This is definitely one of the neater things I’ve come across recently. Flickr user BorderFilms posted up this image of the Canada-US border in Beebe, Quebec. On the left side of Canusa Ave? Canada. On the right? America.
Living in Niagara I’m used to long lines and tough security when crossing the border. Who knew there were places where your children could chase a runaway ball into another country?
Hot Canada Deals
Smart Canucks is Canada's first Canadian shopping deals blog and has been operating since 2005!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. SmartCanucks.ca is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.
Sadly, of late, the security has been getting tighter here. Tourists are finding it tricky not to get pulled over do stepping across the wrong line. Times are a’ changin’.
“America” ? Are you aware that NOWHERE ELSE in the world do people refer to the US as “America” ? Most people, including a lot of Canadians, consider “America” to be the entire new world, from the north pole all the way down to Cape Horn. A moment’s pause about this will reveal to any non-internalist that this is probably why it’s called “South America” and “North America”. Only “Americans” (cough) consider the US to be “America”. It’s a little insulting in this political and social climate.
Well that’s funny, Jef.
I’m Canadian, and if anyone ever said that because of this, I was from America, or an American, I’d be seriously pissed off.
Most Americans I know call themselves Americans, and say they are from America.
I’m positive if you watch any speak given by your own president, you’ll hear the phrase ‘People of America’ used to refer to residents of the USA at least once.
If you go overseas, people will ask you if you’re American. A Canadian will correct them at once, and in most places, receives profuse apologies for the grave error that was made.
It would be like calling someone from Egypt an African, because Egypt is in the continent of Africa
The only people who call all of the Americas just ‘America’ are the idiots who still think that the US owns the western hemisphere.
Jef, don’t you think you are over reacting quite a bit? It is the United States of AMERICA, hence some people saying America for short. I highly doubt it was meant as a slight to all of the other “Americans” to the North and South. Do Canadians call themselves “North Americans” or “Americans” even? People say what country they are from, not what continent. As Americans come from America, I think it is perfectly reasonable to say America in this case.
For goodness sakes! lol
good responce A. I couldnt have agreed with you any more.
I have to agree with Jef … “A” I have never heard anybody refer to the U.S. as America and I work for Canada Customs at a border crossing between Canada and the U.S.. It is always referred to as “The States” or simply the U.S. The entire continent is called “The Americas” so when talking about the U.S. it is incorrect to call it America.
Actually A, it’s common in south america to call canadians and Americans “north-americans”, and themselves as “south americans”. They call america always exclusively “united states” or by the acrononym. There is some resentment from spanish and portuguese speaking people about americans taking the name of the whole continent for themselves. In portuguese the literally correct way of referring to an american is “estado-unidense”, and “americano” can refer both to a person from the u.s and a person from either continent.
I grew up on Canusa Avenue on the Quebec side. You
can’t see the house as it is next door to the Canadian customs and the big tree on the front lawn obscures the sight of it. In the 50’s we used to run across the street all the time (my best friend lived across the street in Vermont). It has been a long time since I have lived there and I know it is much different now, too bad.
Does it honestly really matter?? Really… this is ridiculous.
its as though people look for reasons to prove a point. Does it really matter!?. I think the mejority of us need still some growing up to do. I would think that there are other IMPORTANT matter that we could be putting so much effort into or proving a point about. Its absolutly childish. Thanks for the picture and the post…. I Ienjoyed it. I never actually realized that this was here! Thanks!
That is a really interesting bit of info! I never knew that either!
Although I remain neutral on the “America” vs. “U.S.” debate, I’ve heard both and would accept both as being correct (too many factors to discuss, such as cultural, regional, political, etc…)
Willow, I have to disagree. Having grown up overseas with Americans, they almost always refered to their country as “America”. America -> Americans ; Canada -> Canadians
I am neutral in this whole “Americans” thing But I just wanted to say just bacause they call themselves american doesn’t mean they are. Like I can call myself the president, everyone can call me the president but that doesnt mean that I am….Anyways on second though how can that be, so that means that there is no border, no security how can that be?………
well there has to be a border SOMEWHERE!!
Better yet can you tell me how to get .. how to get to Sesame street?
I remember movies such as coming to America, and a boat load of mice going to ”America” because there were no cats there and the streets were made of cheese, and they were reffering to the USA.
I also have a lot of German friends and they refer to the USA as America. Probably because its the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and quite often people abbreviate therefore “America” or ‘USA” is used 🙂 Does it really matter? Not really.
M you are correct about being asked if your an American, when my husband was in Germany he’d say Im Canadian, then theyd apologize for thinking he was an American. The next time he wore a Canada coat and toque lol!
Just go to Europe, there’s a new border every few hours…lol
Canadians are Americans, just as Mexicans are Americans, and people from Brazil and Argentina.
It’s no different than how people from Italy, or France, or Germany are Europeans.
It’s not our fault that they couldn’t come up with a better name than United States of America, and then take the term American for themselves.
Just say you’re from TEXAS.
But Im not from Texas…, hehehe, just kidding 🙂
It’s not America’s fault that other countries decided to call themselves something else. Frankly, as an American, I have trouble with being called America simply because Vespucci argued that the continent on which I currently live is not, indeed, an extension of Asia (even though it kinda is, or was when there was a land bridge). So what, we got a guy’s first name, feminized, as our country name? What kinda crap is that? I think as Americans, we should elect to rename our country to better represent our collective spirit. But then again, at least we aren’t named after someone named Brittany. Ugh.
Just a point, don’t know if anyone else made it or not, but the street that is in the picture, is showing either the U.S. or Canada. If you look at the signpost, it is perpendicular to the street. The street sign would run parallel to whatever street it is naming. My reason for mentioning this is, I wonder it the actual street would be two streets running parallel with each other, with some sort of barrier in between. I live near the U.S. / Canada border, and there are places where there are just signs and some concrete barriers between the two countries.
Wow! Lots of uptight people on these blogs!! The simplicity of this publication is to share a picture – and a really neat piece of trivia about Canada. People should take the barbs out of their keyboard and relax. Thanks Jim!
Actually, while people from this country call themselves “Americans,” they would say they live in “the United States.” Calling the country “America,” IS something that people from other countries tend to do a lot more than people who are actually from here. Just a little insight … not fighting words, by any means.
Who the f**k cares? What an inane discussion.
I feel sorry for ‘Americans’ who can hardly call themselves ‘United Statesians’, so I accept the nationality ‘American’. But I do object to the country name ‘America’, which is rather too much the attitude of some United Statesians. I made the mistake of gently mocking my fellow students in an American college during the 60s for Martin Luther King’s comment, “I have a dream, one America.” I asked what they planned to do to eliminate the Carribean to make “one America”, not North and South. (I have to admit, my comment was in rather poor taste, since MLK had just been assassinated, a genuine loss not just there, but to the world.) However, I still correct my students on the naming of the country. It’s not just inaccurate. It’s arrogant.
I really don’t think Jim was out of line, even tonight on the presidential address ‘My fellow Americans” and then there was a commerical on about American power companies, and as far as I could tell they werent refering to any Canadians lol.
For the record, I’m Canadian before I start this and get the, “OMG ANoThEr AMERicAN Trying to FLAME!”
Ok, so here’s a quiz…If two GERMANS named South America as such, (and later cartographers chose North America for the territory above it) what gives ANY person on the continent(s) of America any right to call themselves as such? If you came up with the answer “it’s part of their history” I’d say you came up with a pretty good answer…
Well, for over 200 years the full name of the territory residing in the middle of North America has been “The United States of America”. No other country in the rest of the continent(s) uses the term “America” in their official country name, nor could I find any reference to any country doing so in the past, save being a protectorate/department of a larger empire. Then why can’t an resident of the United States of America consider him or herself American? If it was the Argentine Republic of America or the Brazilian Federative Repulic of America, I could see the issue…
Should I call Uruguayans, Orientales everywhere I go because that’s what they are called in their country to distinguish them from people from the Argentine city of Concepción del Uruguay? Or can I just call them Orientals because in English their official country name is the Oriental Republic of Uruguay?
The United States of America is, and to this day continues to be, the only country to use the term “America”, with any form of stability meaning for over 200 years, in their official country name…I think it’s time to grow up and realize that not everyone in Europe calls themselves European and you certainly don’t see groups of Chinese and Japanese nationals calling themselves simply “Asians”…
What gives any of the other people of The Americas any more right to call themselves “American” than people in the United States of America? Where else in the world do people get their panties in a bunch because ONE country decided to name themselves after the continent and the others “just plain forgot” but want to keep it…
Maybe someone can tell me…but do the peoples of the Central African Republic and South Africa have big bitching matches at each other if one says their “African”? In fact, Asia is an even better example…NO country there even has “Asia” in it’s name…does that mean that NO ONE in Asia can call themselves Asian…or are they all open and free to call themselves Asian so that someone can hear them and go…”oh are you from China? or Russia? or Saudi Arabia? or Laos? or Kyrgyzstan?”
Simply put, stop bitching at the Americans for using the fact that they actually decided to put the name of the continent in their country name and the rest of you, “just plum forgot!”
Figured I’d throw my two cents into to this discussion. I live in a border city in Canada and regularly go cross border for either work shopping, or just to visit people I know. I’ve also traveled to a few Asian and European countries and most places either ask if I’m “American”, “from the U.S.A. (or any other way of saying that)” or, sometimes if i have something pointing it out, “Canadian”. I know of no other way of saying are you a citizen of the United States of America other then American. Also, most people that I know in Canada or the U.S. see themselves as North American, due to cultural differences. Just like how Europeans and Asians do not see themselves as Eurasian. I’ve never actually heard the phrase “The Americas” outside of History and Academia.
Would you prefer “United Statesians” instead of “Americans”?
Im not going to go into the whole Amerika speach.. But Canusa is in Canada, the other side of the road is usa. Canusa is not in the usa.
Good Lord all this talk about what you call yourselves. Let me sort this out.
(a) USA – States, not American, North American. Thats why you say ” I am going Stateside “.
(b) CANADA – Canadians or Cannuks, not NORTH AMERICANS
(c) SOUTH OF MEXICO TO NORTH OF ARGENTINA – Latin America, Latinos
(d) ARGENTIA, BRAZIL, PERU, CHILE – South Americans
That should solve the issue once and for all. Now enjoy that picture up top.
Cheers.
I guess the simplest way to solve this is to agree with both sides. Geographically speaking, yes Canadians are American, people from the U.S are American and Mexicans are American, and many other people are American. However, in our world this has taken on a different meaning, for example, if you ask a person from Canada what they are, they’ll say “Canadian”, what will a person from the U.S say? “American”, I don’t think I’ve ever heard “United States-er”, maybe “US-er” but even then… correct me if I’m wrong, right? I know that Wikipedia is user edited, but take a look at the article about the United States, this is what I saw: “American is rarely used in English to refer to people not connected to the United States.” that statement refers to a guide to English published by Columbia University. I guess the reason that it is proper to refer to the United States as America is because otherwise the word would be ambiguous. There’s a reason that we use the term “Americas” when referring to both North America and South America, because the word America, other than in the context of Columbus’s America, is meaningless without the word North or South. Again, try searching the word America, you get the disambiguation page saying that America refers to the United States, or else, you should have typed Americas. I guess I’m rambling and relying on Wikipedia a bit too much, but I guess my point is that how much of our modern vocabularies actually relies on fact as a basis? We say what we say, and it takes on a meaning, as simple as that.
It is a big deal.
Look at NAFTA and the new North American Union. The guys up top WANT us to think of ourselves as Americans, ignoring the sovereignty of Canada, the united states, and Mexico.
OH FUCK THAT! I am a United States citizen. I am a New Jersey citizen.
I think it is such a hot issue because it is such a cultural thing. As an American, I grew up listening to speeches, as other have mentioned, beginning “my fellow Americans, learning the cultural history of America and growing into a person who identified myself, culturally, as American – which meant, yes rather arrogantly, that I was lucky enough to be born in a developed nation with a great deal of resources at my disposal and that it was my responsibility to try and make my community, country, and world a better place. All the patriotic shit.
Since moving to Canada I have described myself as being “from the States,” but if you asked me how I identified culturally it would be, concretely, as an American. It is so ingrained into my system that I am not sure what else I would say if all of a sudden American stopped being PC. Let’s be realistic – it is a argument based completely on syntax and culture. Canadians will never convince Americans that their name is wrong or somehow arrogant. I promise we don’t consider ourselves better than anyone else, or stewards of the whole continent or any of that. It is simply historical and cultural phrasing.
“Frankly, as an American, I have trouble with being called America simply because Vespucci argued that the continent on which I currently live is not, indeed, an extension of Asia”
Considering who you keep electing, how about “The United States of Dumbass”?
Don’t go calling MY Canada America, bud.
To Eric:
Die painfully okay? Prefearbly by getting crushed to death in a
garbage compactor, by getting your face cut to ribbons with a
pocketknife, your head cracked open with a baseball bat, your stomach
sliced open and your entrails spilled out, and your eyeballs ripped
out of their sockets. Fucking bitch
I really hope that you get curb-stomped. It’d be hilarious to see you
begging for help, and then someone stomps on the back of your head,
leaving you to die in horrible, agonizing pain. Faggot
I’ve read a lot of stories about these border towns, so now I’m planning a visit there for next weekend. I grew up in a border town located between 2 European Union Countries. Of course no inspection or report was necessary to cross the street, even on the main highway, we were free to cross anytime (the only requirement was having a valid ID just in case), but I always wondered what was the procedure in the past, before the European Community.
Living in Canada, my plan for next weekend is to enter Beebe Plain, QC from the North on Route 247 and continue to the South on Rue Principale. Then turn left on Rue Canusa Avenue (sounds like an Ottawa bilingual street name) to go to Rock Island, QC. I think I’ll never leave Canada in doing so since most of the comments I’ve read place the border right south of the street and not in the center centre or North of it. On official maps, the road is considered as the continuation of Quebec Route 247 and it’s turning left (North) to Canada when the binational residential area ends. So no need to report as long as I don’t visit anyone living South of the road. But if I do so, I think the right procedure for a car or a bike would be to report to US Custom first, then back to the Canadian one before going into Canusa. Technically, a pedestrian shouldn’t have to go back to the Canadian custom before going to a US home, since they can walk on the US grass side of the road without going back to Canada. But pictures show a secure sidewalk on the Canadian side, surely a safer option.
Once in Rock Island, I just have to be careful not to cross the border by mistake, since at least 3 streets without Custom agent (but full of hidden cameras) are cut by the international line. I’ve read recent stories about possible remote-controlled gates blocking these streets. Not sure if they are already built. Rue Church, where the binational Library stands will stay open for sure, otherwise it will cut access to the library for the Canadians.
Being used to cross European borders without any control, I hope this trip will be a pleasant experience. I’ll write about it here next week.
I’m from the US, and have lived in South Korea for 2 years. everyone here calls me an American. I always want to explain to them that America is quite a broad term. there is north america, and south america. Regardless, EVERYONE I’ve met here (canadians, british, pakistanis, indians, chinese, etc etc.) refers to people from the States to be Americans. They’re not stupid, it’s just the way they see us.
I am glad that some people know that the American continent includes North America ( Canada, Usa, Mexico) Central America and South America.
I always here people talking about south America as if it was a different continent.
If someone asks me if I am American I can say yes, I was born in a country in the American continent.
I dont understand this part
(c) SOUTH OF MEXICO TO NORTH OF ARGENTINA – Latin America, Latinos
(d) ARGENTIA, BRAZIL, PERU, CHILE – South Americans
c and d Peru is north of Argentina so how can it be on C
what are the rules to divide continents? Geography, population, race?
The seven-continent model is usually taught in China and most English-speaking countries. The six-continent combined-Eurasia model is preferred by the geographic community, Russia, the former states of the USSR, and Japan. The six-continent combined-America model is taught in Latin America, and some parts of Europe including Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy. This model may be taught to include only the five inhabited continents (excluding Antarctica)[20][21] — as depicted in the Olympic logo.[22]
The names Oceania or Australasia are sometimes used in place of Australia. For example, the Atlas of Canada names Oceania,[14] as does the model taught in Latin America and Iberia.[23][24]
First of all, I’m sick of people dogging on “Americans” What are we supposed to call ourselves? You live in Canada, so you are Canadian, someone from Australia is Australian. We live in THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. So it seems logical to me to say Americans. It doesn’t mean I’m full of myself, or that I disregard the rest of North America. But it isn’t our fault they couldn’t come up with a more original name for our country.
You have to visit Europe. On the german-french border are places and villages like Beebe Plain, but without any border controls. Leidingen-Leiding or Scheibenhardt-Scheibenhard are villages within two countries.
People from the USA often refer to that country as simply “America,” or certain products or foods ubiquitous to the US as “American.”
However, I realize (and appreciate) that Canada, both Anglophone and Francophone, are distinct from the US, although it bothers me that travelling from Boston to Montréal can be a bigger PITA (pain in the —), due to what I perceive as increased Immigration/Customs fortifications on both sides of the border, than going from Berlin to Barcelona where, in many cases, having to show a Passport (although it behooves a person to carry one) or encountering any sort of Border Guard is relatively rare, thanks to the Schengen Agreement.
As to references to what many in the US would consider to be “American” would be refererred to as “North American” in Canada. Examples: “Dodge is a North American car.” “Burger King is North American-style fast food.” “When travelling in Europe, having a room with a bath is not always a given, as is usually the case in North America.” (Although what the British call “en suite” hotel rooms (meaning there is a bathroom “en suite,” within the room) are now the rule, rather than the exception, in Europe. This is probably less so in “low star” hotels, especially in Southern or Eastern Europe, but I’m getting off tangent)
As for the accent, it is easy, much to the chagrin of many Anglo-Canadians, to mistake an English Canadian accent with an American one, just as some Irish and Australians are mistaken for being “English,” and I once mistook somebody from Essex, England as being Australian (reason: the strong, Cockney-based accent, i.e., day rhyming with pie, use of the word “mate” meaning a friend/pal, etc.)
Sorry, another note, related to the primary reason I found this page. I have visited Derby Line-Stanstead/Rock Island several times. I love going to the Haskell Free Library and, at least for now, it is possible to have one’s picture taken whilst one foot is on each side of the border outside of the library.
However, I understand that a couple of the side streets (not Church Street) have been cordoned off. Of course, even back in the relatively innocent days, it would be foolish to drive or walk down those streets and cross the border without first reporting to Customs.
I remember, up until about 2002, that I could park my Massachusetts-registered car on the Stanstead part of Church Street whilst visiting the library, either before or after visitng Canada. Nowadays, I understand only Canadians are allowed to park on Church Street. A US-registered car is perceived to have “entered Canada illegally” even if the person is a local Vermonter just frequenting the library. US-registered cars have to park in the parking lot facing Caswell Avenue.
Confession. Back around 1996 or so, I walked as far north on Church Street as the Stanstead Church (only about a few hundred feet/metres north of Caswell, but still well beyond the border line) to take some pictures without reporting to Canadian Customs. (I had just re-entered the US from a trip to Canada and my car was parked on Church Street).
I would not DARE do that today! For US visitors to the area, Stanstead/Rock Island is a friendly, bilingual town. It is a small town, so there isn’t a lot of “hustle and bustle,” but I suppose that’s one of its charms. The nearest “commercial center” in Canada is Magog, about 30 minutes north; the City of Sherbrooke, about 45-50 minutes away, is the nearest urban center and is considered the “hub” of the Eastern Townships.
If your visit (due to time or other limitations) limits you to Stanstead/Rock Island, I would recommend a visit to the Chantal Richard Pharmacy on Notre-Dame Boulevard. As in the rest of Canada, one can buy small amounts of Aspirin w/Codeine (called AC&C), Tylenol #1 (a weaker form of Tylenol 3, with caffeine added to offset the codeine; the codeine aspirin also has caffeine), and Codeine Cough Syrup just for the asking. The amount of codeine is NOT enough to get “high,” (and I do NOT condone use of such products for that purpose) but it indeed does help with headaches and colds. I’ve heard of US Customs confiscating bottles, but I’ve nver had a problem with up to 3 bottles of AC&C (200 pills each) and a couple of bottles of cough syrup. One is allowed to bring in a 90 day supply of medication from Canada without restriction, but what constitutss a “90 day supply” is ambiguous. Thank you for reading. US-Canadian friendship and solidarity forever!
StarHosting24 | Free Domain With Any Web Hosting Plan