Canada

Canada is impossible to dislike, but go ahead and give it a shot. You don’t like festival-packed cities like Toronto and Montreal that offer the world’s best quality of life? Then take a double dose of history in St John’s,Newfoundland,North America's oldest city. Not enamoured with the prospect of hiking, skiing or snowboarding over the cloud-poking mountains of  Banff National Parks! Try a slow ride through the wheat-waving prairies of  Saskatchewan. You want a nosh lighter than Alberta beef or Nunavut whale blubber! Pick up ripe peaches and cheeses from the Kelowna’s local farmers’ markets.And it’s a wonder everyone is so nice, given the weather. It’s cold, as in world’s-coldest-country cold (based on average temperatures nationwide), which explains the mitten-sized beer case handles. Snag, a town in the Yukon, recorded North America's coldest temperature ever,What Canadians discuss around their dinner tables come election time – and what they discuss even when it’s not election time – is the nation’s much-cherished but ailing universal health care system. To be sure, the quality of care is high and getting treatment for minor ailments is easy. But try seeing a specialist or getting a hip replacement and you could be on a waiting list for months. Although no one will admit it, a two-tiered system is in place, and those with deep pockets can access additional often quicker care in private facilities.