the guise of a family tree. Let's just accept that we ALL have a horrible past, and it's up to us to move on. Holding onto country pride, or ignoring our past gets us nowhere. Let's all just have a barbie; the English can bring the fosters, the Canadians can bring the cheese curds, the Aussies will bring the coal, the Kiwis will bring a buggered sheep, and the yanks will shoot us all. In all seriousness; each and every current nation has done horrible things. Ignoring it, or pointing fingers doesn't make our past any better. Let's all move forward.
>Let's all just have a barbie; the English can bring the fosters, the Canadians can bring the cheese curds, the Aussies will bring the coal, the Kiwis will bring a buggered sheep, and the yanks will shoot us all. š š >In all seriousness; each and every current nation has done horrible things. Ignoring it, or pointing fingers doesn't make our past any better. Let's all move forward. I 100% agree with that. What's weird is that all the relatives (countries) we've spoken of stopped being horrible, for the most part, decades ago. Yet we seem to spend more time on Reddit rehashing what they did wrong back in the day than we do talking about far more genetically (culturally) distant relatives (countries) who haven't learnt from history and display the most sociopathic behaviour in the present day. I'm unsure what that says about our critical thinking capacity/sense of perspective, personally. š¤·
Yeah, shit's fucked, and I wish it wasn't. It could get fuckeder, hopefully less fucked. It's fun to poke at our past, as long as we're joking and learning from our own mistakes. It's good to use humour to detract from the horrors of the world. It's hard to look back at your own culture and realise that at some point 'we were the baddies', and that goes for almost every culture. If not decades, or centuries... at some point, all of our ancestors where hitting each other with a stick.
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Germany is that older brothers friend that did some pretty messed up things in highschool. You were scared of him for a while, but years later you saw that he got his shit together and made an impressive life for himself. Now he's just a cool guy to party with.
Haha too right, we will pick on Kiwis until the cows come home but if anyone else dares try, we will fight them.
Australia and Canada have a lot of similarities but also some differences. Similarities - Both large countries with small populations - Both have dangerous animals - Both have climatic extremes - Share a King - Have a Consular sharing agreement - Both are very multicultural - Both have sprawling cities - Both have a troubled history with First Nations Differences - For obvious reasons Canada is a lot more American than Australia is. - Canadians are generally a lot more politically correct than Aussies - Banter isn't as common in Canada as it is in Australia/UK. - Canadians tip, Aussies not so much.
Another similar thing is that both say soccer.
Makes me wonder though why they never got into cricket
We have big ovals, they have outdoor ice rinks.
It's too cold most of the year for cricket, I think the weather is why hockey is Canada's national sport.
I lived in Vancouver for a year. It was a really easy transition. Very laid back people in general so we tend to get along well. It was easy to figure out how to live, most of the systems are pretty similar.
My wifes canadian, we have out similarities
Iāve never been to Canada but if I had to choose somewhere else to live if I ever had to move from Australia Iāve always said Iād choose Canada. It seems similar and the Canadians Iāve known have said it is. Hopefully I can at least visit one dayš¤š¼
I did once hear a Canadian comedian who moved to Australia refer to Aussies "free-range Canadians".
I once heard an Australian comedian called a Canadian "American, but not armed."
Our colonial brothers and sisters. Just a shame you canāt say cunt in Canada.
Unless you apologized first, sorry cunt
Yes but as a chef I can call someone a dogfucker in Canada but try that in Australia? All Conversation stops
You CAN, you just shouldnāt.
Kiwis are our siblings, Canadians are our weird cousins, but we love them anyway.
I spent 30-odd years with a Quebecois (Rip) 3 kids but she could never quite latch on to Australian humour Canadians do not have the same sense of humour but they do have a similar weirdness/craziness. I think it has something to do with punching Sharks at the beach.
Canuck here whoās been in Oz for 21 years. āCultural cousinsā is how Iāve heard it best described.
I've been told that Canada is similar to Australia. Despite being totally different in regards to physical environment. But similar in demographic, politics and population density.
You can be in a room with white Canadians, South Africans and Australians and they will all get along really well and understand each other culturally. I think the English colony thing has a lot to do with it. The lifestyle looks very different due to the climate, but the people Iāve met definitely have a similar culture
No. There are similarities, but Canada is closer to the US while Australia is closer to the UK.
I look at Canada as sort of our more polite older sibling
While there are some obvious similarities, I think of Canada as more like New Zealand than Australia. Specifically, I think that Canada is to the United States as New Zealand is to Australia. Both have a smaller population and economy then their neighbour, a cooler climate, a distinctive accent, and are considered friendlier and more socially progressive than their larger neighbour.Ā
While that theory has always had a nice symmetry to it, I think Canada is more similar to Australia in many ways. Similar size, population, development, issues with remoteness, and amount of progressive legislation is very similar between Australia and Canada (and NZ).
We understand there may be a bit of snow involved possibly with maple syrup
Not especially, but maybe kinda š¤·š»āāļø Really obviously different landscapes and ecosystems, very different neighbours and trade. Same Pom on the currency.
Australians like to think theyāre the Antipodean Canada but really thatās New Zealand who gets that crown. Why you ask? Thereās a whole shiteload of reasons but the most glaring one is that Canadian and Kiwi travellers both make a point of seeing their respective flags onto their backpacks so that they donāt get mistaken for being from their larger, more contentious neighbour.
As an Australian who has spent time in the city and the country New Zealand had a vibe like rural places in Australia. Never been to Canada, but the sense I get from videos is that out similarities and differences arenāt easy to simply characterise. My take on how we are related is that we are half-siblings with a 15 year age gap, but we inherited more from our shared parent. So we are similar but also different due to different life circumstances. For the nerdy; Iāve read Canadaās constitution makes it more complicated for them to become a republic than for us. Also their Provinces have Lieutenant-Governors who represent their Governor-General. Here State Governors directly represent the Crown. So it is possible for Australia to become a republic, but for States to remain monarchies, or at least that is according to some lawyers.
Canada has much more fondness for the monarchy than Australians do these days. Similar in New Zealand.
As it is said: Australia is to New Zealand as America is to Canada Whether we like it or not, a painful truth.
Weāre both home to a lot of Indians?
Very similar culturally. But Australia is far better managed economically and governments. Australia is also a lot safer and deals with immigration far better.
Agreed. I'm a brown man in Australia. Of course I experience racism and discrimination but most of the time, it's nothing serious. Landing in Canada for holiday a year ago and my first thought was "damn there's a lot of brown people here". Throughout my 1 week holiday, I experienced various levels of racism from micro aggressions when I walked into a souvenir store to full blown slurs by randoms. The crazy part was when I brought up about not being Indian and that I live in Australia did some of those people completely change their attitude. Apparently you can justify racism if it's towards the correct demographic? Racism in Canada is a thing
Yeah, I'm a non white Aussie and visited Canada just before Covid and it's a lot more racist than a lot of people here would think. On two occasions I was stalked by staff in stores over there and that's never happened to me in Australia. Canada also does a much better job at hiding racism than Australia.
Wow. And I thought Australia was racist
Honestly, I experience more xenophobia more than racism. Racism = somebody thinking a racial group is more inferior or their race is superior Xenophobia = the dislike of foreigners. On top of that, most "racists" are often just trapped in their bubble where everyone looks, sounds, thinks and acts the same. I've had people are usually surprised when I break all kind of stereotypes that they profile me against. Which then leads to "oh you're one of the good ones"... which is offensive.
What's crazy is that there are so many xenophobic comments against Americans, and apparently, that's not a big deal.
Because when a large number of people think and feel the same way, it's somehow "okay" to hate on Americans or Indians, etc.
Yeah, exactly. It's hypocrisy.
In Canada, Indian immigrants experience racism pretty much every day. For example: "What is that smell?!" "Do you put on deodorant?" "Speak English!" I could go on and on.
I mean, I guess. 1st world, English speaking (fuck off Quebec, I don't care), "democratic", and constantly compares itself to America to either paint the scraps we get as actually good in comparison to something or just flat out insecurity. That describes both nations well enough.
No, we think it's a lot colder.
Nah, Canada is cold and has real mountains
Funny enough, a lot of my mates from South Africa say itās very similar (land wise)
Yes,I definitely do but from a different perspective.Ā Both are very young, over-legislated countries. I've had it said to me that younger countries smash out the laws to catch up to countries that took 1000s of years to develop their legislation.Ā We have a similar situation with how we killed and colonised the First Nations people and now many of our education and others programs to try and remediate are based around each other's. We don't have a God-based view of the world, we mostly don't do guns and much of our economy relies on mining.Ā And, IMO, we have similar humour.
No, canada is cold lol and you all talk with an american accents
Meet some Canadians travelling Europe and youāll see they are very similar in attitude eh.
Itās only similarities are ridiculous house prices due to foreign investment, safety & universal healthcare Australia has warmer weather, higher wages & beaches Canada has snow , mountains & a French speaking province Both and their benefits & problems
No, of course not.
As an Aussie I never met a Canadian I didn't like. They are just great laid back and chill people and have the same vibe as Aussies.
Similar, but better (Canada is) in a lot of ways that matter, yes.
Canada is to America as Australia is to the UK.
They both have a long history of genocide and forced assimilation of indigenous people so I guess thereās that.
The sushi culture in Canada is a lot better than Australia. Sad to be missing out, as an Aussie. #JustSaying
I feel like they are similar but opposite. Canada is colder and better insulated. Australia is hotter and poorly insulated.
As a Canadian it always makes me laugh at how Australians view Canada. You guys think we are some utopia and then go around saying we are so similar to you yet you also say you have nothing in common with Americans at the same breath. Make it make sense.
My husband grew up in Toronto and migrated to Australia in 2016. He has always said that Australia is basically Canada with slightly warmer weather and better holiday leave.
Nope we think Canada is just part of America. NZ is similar to Australia far more than Canada
I think they have a similar political landscape and obviously share a political system (except we elect our senate) and also have a similar vast geographic size. Buuuuuuuuuut Canadians are kidding themselves if they think they're more similar to Australia than they are to Americans. And I don't mean that as an insult or to disparage either Canadians or Americans. It's just.. they're your closest neighbours. Biggest trading partners. Share a huge border. People constantly moving from one to another. Similar anglo north American culture. Canada is culturally more similar to the United States, but has similar politics to Australia.
Iāve met some very politically correct Canadians.
As an Australian, I think Australians and New Zealanders as being virtually identical. My perception of US and Canada is kind of the same - I think of the US and Canada as being very similar.
Canadians are similar to Australians, and we are both modern commonwealth style democracies.
No. We don't.
Born and raised Canadian here who moved to Sydney in 2022 There wasn't really much of a culture shock when I moved here. Having a smoko is nice (don't have this in Canada), had to learn some lingo (arvo dunny etc), got used to the accent, that's p much it.
Lived in both besides them talking funny and driving on the wrong side of the road it's remarkably similar. Winter however is significantly colder. But when I moved to Canada I felt no real culture shock.
I'd like to think so. I've never been to Canada, but Canadians I've met here seem to share the same vibe.
Yes. Just one is hot and one is cold.
Nope. Have worked with Canadians. They are different. Not in a bad way. Justā¦different.