Bill Maher splits Internet as he shreds US liberals’ image of Canada as a ‘giant idealized blue state’

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: Bill Maher unleashed an eight-minute critique on Canada's often-glorified progressive values and lifestyle during the Friday, April 12 episode of 'Real Time with Bill Maher'.

Maher debunked the notion that Canada serves as a model country for citizens of the United States to emulate, despite its reputation for liberalism.

Maher deconstructs idealized perception of Canada among US liberals

Maher humorously remarked, "Canada was where all the treasured goals of liberalism worked perfectly. It was like NPR come to life, but with poutine.”

However, Maher swiftly dispelled this idealized image, asserting that "everything's better in Canada" is simply not the case anymore.

Maher began his critique by highlighting the perception of places like Vancouver, Amsterdam, and Stockholm.

"Yes, for decades, places like Vancounver and Amsterdam and Stockholm seemed idyllic because everything was free and all the energy we needed was produced by riding a bike to your job at the windmill,” he said.

“Canada was the Statue of Liberty with a low maintenance haircut and cross country skis, and a giant idealized blue state with single-payer health care, gun control and abortion on polite demand,” Maher continued.

“Canada was where every woke White college kid wearing pajama pants outdoors who had it up to here with America’s racist patriarchy dreamt of living someday. I mean, besides Gaza,” he said.

Maher critiqued Canada's idealized image, highlighting challenges such as rapid population growth and a worsening housing crisis, with 1.3 million people added in one year, equivalent to the US adding 11 million migrants.

He noted that Canada's median home price, converted to US dollars, is $487,000 compared to $346,000 in the US.

"If Barbie moved to Winnipeg, she wouldn’t be able to afford her dream house, and Ken would be working at Tim Hortons,” he teased.

Additionally, Maher criticized Canada's healthcare system, stating it "ranks dead last among high-income countries in access to primary health care and ability to see a doctor in a day or two".

"And it’s not for lack of spending. Of the 30 countries with universal coverage, Canada spends over 13% of its economy on it, which is a lot of money for free health care,” Maher continued.

“Look, I’m not saying Canada still isn’t a great country — it is, but those aren’t paradise numbers. If Canada was an apartment, the lead feature might be ‘America adjacent'," he said. 

“The moral of that tale is, yes, you can move too far left and when you do, you wind up pushing the people in the middle to the right. At its worst, Canada is what American voters think happens when there’s no one putting a check on extreme wokeness,” said Maher.

Maher's critique of Canada sparks varied reactions online

The online community gave mixed reactions to Maher's statements, as users flooded timelines with various responses. 

One viewer said, "As a Canadian, thank you. I can’t believe how much people of my country are struggling lately. I’ve noticed it a lot in the past 5 years."

Another viewer noted, "A crap house in Vancouver is over a million dollars now. It is completely insane."

One more viewer observed, "As a Canadian, real estate, inflation and wokeness is out of control. Accurate."

However, others had a different opinion. "The air pollution in those Canadian cities was from the wildfires last yr," a viewer clarified. 

"Poor air quality because of wildfires, and unemployment up because of Bank of Canada's inflation policies and over-immigration. Context, Bill," one person wrote.

"Never thought I'd need to fact check old Bill," another person said.

Another viewer remarked, "Unfortunately, far too many Canadians feel the financial pinch in many parts if daily life. Justin will soon be out & Pierre Pollivre will become PM just in time to implement far too many US-like policies AND make life worse for Canadians - coast to coast to coast."

This article contains remarks made on the internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online