# What are some regional Canadian cultural differences? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 7, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251 "2006-12-07T18:39:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/1 "2006-12-07T18:39:17Z")
I’ve just been watching the second season of _Slings and Arrows_, in which a running gag is that a secondary character is from (I think) Manitoba? Which really had no cultural resonance for me. What are the regional stereotypes among Canadians? When a Vancouverite and an Ottowan get together, what do they snark on one another for? And does everybody take the mick out of the Quebecois, or the Nunavummiut? Is there an analogy to the American Midwest, which both coasts look down on? Don’t tell me they’re all too _nice_ and _polite_ for that sort of thing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/2 "2006-12-07T21:02:55Z")
“Newfie” jokes. In the same say you will hear an American trying to sound like a “dumb-yokel” and fake a southern or Arkansas accent, to sound like a Canadian simpleton one will often fake an east coast accent. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/3 "2006-12-07T21:10:13Z")
As an Albertan, I can tell you that we’re sometimes thought of as rich rednecks with more oil than brains. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/4 "2006-12-07T21:10:36Z")
Oh, and not a snark, just an observation with respect to minor cultural differences. When a cashier gives me change, most of the time, in Ontario, they hand it to me (sometimes he/she will set it on the counter if I seem to be fumbling with my wallet). I used to notice on business trips to Quebec that, nine times out of ten, the cashier will set the money and coins on the counter and slide it toward me. Once in awhile, I had the cashier cock and eyebrow quizzically as I’m standing there with my hand open to accept my change. I have noticed teh practice on the decling though. It was prevalent enough ten to fifteen years ago that my colleagues and I joked about it. ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/5 "2006-12-07T21:43:15Z")
In my little journeys across the country, I’ve heard rumour about the following: People in BC talk too fast. People from the prairies talk too slowly. Everyone in BC smokes pot and none of them know what hot/cold weather really _means_. Everyone in Québec swears. A lot. In French. Everyone from Newfoundland/Alberta can really hold their liquor. British Columbians/Albertans/People from Toronto are practically American. Toronto is the centre of the universe. Everyone from the maritimes is a failing fisherman just two steps away from moving to Northern Alberta. There’s nothing in Saskatchewan but wheat farmers. I’ve _noticed_ that there is a dialect difference between martimers, French Canadians, prairie folks and British Columbians. Nova Scotia is pretty famous for hanging on to shops being closed on Sundays. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/6 "2006-12-08T04:48:18Z")
Please allow me to address a few of your points, **Rabbit**. **People in BC talk too fast.** - I think they sound like surfers, myself. **People from the prairies talk too slowly.** - I’ve never heard that. Actually, my Calgarian husband says my accent is that I enunciate too clearly. He’s just weird, though. **Everyone in BC smokes pot and none of them know what hot/cold weather really _means_.** Well, yeah. **Everyone in Québec swears. A lot. In French.** Tabernacle, that’s right, eh? Don’t forget the constant smoking, and the girls being ultra fashion-conscious. **Everyone from Newfoundland/Alberta can really hold their liquor.** - And people from Saskatchewan. There’s not a lot else to do there. **British Columbians/Albertans/People from Toronto are practically American.** - BC people are like Californians. Albertans are just plain Capitalists (but a lot like Texans, apparently). Torontonians want to be New Yorkers. **Everyone from the maritimes is a failing fisherman just two steps away from moving to Northern Alberta.** - You know, the pay is awful good up there. **There’s nothing in Saskatchewan but wheat farmers.** - Well, now that we’ve all moved to Alberta, sure. My perception of regional cultural differences: Maritimes - very funny, good-natured people. Don’t mix up which province they’re from, though. They talk funny. Quebec - Seem to barely tolerate the rest of us, without knowing much about us. Ontario - A little arrogant. The closer to Toronto you get, the greater the degree of arrogance. We can always tell when someone is newly moved here from Toronto. Once you get to Northern Ontario, virtually indistinguishable from Prairie folk, except Ontarians say, “Youse.” Manitoba - Cold-ish for Prairie people. I don’t know why this is. Probably because they’re so close to Toronto. 😃 Saskatchewan - Very down-to-earth people. Can be a little …unsophisticated. Aren’t too fond of the jokes about how stupid and backwards Saskatchewanians are, but they’d never tell you. Not that I’m prejudiced at all. Alberta - Redneck Capitalists through and through. Good people, mostly, in spite of it. Actually, most people I meet in Calgary are from other places. BC - Much more “organic” than any other area of Canada. Bunch of web-footed tree-huggers. Northerners - Our forgotten folk. I suspect them of all being slightly crazy, 'cause it’s damned cold up there. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/7 "2006-12-08T05:04:24Z")
Toronto _is_ the center of the universe. You lot are just haters. (I kid, I kid…) ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/8 "2006-12-08T05:07:21Z")
[QUOTE=GingerOfTheNorth] As an Albertan, I can tell you that we’re sometimes thought of as rich rednecks with more oil than brains. [/QUOTE] What do you mean, sometimes? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/9 "2006-12-08T05:53:14Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] Quebec - Seem to barely tolerate the rest of us, without knowing much about us. [/QUOTE] The feeling is mutual. 😛 ---
**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:** [December 8, 2006, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/10 "2006-12-08T05:56:30Z")
[QUOTE=Kythereia] Toronto _is_ the center of the universe. [/quote] Nice setup for the following questions (which may obliquely address the OP’s question): Q: How many Torontonians does it take to change a light bulb? A: Just one. He or she holds the new bulb in place, and the universe revolves around him or her. Here’s another: Q: How many Torontonians does it take to change a light bulb? A: Two. One to do the actual changing, the other to use a Blackberry to e-mail New York for instructions as to how. > [@](#): > > (I kid, I kid…) Me too, me too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/11 "2006-12-08T16:18:47Z")
[QUOTE=GingerOfTheNorth] As an Albertan, I can tell you that we’re sometimes thought of as rich rednecks with more oil than brains. [/QUOTE] One Canadian history book I read compared Alberta to Texas. As a Texan, I could see some similarities–even from a distance. Except for the weather. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Machine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Ice\_Machine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Machine)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/12 "2006-12-08T17:16:07Z")
[QUOTE=Bridget Burke] One Canadian history book I read compared Alberta to Texas. As a Texan, I could see some similarities–even from a distance. Except for the weather. [/QUOTE] I’m originally from Southern Ontario but a friend of mine born and bred just south of Houston was sent to Calgary for work for a 9-month project and confirmed this. Except for the weather he found it to be quite similar to Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/13 "2006-12-09T18:50:35Z")
There are a lot of people working in Calgary from Texas at the oil and gas companies, and a surprising amount of them end up staying in Calgary. Once they get used to what we call “iced tea” here, of course. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/14 "2006-12-10T02:11:38Z")
Probably the most common, and not mentioned yet? People on the West Coast are “laid back” to the point of laziness and general apathy, while East Coast folks are driven to the point of obsession, overly anal, and constitutionally unable to relax. (My cohabitant and I appear to bear this generalization out, in microcosm. :o) ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/15 "2006-12-10T07:06:27Z")
East coast folks? Nah, they’re all good natured and sweet country folk. Maybe those Ontarians. They’re pretty suspect. I always found it strange that people from the prairies were considered sort of slow moving and backward. In my head, everyone from Alberta is practically Texan (which, I guess, includes me); everyone from Saskatchewan must be a research scientist (or a wheat farmer); everyone from Manitoba carries a gun (the Winnipeggers for shooting eachother, the Churchill folk for shooting polar bears). ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/16 "2006-12-10T07:19:23Z")
“People in BC talk too fast.” Never heard this one. They do like to brag about the weed and weather, wear ten layers of clothing when exposed to real snow, complain about all the retired folks in Victoria. “People from the prairies talk too slowly.” Not heard this one either. “Everyone in BC smokes pot and none of them know what hot/cold weather really means.” Yes. “Everyone in Québec swears. A lot. In French.” They all smoke too. Tabernouche! “Everyone from Newfoundland/Alberta can really hold their liquor.” The Newfies can. And Alberta is mainly Newfies anyway. “British Columbians/Albertans/People from Toronto are practically American.” Whatever that means. Canadian culture is defining what you are not. “Toronto is the centre of the universe.” Sigh. They think so. So do people from Vancouver, though. “Everyone from the maritimes is a failing fisherman just two steps away from moving to Northern Alberta.” Going on the pogey is hardly a sign of failure. (It’s the name of a Canadian celtic band too. Guess where they’re from?) “There’s nothing in Saskatchewan but wheat farmers.” There’s also silos. Any W.O. Mitchell. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/17 "2006-12-10T09:21:07Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] **British Columbians/Albertans/People from Toronto are practically American.** - BC people are like Californians. Albertans are just plain Capitalists (but a lot like Texans, apparently). [/QUOTE] Speaking as a native Californian who was in Canada a few years ago, BC seemed more like the Bay Area or LA, whereas Alberta seemed more like the Central Valley (Fresno, Bakersfield, Modesto - cities all based on agriculture and related industries). People up there were certainly friendlier on average. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/18 "2006-12-10T10:09:38Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Mudd] Probably the most common, and not mentioned yet? People on the West Coast are “laid back” to the point of laziness and general apathy, while East Coast folks are driven to the point of obsession, overly anal, and constitutionally unable to relax. [/QUOTE] Not sure what you mean by East, but as a Maritimer, driven and anal aren’t words I would think would apply to us as a group. Most of the people I know are relaxed to the point of barely being conscious 🙂 Can’t say I’ve ever known a fisherman - most of the people I know work in call centres or offices. There is a substantial migration to Alberta of Maritimers in search of some extra money, but sooner or later, they all come home. There’s a giant magnet here, you see. Oh, and you can say I’m from PEI or NS if you want, although I’m from NB. I’ve read that we’re [a happy bunch](http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2006/11/30/nb-blisssurvey.html) but I don’t really see that we have a distinct flavour as a province. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/19 "2006-12-10T18:49:10Z")
[QUOTE=Dr\_Paprika] Canadian culture is defining what you are not. [/quote] This may be the most important part of Canadian culture. Canadians, remember [Joe’s Rant](http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/joesrant.htm)? This was an ad for Molson’s beer back a few years ago, featuring Joe Average Canadian ranting about being Canadian. But how much of what Joe said dealt with what he _wasn’t_, not necessarily what he _was_? Indeed, Snopes has this to say on the topic: > [@Snopes](#): > > Those behind the ad insist it packs a pro-Canadian, not anti-American, wallop. The United States is such a looming presence in Canadian life that virtually the only way Canadians have to define their identity is to highlight whatever is un-American about themselves. Thus, “I am not…” becomes a way of saying “I am…” We may have regional variations, but it would seem to me that defining yourself by what you are not may be the overriding consideration: I am not a Torontonian, I am not a wheat farmer, I am not from Newfoundland, etc. etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/20 "2006-12-10T18:55:57Z")
[QUOTE=Cyros] Not sure what you mean by East, but as a Maritimer, driven and anal aren’t words I would think would apply to us as a group. [/QUOTE] I believe that the ‘region’ to which **Larry Mudd** refers is the four walls around him and his SO. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251.md?page=2)