Research:
After conducting several research articles online about shooting in the United States, we have concluded that most shootings related to homicides or suicides with no definite correlation to one another across the US mainland. Most of our research did not provide substantial evidence to suggest that certain states are more prone to gun violence than any other states in America. While this may not be true, our analysis brought us over to Canada where we did further analysis on gun-related crimes in the 13 provinces. Our initial research online has found a small number of gun-related murders in Canada but that number is not as significant in the United States. As a result, we had to do further analysis and find provinces that are similar to states in the United States. To make a comparison of Canada and the United States, we conducted a similarity search to find provinces and states that are the most similar to each other and we made a comparison that will allow comparing apples to apples rather than apples to oranges. Intensive research has allowed us to determine that the state of Maine and three eastern provinces including Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and Ohio and Ontario are similar in several ways such as their population, economy, and demographic.
Canadian Provinces and the American States:
Our similarity search has determined that residents in Maine and several provinces in this geographical area work mainly in the agriculture and aquaculture industry. This industry works mainly to collect seaweed and shrimp that will be packaged and sent to international markets. Furthermore, residents in their respective geographical area have a similar net income than families in Maine net of taxes. It is important to note two small differences between Canada and the United States. Residents in the United States have more buying power since their purchasing power parity is ranked significantly higher than Canada. It is currently ranked second in the world while Canada is ranked sixteenth as of 2019 [OECD]. While residents in the US can buy more goods per US dollar, it is also important to note that the Canadian tax system supports families with lower income net of taxes than the American tax system. This allows Canadian residents to purchase more goods through the larger sums of money they have. In this research, we have decided to neglect these two points; the purchasing power of the US dollar and the Canadian tax system. We have deemed these two factors to be negligible since residents in both countries can purchase the same amount of goods with the same amount of money. Since these two regional areas share a similar income, we can compare whether income has influenced an individual to purchase a firearm that can be used to cause harm.
American Politics:
Our research has also revealed that residents in Ohio and Maine have a stark political view. Ohio is a swing state and has been represented by both Republicans and Democrats. In the past four years, Ohio has been represented by Republicans twice and Democrats twice. Maine however, has been represented by Democrats in the past four elections.
The Canadian Political Economy:
Ontario and Quebec account for the majority of Canada’s population accounting for approximately 21 million residents. These two provinces and a large proportion of their economy rely heavily on the United States. Moreover, lawmakers adopt policies that further expand their exposure in line with economic globalization. It is important to note that Ontario and Quebec’s economy is heavily reliant on the American economy. This has been established through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which allows goods to enter the borders of Canada tax-free, allowing goods to enter Canada for production. One specific industry that benefits both the Canadian and American economy tariff-free is the automobile industry. Car parts are manufactured and constructed between Canada and the United States. They travel between these two countries before the vehicle is fully constructed and are exported to international markets for purchase by people in other countries. However, these two provinces approach politics differently. Ontario is a liberal province while Quebec is collaborative. Their response to globalization and industrialization is rather different in several ways.