American and Canadian culture is a lot more similar, than Canadian and most other cultures -- denying that is pretty silly, even with the current issues ongoing.
I have lived and worked on both coasts and a few places in between, and worked in various cities across the United States. To say we are similar is the silly thing. We are drastically different in the most meaningful ways. Saying Canadian and American cultures are similar is like saying apples and strawberries are similar because they're both fruit.
The amount, and quality, of the content from other sources is lower than from the USA.
Spoken like someone that either doesn't watch things from outside the United States, or just enjoys the kind of simple pablum most US shows are. I have watched English language shows from Canada, Ireland, Wales, England, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Italy, Norway, and a few multi-country shows. Again, all in English.
a diminished quality of life / standard of living -- a reduction in the quality / variety is just that, even if there are 'some' replacement options around
I think it says more about you than the rest of us that you think worldwide shows are accepting of lesser quality. The rest of the world produces absolutely great entertainment, and if you think otherwise, you're ignorant of reality.
Subtitled shows aren't the same as hearing your native language spoken in media.
Whose debating this? So you can't enjoy a show unless it's in English? I have watched shows from Korea, Japan, Germany, France, Spain, Denmark and French Canada and had no issues enjoying them. Again, I think it says more about you that you can't enjoy something if it's not in English.
Ideally, Canada would make more content for Canada. But I don't think we realistically have the market size for that.
How much Canadian content do you watch? A new season of North of North just started. Schitt's Creek was one of the most successful Canadian TV shows ever. Letterkenny/Shoresy are world known. Do you watch Sone of a Critch? The Trades? Murdoch Mysteries? Allegiance? Wild Cards? Saite-Pierre? The Traitors (French and English)? Heated Rivalry? Private Eyes (A new version is starting)? Still Standing?
This is just a few.
Your point is also complete bullshit because the combined population of New Zealand and Australia is less than Canada and the amount of content which is locally grown exceeds Canadian. We have no excuse.