Although these numbers indicate that Canada has a fairly balanced level of wealth distribution, recent trends suggest that balance may be on the decline. According to research done by Statistics Canada, between 1999 and 2012 wealth has become more concentrated among the top-income families (see chart 1). The article suggests that these increases are most likely due to increases in employer pensions among higher earners [2].

I think it’s important to note Canadians thoughts and attitudes on wealth distribution. According to a nationwide survey conducted by the Broadbent Institute, “Canadians not only want the federal government to do something to reduce the gap between the rich and everyone else (82%), three in four Canadians (73%) believe the government can do something to reduce it. Even Canadians with a high household income want action taken by the federal government, albeit slightly less than those with a lower income. Three in four Canadians (74%) who have a household income over $100,000" [3]

Legal system: common law system except in Quebec where civil law based on the French civil code prevails

Political parties and leaders:        Bloc Quebecois [Daniel PAILLE]

                                                          Conservative Party of Canada [Stephen HARPER]

                                                          Green Party [Elizabeth MAY]

                                                          Liberal Party [Justin TRUDEAU]

                                                          New Democratic Party or NDP [Thomas MULCAIR] (1)

Like the U.S. Canada is mainly a two party country but The Liberal party has dominated federal politics for most of the period since the late 1890’s and are currently in power [1]. Because of this dominance, it has allowed Canada to pass universal health care, the Canada Pension Plan, Canada Student Loans, peacekeeping, multilateralism, official bilingualism, official multiculturalism, patriating the Canadian constitution and the entrenchment of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Clarity Act, restoring balanced budgets in the 1990s, and making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.[2][3]

                Canada has a progressive tax system, with higher income, corporate, and property taxes along with higher social security contributions than we see in the U.S. (6) Thee largest percent (nearly 3 times the amount of any other expenditure) of Canada’s federal government expenditures go to social services (7). An important indicator to note is that in 2015 Canada ranked 8th in the world in government spending per individual on things like health care, housing, education, etc. For reference, in 2014 the U.S. was ranked 38th in the world, and spent nearly half the amount that Canada did in government spending per individual the same year (8).

[2] http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-006-x/2015001/article/14194-eng.htm

[3]http://www.broadbentinstitute.ca/the_wealth_gap
Political System
[1] "Canada Government Stats", NationMaster. Retrieved from http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/profiles/Canada/Government

[2] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Liberal-Party-of-Canada

[3] http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/liberal-party/
Economy
[1] http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators

[2] http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/labr68a-eng.htm

[3] https://data.oecd.org/emp/employment-rate.htm

[4] https://data.oecd.org/emp/labour-force-participation-rate.htm#indicator-chart

[5] https://data.oecd.org/entrepreneur/starting-a-business.htm#indicator-chart

[6] https://data.oecd.org/tax/tax-revenue.htm#indicator-chart

[7] http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/govt49b-eng.htm

[8] https://data.oecd.org/gga/general-government-spending-by-destination.htm#indicator-chart
Daycare and Preschool
http://www.ourkids.net/preschools-private-pre-school.php

United State's FMLA signed into law in 1993 requires employers to provide only 12 weeks of unpaid leave.  If there is a complication a mother can take the medical component of the leave and be out longer.  However there are holes in this law.  Some states have their own version of FMLA.  Small businesses are exempt of this.  Not all states offer it but there is also the disability insurance, California being one of the few that has it.  The US has one of the poorest support systems for pregnant women and new mothers. 

Canada did not rate much better when comparing to the United States, however the Canadian welfare state is more encompassing and better funded, therefor offering more financial assistant.  Research showed Canada puts more informants in kindergarten then preschool.   

Canada’s public healthcare system, called Medicare (not to be confused with the care system in the United States of the same name) is relatively well known amongst proponents of public universal healthcare.  In Canada, healthcare is public, operated by each of the Canadian provinces, and while each province and territory’s coverage can vary, there are essentials that are required to be covered.  Preventative care, hospital care, and other medically necessary care is required to be covered.  Private healthcare systems exist to provide coverage for any other costs that may not be covered under the public healthcare system, such as dental care or prescription coverage.  Also, private healthcare is not permitted to cover the same benefits as the public healthcare system does.  Healthcare in Canada is generally thought to be better than that of the United States because of its ease of accessibility to all people.  It is often argued that the wait time for care under the public health system is lengthy, but conflicting evidence exists around this theory.  People who had lower incomes, were not born in the country, or had less education were more likely to utilize the public healthcare in Canada than similar groups in the United States (Pylypchuk).  A study on breast cancer in women who were living impoverished emphasizes this.  “...Canadian protections were even greater when compared with those of U.S. women who were uninsured or Medicaid insured. Such women in the United States were at greater risk of receiving substandard care. They were diagnosed later; waited longer for treatment; had much less access to BCS, RT, and HT; and were less likely to survive… women in the United States who were uninsured or publicly insured by Medicaid or Medicare were much less likely than Canadian women to receive optimum, evidence-based care… Compared with Canadian women, uninsured women in the United States received the most consistently substandard care,“ (Gorey). 

In comparison to the public healthcare system of Canada, in the United States, healthcare is heavily privatized.  While many arguments exist both in favor and opposing of a public healthcare system mimicking Canada’s being implemented here in the United States, many factors must be taken into consideration.  Albeit a little dated, a study conducted in 1990 found that American people believed that fundamental changes were needed to healthcare (Ridic).  However,  the Affordable Care Act has apparently not satisfied that.

While the United States now has its recently implemented Affordable Care Act, many people are against it, according to studies from Pew Research Center (Motel).   

In Relation to Family Leave: A public healthcare system definitely relates clearly to the Canadian Family Leave policy.  Because benefits for healthcare are not provided privately or in group plans through the workplace, but rather by the government, there’s no fear of needing to rush back to work after birth for fear of losing a job or taking a cut in pay on return.  Benefits will continue to protect a person on family leave for a maximum of up to 52 weeks, providing a family ample time to care for and bond with a newborn child.  Maternity and parental benefits are provided through the Employment Insurance (EI) program.  (“EI Maternity and Parental Benefits”).  A health card will be issued by the province or territory for the baby, and parents can apply right away for Canada Child Benefits (“Having a Baby”). 

"EI Maternity and Parental Benefits - Overview." Overview - Canada.ca. N.p., 07 June 2016. Web. 

Gorey, Kevin M., et al. "Breast Cancer Among Women Living In Poverty: Better Care In Canada Than In The United States." Social Work Research 39.2 (2015): 107-118. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 

"Having a Baby." Government of Canada, Service Canada. N.p., n.d. Web.

Motel, Seth. "Opinions on Obamacare Remain Divided along Party Lines as Supreme Court Hears New Challenge." Pew Research Center. N.p., 04 Mar. 2015. Web.

Pylypchuk, Yuriy, and Eric M. Sarpong. "Comparison Of Health Care Utilization: United States Versus Canada." Health Services Research 48.2pt1 (2013): 560-581. Academic Search Complete. Web.

Ridic, Goran, Suzanne Gleason, and Ognjen Ridic. "Comparisons of Health Care Systems in the United States, Germany and Canada." Materia Socio-Medica. AVICENA, D.o.o., Sarajevo, 2012. 

Sutherland, Jason M. "An Overview of the Canadian Health Care System." UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research. The University of British Columbia, 1 July 2013. Web.

Canada is one of the few countries that has no criminal anti-abortion laws.  Because hospital care is covered under the public healthcare policies, a majority of abortions happen within hospitals as opposed to clinics--this does not mean that all hospitals perform abortions.  Choices for care locations in terms of abortion are very limited. 

It terms of preventing an unwanted birth to begin with, healthcare coverage is available for some forms of birth control, but not all. Historically, the sale or advertisement of birth control was made illegal in 1892, and that legislation didn’t clear until 1969.  Birth control was available in the country before that, but not prescribed as a contraceptive but a therapeutic medication (History of Family Planning in Canada). 

Pictured: Elizabeth Bagshaw, one of the first female doctors in Canada and proponent that women should be given the right to control pregnancy, was eventually made a member of the Order of Canada in 1972. 

Hospital care is generally covered by the Canadian healthcare system, therefore, pregnancy and birthing in hospitals in Canada is covered under necessary hospital care.

In comparison to the United States, Canada has a relatively liberal set of laws.  In the United States, while abortion is technically legal on the federal level thanks to the monumental Roe. v Wade case, women’s rights to birth control and abortion are still hotly debated.  While previously possible to deny coverage for birth control, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, “insurance plans must cover women’s family-planning care, including all Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptive methods, without copayments or deductibles” (“Who Decides?”). 

Family leave generally covers a child that is birthed, so while policies on abortion and birth control may not be as relevant to family leave, having the child is absolutely relevant.  As of 2013, women ages 30-34 are the biggest group of birthing mothers in Canada.  Many of them are taking their time to settle into careers or finishing college, even if it takes them longer, before having a child, making sure they have a level of financial stability and independence, according to a Pew Research Center article (Cohn).

Citations
"Abortion in Canada." THE PRO-CHOICE ACTION NETWORK. N.p., n.d. Web. 

Cohn, D’Vera. "In Canada, Most Babies Now Born to Women 30 and Older." Pew Research Center. N.p., 10 July 2013. Web

"History of Family Planning in Canada." Canadian Public Health Association - History of Family Planning in Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 

"Who Decides? The Status of Women's Reproductive Rights in the United States." NARAL Pro-Choice America. N.p., Jan. 2016. Web.