Is Canada different to the US?

I am not sure what I would have expected from Canada and therefore I am not sure if I am disappointed. As you move from Spain through France and into Germany there are a large number of changes and not just the language but food, culture and ideology to mention a few. I did not expect that level of difference but there seems to be similar to a number of the US cities that I have visited. Not to say it is a bad place to visit but not as different as I expected. It occurred that that the France-Spain border is mainly Basque and similar on both sides and French Alsatians speak German and maybe Toronto's closeness to the US border is the reason.

After time the difference I discovered is subtle. America tends to shout out at you advertising itself in self promotion with bright lights and endless commercialism. In Canada it is a lot more under stated and I think that the difference I was looking for is that Canada is different but they don't necessarily tell you about it, outside of bears dressed as Mounties, the under-statedness is Canada.