# Determining If Someone Is Canadian... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 21, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072 "2014-10-21T21:16:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/121 "2014-10-25T22:54:37Z")
That’s OK. Anyone who lives in a forest is allowed to wear their socks and their toque all the time all year around. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/122 "2014-10-25T22:57:37Z")
Another way to determine if someone is Canadian is to lay the Canadian on its back and tickle its tummy. If it giggles, it is a Canadian. If it shoots you, it’s probably an American. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/123 "2014-10-25T23:29:46Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > Pfft! That’s clearly an exaggeration, I was just telling my wife that people tend to think this when we were sitting at the hospital waiting for our free flu shot… > [@doorhinge](#): > > Only Canadians don’t understand that their free flu shot isn’t free. They just don’t realize that they have already paid for it. Or maybe they forgot how their healthcare system is funded? > [@doorhinge](#): > > You’re welcome. I didn’t say that Canadians are unaware of how their healthcare system works. > > Maybe you could explain to **swampspruce** how his free flu shots are funded? One of my tests to determine if someone is an American is if they don’t get subtle Canadian jokes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/124 "2014-10-26T00:12:59Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > That’s right - the Queen sends us a bunch of money, it’s matched by the Tommy Douglas Foundation, and hey presto! Healthcare funding! You see, **doorhinge** , we really do know how our healthcare is funded. If the USA signed on as a Canadian province, it too could have its healthcare funded. Why do you hate free healthcare? ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/125 "2014-10-26T21:35:46Z")
> [@tonyfop](#): > > When they speak, their head from the mouth up pops off? Or is that just South Park, eh? Or ask them to describe their house. If their initials are posted prominently above their front door, they’re Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/126 "2014-10-26T21:46:59Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Invite them in. If they take off their shoes they might be. Could be Swedish too, not a good litmus test. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/127 "2014-10-26T22:19:19Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Could be Swedish too, not a good litmus test. True, I guess. And someday in a century or two, someone might Actually knock on my door and Ask. Hmmm. Perhaps I could reference this [article](http://www.aftonbladet.se/) and ask them if they believe in Rouge Submarines…? We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine And our friends are all on board Many more of them live next door So who at hand, would like to play…? _cue instrumental_ ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/128 "2014-10-26T22:59:52Z")
Just ask them. They have to do the polite thing and answer if they are Canadian. In the midwestern part of Canada (Thunder Bay to west of Winnipeg) you can hear a bit of a brogue in the locals voices, as well as in our northern border of the same area. It’s very faint but it sounds like a blend of all the Irish and Scots lumbermen who emigrated. Many of the folk in the area also sport an exaggerated “oo” that lasts longer than that of native Windsorites. ---
**Author:** ![jsquire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jsquire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsquire)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/129 "2014-10-27T01:04:30Z")
Simple test: ask them who the Canadian PM is. If they reply “Stephen Harper”, they’re well-informed Americans. If they reply “Stephen Hareperrr”, they’re Canadian. If they reply with a string of profane epithets, they’re American hockey fans who live within transmission range of the border but who can no longer see HNIC on CBC because the Conservatives cut its funding. That would be people like me. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/130 "2014-10-27T03:33:04Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I _have_ never seen him eat poutine - I think you guys are onto something! So I have to learn to like poutine, Bloody Caesars, lacrosse, and the CBC; and avoid baseball, hot dogs, apple pies, and Chevrolets? Naw. Ain’t gonna happen. Hang on. Make that, “Ain’t gonna happen, _eh?_” Gotta retain _some_ Canuck cred. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/131 "2014-10-27T04:24:28Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > _48 litres_ of homo milk. 🙂 In _bags_, if you are from Ontario and some other parts of Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/132 "2014-10-27T05:55:14Z")
Sorry I got on the milk train a little late, but maybe that is because there are no passenger trains running through my hometown. We do still have a train that runs to Vancouver, and there had better be, because that was part of the [deal](http://www.canadahistoryproject.ca/1871/) Carnut commented on the accent from northern Ontario, my home region. The big speech difference I noticed when I spent a month in Thunder Bay this summer is that “camp” which is a definite Northern Ontarianism for cottage, lake house, country home, chalet, whatever is greatly exaggerated. Ka-yam-p. Now I hear it in my own speech, and it particularly shows up if I have been talking to my parents, brother etc. I am sure it exists in other vocalizations but that one jumps out at me. **Muffin** , do you notice this? And just to add, we are only touching the differences in Canadian English. My fully bilingual Franco-Ontarian partner will discuss to great lengths the differences between Ontario French, Quebec French, Quebec city french and Acadian French. Also rural and urban french in northeastern Ontario, from whence he hails. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/133 "2014-10-27T10:28:09Z")
“We had to come in from camp to go to Fred and Wilma’s shag.” Yes, camp is the word used here rather than cottage, etc. I have a bad ear for accents, however, so I can’t tell the difference between how we say camp and how folks in Toronto say camp. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/134 "2014-10-27T14:42:10Z")
Fastest way to find out if someone is Canadian is to hint they may be American. They will correct you. I have no accent myself, but I delight in so many of the East Coast ones - Cape Breton, Newfoundland, PEI, love them all :). Unfortunately my speech is as flat as the city I was born in, Winnipeg. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/135 "2014-10-27T15:16:58Z")
Have you guys noticed that Canadians say “garbage” where Americans say “trash?”? Like, I’m going to get a garbage bag to take out my garbage tonight and put it in the garbage can. An American would go get a trash bag to take out their trash and put it in the trash can. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/136 "2014-10-27T15:19:03Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > You see, **doorhinge** , we really do know how our healthcare is funded. If the USA signed on as a Canadian province, it too could have its healthcare funded. Why do you hate free healthcare? I LOVE free healthcare. We could start by you paying for my healthcare and see if that works out. You Canadians are truly wonderful neighbors. I wouldn’t trade youse guys for anyting. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/137 "2014-10-27T15:24:42Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > True, I guess. And someday in a century or two, someone might Actually knock on my door and Ask. > > Hmmm. > > Perhaps I could reference this [article](http://www.aftonbladet.se/) and ask them if they believe in Rouge Submarines…? Was that supposed to go to an actual article on made up underwater ships, or to something that looks like the adult version of a high school newspaper? ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/138 "2014-10-27T15:47:42Z")
I’m a tad late here, **doorhinge** , but as noted above I was being a touch facetious. As 43% of my paycheque goes to the gubbmint, I have a pretty good idea where my healthcare money is coming from. Will someone please come up with a sarcasm font? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/139 "2014-10-27T15:59:53Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > I’m a tad late here, **doorhinge** , but as noted above I was being a touch facetious. As 43% of my paycheque goes to the gubbmint, I have a pretty good idea where my healthcare money is coming from. Will someone please come up with a sarcasm font? 43%! :eek: (FYI - Until a specific facetious font magically appears, you could use 😉 or 😛 or 😃 or 🙂 or :rolleyes: ) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072/140 "2014-10-27T16:07:24Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > Have you guys noticed that Canadians say “garbage” where Americans say “trash?”? > > Like, I’m going to get a garbage bag to take out my garbage tonight and put it in the garbage can. An American would go get a trash bag to take out their trash and put it in the trash can. Nope not for me. They’re so interchangeable that it’s hard to think about which one I use in every context, but I think garbage more often. An object to throw away is garbage. Garbage bag. Garbage can or trash can are pretty interchangeable. If I have to guess, trash can more means the one you keep in your house, and garbage can (or bin) is the one on the curb. Metaphorically, it depends as in: “Alright. It’s time to _cocks shotgun_ take out the trash!” White trash, always. But a person can otherwise be either. In the cupboard, my Kirkland brand bags are euphemized as “Kitchen Bags.” Garbage is stereotypical in New Jersey so that we can hear them say “gaabaage.” 🙂 Rubbish is mostly a British thing, and in the US almost always is used for saying something is crappy but not actual rubbish. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/determining-if-someone-is-canadian/702072.md?page=8)