Why does Canada use the metric system as supposed to standard (english) system?

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mr_fartson

The metric system far simpler than the English system in that measures are defined in multiples of 10, 100, 1000 etc. It is also used in almost all scientific work. Thank you, Napoleon, for your insight in introducing the Metric system,

As other posters have pointed out, almost every country uses the Metric System, except the US - perhaps the more conservative element think that godless Communists will take over if they convert.

tonalc1

According to a survey taken by US Metric Association many years ago, the only other countries besides the US that have NOT officially adopted the metric system are Liberia and Myanmar.

tuppenybitz

because Canada keeps up with the times and this is the system the most of world uses

tyler

uh well you question is a little confusing. we use the same system as the english. America is just about the last country still using imperial.. most pple have switched because metric is much easier, with groups of ten, and using decimals instead of fractions its much easier to use mathematical

isotope2007

Because its the system the whole world uses, except for the US. Amercians are so far behind the times and so out of step with the rest of the world. (sigh)

oh yah those two other countries the person above me mentioned -

PuckDat

Because Canada is with the times not behind it. LOL - Liberia, the US and Myanmar. What do they have in common? An imperial measure system and facist dictator rulers.

SteveN

Some older people in Canada still use the imperial measurements, and their children may be a bit mixed up as they use both measurements.

For example, I know my height in feet and inches, not in centimeters. I know my weight in pounds, not kilograms. When I do carpentry, I use a 2 X 4 and 4 X 8 sheets of plywood, not metric values.

On the other hand, I take my medication in milligrams, my temperature in celsius, my gas is in litres, my car driving is in kilometers.

By the way, the USA actually passed legislation in 1975 (Metric Conversion Act) designed to make metric the preferred system for weights and measures in the United States. They were supposed to assist most industries to convert to metric by 1992. Apparently, this never caught on.

Like another responder mentioned, it is possible that USA still retains imperial as a measurement to force Americans to buy local replacement parts for the products they bought. Unfortunately, I think they are missing the point, in that they can get standardized measurements to make it easier and cheaper for US consumers, as well as opening up new markets for companies that currently only make imperial parts or tools.

If you can imagine a company that makes metric tools. They have to make an imperial version and a metric version to cover both markets. This can at times mean two factories or two assembly lines.

MoishePippik

Actually, the question is "Why does the USA use the British Imperial measurement system"? The most likely reason is that to fix or repair US products, people in other countries are more likely to buy US tools and parts.
Since 1866, in the US, the Metric System (SI) has been legal for use in trade; in 1789, Thomas Jefferson had proposed a similar system of weights and measures.
Almost all scientific work, and much engineering is actually performed in SI in the US.

HO HO HO HIC

because the only country in the world still using standard measurement is the united states the rest of the world is metric

Dangermanmi6

Because Pierre Treadeau and the Liberals decided that we would go that way to try to break us away from the US and we know how well that worked. The US was supposed to go but like their money they didn't want to change.

nbr660

Canada changed in the 70's to metric

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