Why is Alaska a part of the USA and not Canada?
That a look at a map of the Northwest sometimeYou’ll notice that Canada is all above the 45th parallel and American keeps to the south… That is with the exception of the northwest where it suddenly claims an entire peninsula and steals yes steals the northern half of British Columbia’s coastlineWhat the Jingoistic Americans won’t admit is that Alaska is basically a Colony in all but name. It was purchase as a colony from Russia because the Americans thought they would one day rule all of North America. But of course this didn't happen. It was actually the fanatically imperialist purchase of Alaska that one of driving points behind the Canadians colonies forming a confirmation. We literally had to team up out of fear we would end up like Alaska. This ended America’s idea that Alaska would be joined to Washington state by land, yet still they found use in their Colony. By the time the Cold war started Alaska’s location next to Siberia was seen as vital for monitoring the Soviets.So throughout History Alaska served a use for America even if it was an awkward and ugly excalve. But here’s the thing; The USSR fell 25 years ago this christmas, so we are more than overdue to asks ourselves: What right does have to control Alaska. None.I’m not saying Alaska should join us Canadians (They far right jingoistic ways are seen as backwards in most parts of our fair nation) But I will say this; The Stars and Stripes don’t belong on the arctic ocean anymore than the union jack belongs in Nigeria and I will live to see to the day when Alaska is out of American hands.
Is Alaska more culturally similar to Canada or the US?
Alaska is more culturally similar to the continental US than to Canada.A statistic I recently looked up indicated that 41% of Alaskans (as of 2014) were born in Alaska. The rest are immigrants, usually from the ‘lower 48.’ I grew up in Anchorage in the 70’s. Most of the people I knew had moved to Alaska to either help with reconstruction after the Good Friday Quake of ‘64, or were military, or were there for construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline or related oil industry, which for years has allowed oil to be more than 90% of the state’s revenue, off and on.In other words, the majority of Alaskans were attracted there for work. They came from places which specialized in construction, the oil industry, and to a lesser extent fishing. But they mostly came from the lower 48.Since most of the Alaskans (at least in the major population centers) are transplants from down south, the culture is mostly from down south (the lower 48).Canada has a very different history, including bilingual support.There’s a strong native Alaskan element to the arts in Alaska, but I feel like the native peoples have mostly been displaced or marginalized by the influx of Americans from down south. I don’t know if Canada struggles with the same issues.Anyways, Alaskan culture is more similar to the rest of the US than Canada, because it’s largely imported from the rest of the US rather than Canada.
Do Alaskans identify more with Americans or Canadians?
Alaskans identify far more with Americans than with Canadians. I would go so far as to say that Alaska has much less in common with Canada than does the Northeastern US.With the exception of Hyder (pop 97), no part of Alaska has a significant amount of cultural exchange with Northwestern Canada. Few people live in the Yukon or northern BC and even fewer emigrate to or have historical ties with Alaska. Traveling from any major city in Alaska to Whitehorse or Prince Rupert is a significant undertaking, and Alaskans usually fly over or sail around Canada when traveling to the Lower 48.Lastly, there are no Tim Hortons locations in Alaska. If Alaskans identified with Canadians in any meaningful way, this would not be the case.Although Alaskans do tend to be less concerned with the federal government than residents of the Lower 48, this sentiment is not so strong as to suggest that Alaskans don't feel like Americans. There is a strong military presence in the state and many residents are transplants from other parts of the country. Political attitudes veer toward "Alaska first, America second" at times, but Canada rarely even enters the picture.
How cold is Alaska in the winter?
First of all, Alaska is big. Bigger than you think. So asking how cold Alaska is in the winter is sort of like asking how cold America is. There are many different climate zones in AK, varying from a wet, rainy maritime climate in Southeast to a true Arctic climate on the North Slope. Check out this USGS climate map of Alaska: (United States Geological Survey, http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/research/...)In the Arctic and Interior (Continental climate) regions of Alaska the winter temperatures are cold: typically well into the negative thirties and forties (fahrenheit). Blogger Aliza Sherman, who lives in Tok in interior Alaska, famously took this picture of a thermometer a few years ago:(Aliza Sherman, http://livingintok.wordpress.com...)(Yup, that says -80 degrees Fahrenheit.)The coastal zones are more moderate, typically hovering between 0-20 degrees Fahrenheit for the winter. Southeast Alaska stays in the 30s and 40s for most of the winter - with more freezing sleet than rain.
How can I own an AK-47 in Canada?
You probably can't. The AK family has a prohibited weapon status in Canada. But there is a grandfather clause IF you owned a legally registered one prior to the implementation of the ban. If you didn't own/register one before the ban, you have two VERY BAD options to acquire one . Buy one illegally in the US and smuggle it across the border into Canada. Find an illegal one on the black market in Canada and pay a whole lot of money for it. Then what are you going to do? You can't take it anywhere, fire it, do anything with it or show it to anyone. The penalty for simply having it in your possession would be up to five years I think.The possession and grandfather clause is complicated, here's a link to the RCMP’s explanation.Prohibited FirearmsLink to a Restricted & Prohibited Firearms list, Order No. 13 deals with the AK family.What guns are banned in Canada?
Is it better to settle in Canada or Australia / New Zealand?
There are some good answers here so this is a supplementary answer. I went through this selection process myself prior to emigrating to NZ in 2006.To qualify my answer, we moved from the North of England - my wife is a nurse and I’m a construction Project Manager.We could have qualified for permanent residency of all three countries but we considered each in the following terms:Employment and earnings potential - similar in all cases.Weather - my wife hates the cold and I hate the heat so this was a mark down for Canadian winters and for the hotter north of Aussie. NZ is similar to the UK but varies considerably from the far south the the far north. Warmer than the UK though.City life vs rural life - we both wanted to live somewhere beautiful outside of a city and all three countries offer this. If you like cities there is far more choice in Canada and Aussie.Deadly creatures - my wife is terrified of spiders and snakes, let alone crocodiles, sharks, jellyfish etc. so this really put my wife off Aussie. That said, most Australians will never see anything deadly in a lifetime unless they go looking for it. Canada is pretty safe and NZ has nothing more dangerous than pet dogs.All things considered we chose NZ and have not regretted it. Within 4 years I quadrupled my UK income and we live in a stunningly beautiful place with a very high standard of living. I’m sure we would have done well in Australia or Canada but things like snakes and spiders in Aussie and the cold winters of Canada put my wife off those two - plus she didn’t relish the idea of learning to drive on the other side of the road in Canada. I would also have missed cricket, rugby and football - so that was a negative for me with Canada.For scenic splendour all three countries leave you spoilt for choice - though vast parts of Aussie and Canada are utterly flat and travel in those huge countries can add up to a lot of time and money. Ultimately, I think you’d be very happy in any of the three.
What are the main differences between people from Alaska and Yukon?
There are a lot of similarities but you asked for differences. Here are some of my observations:People from the Yukon use Canadian moneyThey say “eh?” and “aboot” more than Alaskans doThere are a lot fewer people in the Yukon than there are in AlaskaThey seem to complain about their government moreYukon Territory appears to spend more per capita on their roadsThere are no large Yukon cities so there are no city folk thereAlaska has a large military and government agency presence and Yukon does not, but both support the military and do not like bureaucratsThe Alaska city Fairbanks is very similar to the Yukon city Whitehorse, but Fairbanks has a large research university with a great symphony, arts and theater, academic discourse, and just a bunch of PHDs working on science and culture. Yukon doesn’t have that.Alaskans are American and very proud of our country. Yukon people are Canadian and proud of their country. Both people are patriotic, but Canadians tend to be more liberal in their outlook.I would argue Yukon people are less concerned about the environmentIf you come up here to visit, please visit Alaska and the Yukon so you can see for yourself!