Living in Canada means quietly picking up dozens of strange little habits and social rules that outsiders often find confusing but Canadians instantly understand.
UFO Pad
Back in 1967, the town of St. Paul, Alberta, constructed the world’s first official UFO landing pad for alien visitors coming to Canada.
Only we Canadians would make a nationally televised centennial project out of a place to park a spaceship and invite the Minister of National Defence to cut the ribbon. It is now a folkloric monument to small-town Canadiana that drivers routinely pass every day.
House drama
Each time a new Speaker of the House is elected in Ottawa, they are forced to pretend that they don’t want the job. Then the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader ceremonially drag the Speaker to his seat.
This tradition has its roots in ancient British history, when the Speaker could be put to death for carrying bad news to the King. Foreigners may think this mock political wrestling match is strange, but we see it as quaint and necessary theatre.
The washroom
When you need to find a toilet in Canada, you don’t ask for the restroom or the bathroom. You ask to go to the washroom. It’s used universally across Canada, in houses, restaurants and airports alike.
In fact, if you’re watching an American movie and you spot the word “washroom” on a sign, it was probably filmed in Canada.
Winter grilling
Cold weather and blizzards don’t keep Canadians away from outdoor cooking. It is unbelievably normal to see someone in a down jacket and snow boots (and maybe even shorts) standing on a deck covered in snow, spatula in hand, flipping burgers on a propane grill as a literal snowstorm rages around them.
Cottage vs cabin
Some Canadians love weekend trips to their lake house, but what we call that home varies depending on where we’re from. If someone’s from Ontario, they are heading to the cottage. If someone’s from Western Canada, it’s a cabin. But if Canadians come from Northern Ontario, they are going to a camp. It’s a friendly region debate that will never seem to be solved.
The Caesar
Canada’s unofficial national drink is the Caesar. It is identical to a Bloody Mary except for one important detail. Rather than straight tomato juice, it’s made with tomato juice and clam broth. Outsiders may gag at the thought of clam juice in their cocktails, but we love the savory, salty flavor. It’s drunk out of a salt-rimmed glass and loaded with snacks like pickles, celery, or bacon.
Kraft Dinner
Boxed macaroni and cheese in Canada is practically worshipped. However, it is never referred to as “mac and cheese.” We only call it KD (Kraft Dinner). It’s a cheap classic comfort food that pretty much every Canadian ate growing up, straight from the pot.
Maple taffy
In winter, we pour hot, boiled maple syrup onto a clean bank of fresh, powdery snow. The syrup becomes sticky as it contacts the freezing snow and immediately hardens into a chewy, soft taffy. You grab a wooden popsicle stick, roll the taffy up on it, and eat it like a lollipop.
The Chesterfield
If you walk into an elderly Canadian relative’s home and they won’t ask you to sit on the couch, or even the sofa. They will say come sit on the chesterfield. It’s a quaintly old-timey British term for couch that somehow stuck around in Canadian lexicon long after everyone else had forgotten it.
Conversational quirks
Canadians have baffling ways of using yes and no to mean very specific things when talking. “Yeah, no” means no. “No, yeah” means yes. “Yeah, no, for sure” means I agree with you completely. It makes no sense, but the way it’s said vocally makes it clear what you mean.
May Two-Four
The Victoria Day long weekend is often referred to as “May Two-Four”. Canadians will automatically get the reference, understanding it means both when the long weekend occurs and the amount of beer purchased for it. The nickname puzzles many foreigners but rolls off Canadians’ tongues each year without fail.
Car kits
Canadians often store emergency supplies in their cars during the winter months. Blankets, flashlights, jumper cables, ice scrapers, and mini shovels tend to take up residence in trunks from November to April. Some of us even store extra boots in there. It sounds excessive if you don’t live here, but the weather can quickly leave drivers stranded for hours.
Rat petrol
Alberta is perhaps best known as the largest rat-free area in the world. Protected by “Rat Patrol” at the provincial borders since the 1950s, even pet rats have been expressly illegal there for decades. In fact, fines for rat ownership are steep.
Hydro bills
Across various regions in Canada, people say “hydro bill” when referring to an electricity bill. Even immigrants catch themselves saying it without noticing. Hydroelectric is such a predominant source of energy in regions of Canada. We don’t realize how strange it sounds because we say it so effortlessly.