Do US and Canadian accents sound as different to foreigners as other English accents (i.e. UK, Australian, S. African) do to each other?

You mean, US and Canadian accents sound different?

After three years of living in the States, I was *almost* able to tell Mid-West and North-East apart. I only know to listen out for the “aboot” vowel because of South Park. (And imagine my surprise when I heard the same vowel shift in Southern Virginia.)

Americans have a devil of a time telling Australian and New Zealand accents apart. Same on the flip side. It’s all about familiarity.

Or aboot even.