What is the difference between the American accent and the Canadian accent?

There actually isn't an American accent - there are many different regions in the US, and each has its own distinctive accent. Texas, for example, sounds completely different than New England. California is in a world all by itself and Louisiana and the bayou country is different again. Same with Canada - people on the west coast have very different accents from the people on the east coast, and of course, in the Quebec region, it's different again. If I were comparing the two, on an overall basis, I would have to say that the New England states have an accent that is closer to the British accent than anything in Canada. But of course, England has many accents as well, so none of the countries has what could be called a consistent accent. - excluding BBC reporters ;-)

Spend a week in Lunenburg NS, then go over to Bar Harbour ME and ask the same question. And that's just one variation, not to mention the various French accents (joual to Acadien) that make up this country. All generalisations are false, including this one.

Not much left to say, really...

I would say there is no real difference between the standard US accent, say west of the Mississippi and the Canadian one from Ottawa west. It is in no way half way between the US and British. If you use the Atlantic ocean as an analogy and are in a boat where the Candians are, you would still be able to see Halifax. I Lived in Canada for 49 years and have been in LA now for more than 8 years and exactly once has anyone said anything about a way I pronounced a word. He was guessing either Canada or New England. I When I tell people I am Canadian, they are amazed. No one knows. My Canadian daughter when she is in college, when she is at the International Student office, they wonder what the blazes she is doing there as she is obviously an American. Considering that 20% of the people in Hollywood are Canadian and with TV and popular culture, there is no real difference in the way most English Canadians and most Americans speak. A few minor details is all.

We really do have different accents depending on where we live. Honestly, I can't tell that there is much of a difference between the American and and western Canadian accents, but Americans seem to be able to pick us out easily. I think it's the ou thing? It seems as though the further east you go in the country, the more "europeanized" the accent is. Especially on the east coast, the accent does sound a lot more British. Of course, this is a generalization.

Hey it depends where in Canada you are. Ontario natives use a distinct "ou" but Virginians do the same. The Canadian accent sounds a lot like the North Dakota Minnesota accent in the US. I don't think you can generalize. But nobody else says "ey?" after every sentence . . .

Good answers above, but I would also point out that the educational levels of individuals will also affect how they speak and sound. People who didn't finish high school and work at a minimum wage job won't usually have very good diction or vocabulary. They will tend to sound " low class " and use a lot of slang. They won't be very likely to speak in complete sentences, or to form their words clearly. That applies in both North America, and the UK. Nothing identifies / underscores a UK state or comprehensive school student like their accent and muddled speech. Mick Jaeger has never lost his lower class accent, despite being quite wealthy . Many Canadians are making a very good living in American TV and radio, due to their lack of a " regional accent " and their clear speaking voices. Peter Jennings ( ABC ) and JD Roberts , and Eli Velshi ( CNN ) and of course Alex Trebec come to mind. Jim b Toronto.