91 percent of Canadians like their health care system

8 comments July 1st, 2008

U.S. politicians — Republican variety — love to disparage Canada’s national health care system with the fact-free observation that Canadians come here to get vital operations so they don’t have to wait in line in Canada.

Because I’m a frequent visitor to Canada, and I actually talk to real people there, I’ve replied to these Republicans that Canadians I’ve talked to say they wouldn’t trade their health care for anything else, especially America’s roll-of-the-dice nonsystem of private insurance — “maybe we’ll cover you for that, maybe we won’t.”

Now I have data to back up these informal conversations: In a new, bi-national opinion poll done by Canada’s CTV television network and the national newspaper Globe & Mail, 91 percent of Canadians said they prefered their national health care system over America’s pseudo-private system.

Ninety-One percent. In the world of scientific opinion polling, that’s about as unanimous as you ever get.

Also, 45 percent of Americans surveyed prefered Canada’s system, and 42 percent prefered to stick with what we’ve got.

The poll also showed that more Canadians, 26 percent, like Barack Obama better than their own leader. Prime Minister Stephen Harper got 21 percent. Harper, a Conservative, is running a minority government in a country that is decidedly more liberal than the U.S.

It’s July 1. Happy Canada Day.