# 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:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/21 "2006-12-10T21:01:57Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] Northerners - Our forgotten folk. I suspect them of all being slightly crazy, 'cause it’s damned cold up there. [/QUOTE] Why do you think we leave? Northerners can be thought of as Maritimers with better winter gear. We have kitchen parties and we’re polite and friendly and we always, always stop if someone’s car is broken down in the winter on the highway - if you don’t, they might die. But we’ll do that in the summer, too, regardless of the blackflies and mosquitoes OF DOOM. [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] Well, yeah. We have the oil and the beef and the big boots and hats in Alberta. The similarities in the culture seem to go along with the economical similarities. However, outside of Red Deer, the big hair isn’t a common feature. (See, that’s a joke. I didn’t have big hair when I lived in Red Deer, but my sister does.) ---
**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 11, 2006, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/22 "2006-12-11T06:30:11Z")
[QUOTE=Buckfutter] Having lived there, I would only attribute that stereotype to about 90 per cent of the population. The other roughly 10 per cent who are still there can be pretty cool folks. [/QUOTE] My comment about being prejudiced was because I’m from Saskatchewan stock back to the settlers on both sides of my family. You can take the girl out of Saskatchewan…😃 ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/23 "2006-12-11T18:01:02Z")
…but she still won’t giggle when she says “Regina”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/24 "2006-12-11T20:00:40Z")
It’s interesting to read this thread and then realize just how little difference there is. Really, Canada must be the world record holder for the largest ratio of geographic space to regional similarity. I get all around the country, and really, there isn’t that much difference. There’s some, but England, with 1% of the geography, has twenty times as much regional variation. The U.S. is vastly more regionally distinctive, though of course they have a lot more people. There are slight differences in accent (except in Newfoundland, where in can indeed be very pronounced) but east of Newfoundland the differences are minor, certainly far, far less so than in Britain or the USA. Ontarians are not more arrogant than other Canadians; that’s stupid, prejudiced bullshit. British Columbians are not all surfers; that’s stupid bullshit. Quebecers are just as friendly and accepting as anyone else, no matter what anyone tells you. The truth is that most of the time it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference between someone from Guelph, Kimberley, Brandon or Truro. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/25 "2006-12-11T20:21:15Z")
[QUOTE=GingerOfTheNorth] …but she still won’t giggle when she says “Regina”. 😃 [/QUOTE] Hey! None of that! My mom was from Regina! What? ---
**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 12, 2006, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/26 "2006-12-12T03:20:46Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] I\Ontarians are not more arrogant than other Canadians; that’s stupid, prejudiced bullshit. British Columbians are not all surfers; that’s stupid bullshit. Quebecers are just as friendly and accepting as anyone else, no matter what anyone tells you. \ [/QUOTE] The OP was looking for regional stereotypes, not a thesis on exactly how Canadians are and act. If she wanted _that_, I would have referred her to Will and Ian Ferguson’s book “How To Be A Canadian.” ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251/27 "2006-12-12T11:05:13Z")
> [@Tracy Lord](#): > > Is there an analogy to the American Midwest, which both coasts look down on? They do? Hrm. Not here. Then again, there are probably as many people here born in the Upper Midwest as born in California. > [@Larry Mudd](#): > > 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. Sounds like the US to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-regional-canadian-cultural-differences/383251.md?page=1)