I'm a Canadian living in a small rural community about 150 miles east of Toronto. When I moved here I was put on a waiting list to be accepted on the caseload of a local family doctor - it took 5 years. During that time I relied on hospital emergency care for any health care I required. My doctor up & moved to Maryland about 2 years later & I was only kept on by the group clinic she was part of when I assured them that I was healthy and didn't use their services very often. A nearby community held a lottery to select the lucky patients who would be accepted by a doctor who miraculously had set up practice in town. It takes months out here to get an appointment even if you're lucky enough to have a family doctor, and wait times to see specialists (who only practice in cities) can be measured in years. Good luck trying to get an MRI or a CAT scan for non-life-threatening problems. Be very wary of "Canadian-style" health care - it is appalling if you live in a rural area. And it's true that Canadians will defend their crappy system to their last breath when discussing the issue with Americans - I guess it's part of asserting our sovereignty. Talk about cognitive dissonance.