Social constructionists approach framing as a process of “sense‐making” within which elites and journalists strive to produce content that resonates with their audiences. From this perspective, long‐term stability in media content may be viewed as due to cultural limitations on authors' framing efforts. This article provides evidence that Canadians' consistent framing of health‐related matters in terms of their common welfare was likely more a recalcitrant cause than a passive response to changes between 1965 and 1999 in their means of healthcare provision. In contrast, concomitant U.S. health‐related framing alternated among economic, welfare, and other frames, leaving citizens to consider policy proposals more in terms of “why” than “how” they do or do not make sense.