Canadians have a somewhat easier time distinguishing themselves as Canadian when the alternative is to identify themselves as USAmerican. USAmerican culture is very deeply established around the world. Canadians live in such near proximity to the USA that they are culturally almost numbed by the USA's culture. And Canadians are outnumbered ten-to-one by their neighbours to the South. So, they find themselves content to have a strong neighbour and peaceful relations with the USA.

However, they are also anxious that the neighbour is so powerful both on the continent and around the world. A former Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, put this anxiety about Canada's relations with the USA in a memorable image: a mouse may sleep next to an elephant and feel well protected, but the mouse never knows when the elephant might roll over and squish him.

In terms of USAmerican history and culture, many Canadians are better versed in their neighbours' than in their own. Television, popular music, the Internet, and Hollywood movies are the leading contributors to this circumstance. Canadian governments, acting in response to a vague but certain view among Canadians, spend some effort in trying to preserve Canada as culturally distinct from the USA.

For example, because Canadians place less faith than do USAmericans in free economic markets and the free flow of investment, Canada has proven itself more inclined to use government and corporations sponsored by government (called Crown Corporations) to develop economic and industrial initiatives.

With the rise of the trend of Globalization, Canada sees its interests tied to the interests of the USA, as distinct from those of Western Europe or of Asia. On some levels, however, the key distinctions among the two nations remain.

One coming concern has to do with water. Canada has less than 10% of the continent's population, but less than 30% of the continent's fresh water lies in the 48 USAmerican states south of Canada. Seven USAmerican states, including California and Florida, are already importers of water, and the increasing demand for this precious commodity will only grow with the continent's population, although no crisis is expected for several decades.

If such a vital commodity as water is in short supply, it quickly becomes a cultural matter. Canada can distinguish itself from the USA by negotiating the sale of water in exchange for the USA's agreement to limit USAmerican involvement in Canadian cultural industries such as book publishing, movies, and broadcasting.

Canadian concern to distinguish Canada from the USA is deepened by a misunderstanding that Canadians commonly experience when travelling in the USA or to other continents. Much of the world, knowing that both countries are predominantly English-speaking, and knowing little about Canada, assume that Canadians are USAmericans. One Canadian joke issues out of this experience:

Question: What is the difference between a USAmerican and a Canadian?
Answer: The Canadian is the one who knows that there is a difference.