I hope I didn’t give the impression that all Canadians are smug condescending elitists. Most are good and decent human beings, and would give you the shirt off their backs if needed. This is especially true of Western Canadians, however I’ve been told by many that this applies to the Maritimes (East coast) as well.
I guess its just the 10% or so, mostly from the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), that I find insufferable. In terms of condescension, smugness and downright hatred of all things American, these guys would make their New York counterparts blush.
The Maritimes would be smug if they had anything to be smug about. Without ‘equalization’ payments, they would have a lifestyle little better than Bangladesh.
In googling around, I found this nugget...
“Six provinces will receive equalization payments in 2016-17: Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba.”
http://thoughtundermined.com/2012/04/24/equalization-misconceptions/
The only provinces to not get transfer payments are British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. That’d be like Kansas, Utah, and New Mexico subsidizing New York, Texas, California and Florida. That’s just crazy.