Tomorrow brings with it the return of Victoria Day, a charming relic of the Victorian era, as one might deduct from the name, a day off from work for many folks, and the unofficial start of summer here in Canada (for more on the history of Victoria Day, see this post, as well as this one, from years past). Unlike most other holidays that we observe in this country, Victoria Day is a wholly Canadian invention that takes place annually on the Monday prior to May 25th.
Chances are, few outside of Canada’s wide borders (save perhaps for our American neighbours to the south) are overly familiar with Victoria Day, and to be fair, why would they be? It's a squarely Canadian invention stretching back to the day's of this country's official formation in 1867, and "May Long", as it sometimes also called, is our own special way of rejoicing that, at long last we're free of winter's icy shackles once more. It's our moment to usher in summer, bust out the camping gear, fire up the grill, and just have a merry ol' time, Canadian style.
{Hurrah!!! Buh-bye, winter! Hello, gloriously lovely return of summer, complete with scores of days spent outdoors soaking up all the vitamin D, warmth and happiness boasting goodness that the sun can possible deliver. Image source.}
In the course of my nearly thirty years of life, very much including the two years I lived abroad in Ireland, I've come in contact with oodles of people from other countries who know little to (almost) nothing about Canada, or whose expertise centered around certain topics (such as our hockey teams) only.
This is always very interesting to me, because growing up, my classmates and I spent a lot of our school year learning about the history, culture, governments, and traditions of many different countries, especially those of the US and UK. It would seem, however, that by and large, students in those and most other countries do not learn a great deal about Canada, which is genuine shame, as we're a very fascinating country with a rich history, including the making of numerous groundbreaking scientific discoveries and inventions (such as the discovery of using insulin to treat diabetes in 1922 and the discovery of stem cells in 1963).
I've been asked some pretty interesting questions about my beloved country, Canada, over the years including a good many that play into various stereotypes (most of which, mind you I find quaintly charming and am not bothered by personally). Today, in the spirit of Victoria Day, a completely Canadian observation, I thought it would be fun to get to the real truth of the matter when it comes to fifteen of these views that the world holds, whether humourously or seriously, about my country and its lovely people.
1. Does everyone in Canada speak French?
A. No, not all at. While French and English are Canada's two official languages and you'll find both on most government documents, some road signs, a lot of our food and product packaging, at ATMs and various other places, English is by far the more predominantly and widely spoken of the two amongst those who only speak one or the other. According to the Statistics Canada 2001 census report regarding bilingualism in Canada, 74.5% of the population identifies them selves as English speaking, and 24.1% as French. The highest concentrations of French speakers in Canada hail from Quebec, New Brunswick, and Ontario, though you will of course encounter Francophiles all across the country.
2. Is it true that you have snow all year round in Canada?
A. If we count the snow that remains at high mountain elevations, such as that in the Rocky Mountains, and in the highest reaches of the arctic the whole year through, then yes, technically we do have snow (on the ground) in parts of Canada all the time, but for nearly everywhere that is inhabited by humans, the snowy season can span from an average of four to eight or nine (in the case of the Yukon, NWT, and Nunavut) months, with about half the year (from October or November to March or April) being the norm for most parts of the country.
3. Do you live in igloos?
A. This one is an eye roller if ever there was. While a small percentage of Inuit people living in the arctic territories still utilize traditional igloos for part of the year, no, the overwhelming majority of Canadians do not live, nor have they even so much as set foot inside of, an igloo.
4. Why do you include "eh" in every sentence?
Eh. Interestingly, this is a point that not all of my fellow Canadians and I see eye-to-eye on. Some feel that they almost never use "eh", whereas others, myself very much included, certainly do use it sometimes, particularly at the end of some of my spoken sentences and I feel a wonderful sense of Canuck pride when I think of this tiny two letter symbol our or nation's way of speaking. In short though, "eh" is not said by most Canadians as often as sartorial impressions of people from this country would have you believe.
5. Why is hockey pretty much the only sport Canadians play or like to watch?
A. While it is, and has long been, the nation's favourite sport, it's not the only one we play or delight in watching. Canada has an active sports scene, with lacrosse (our actual national sport), football, soccer, baseball, rugby, track events, ice skating, swimming, skiing, snowboarding, tennis, and cycling, amongst others, all being very popular from coast to coast.
6. Do you get around everywhere on a snowmobile or dog sled?
A. While snowmobiling is a popular winter activity, and some folks do use teams of sled dogs to navigate the snow covered arctic terrain, extremely few people use these means of transportation as their only way to get around the whole year through (you'd need to have snow on the ground 365 days a year to do so, which as you may recall from one of the questions above, does not actually exist in most places here in Canada), and many of us (myself included) have never so much as tried one or the other.
7. Are Canadians really as polite as they're portrayed?
A. First of all, aww, thank you very much for thinking about us like that! Secondly, while I would say that, as a whole, we're a wonderfully polite people who like to use the words please, thank you and I'm sorry like they're going out of style, in this country, as with all nations, not every single person is the picture of perfect manners. You'll find rude folks in Canada, just as you will anywhere else unfortunately. That said, far more folks are polite, friendly, courteous and amicable than not wherever you go across this vast land of ours and this point is one of very favourite things about Canadian culture.
8. Are there tons of bears (especially polar bears) everywhere?
A. Well, if you venture into certain parts of the forest in different provinces, yes, but by and large, while we do have a lot of bears in Canada, they're not "everywhere" by any means. To date, thankfully, I've never come face-to-face with a bear of any kind (though my mom once had one wander into her backyard while she was out in it; truly thankfully, she was able to make a hasty retreat inside the house without the bear chasing or attacking her) and neither have the bulk of most Canadians. We may see them sometimes, especially on the side of the highway in mountainous areas, at campgrounds or in the woods, but they're not exactly cutting in line to get a double-double at Tim Hortons by any means.
{Just like long stretches of unpopulated wilderness, Canada has no shortage of stereotypes, including some of which exists within its own borders, as the tongue-in-cheek map above highlights. Image source.}
10. Is it true that you harvest icebergs?
A. Yes! Each year, come the springtime, in a part of Newfoundland and Labrador known as Iceberg Alley, a small group of innovative entrepreneurs does indeed "harvest" pieces of these icy structures to use in various applications, such as the making of certain spirits and skincare products.
11. Canadians don't celebrate Valentine's Day/Easter/Thanksgiving/Halloween/Christmas/etc, too/like us, do they?
A. Yes, sir/ma'am, we do. Aside from the fact that our Thanksgiving (aka, Canadian Thanksgiving falls in early October, not the end of November), we celebrate all of the same major holidays that Americans do.
12. I heard that you have special highways just for wild animals in Canada. Is that for real?
A. Not everywhere, but yes, in fact, in Banff National Park and on Highway 69 located south of Sudbury, Ontario, special highway overpasses were constructed for the sole purpose of letting local wildlife such as wolves, bears, cougars, moose, bighorn sheep, wolverine, lynx, coyotes, deer and elk safely traverse the vehicle filled roadways below without having to risk being hit or otherwise disturbed by motorists. To date though, most highways in Canada do not have these kinds of animal-safety measures in place. It would be amazing if they did though. Sadly, scores of animals are killed by motorists every year while trying to cross the road.
13. The North Pole is in Canada, right?
A. Under international law, no country owns the North Pole or the area of the Arctic Ocean immediately surrounding it, so no, while it sits at the very top of the world right above the Canadian arctic circle, it is not technically a part of our country. Interestingly though, and very heartwarmingly, for many years now, Canada Post workers and various volunteers have been answering children's letters addressed to Santa Claus at the North Pole every Christmas.
14. Do you eat and drink anything other than maple syrup, ketchup potato chips, beer, bacon, beaver tails (a fried doughnut like pastry), Coffee Crisp chocolate bars, poutine, and ice wine?
A. What, wait...you mean there are other foods? Jokes aside, while all of these thoroughly scrumptious items are popular Canadian foods, we do indeed eat countless other things as well. Canada is a melting pot nation founded by, and comprised of, immigrates from across the whole world and the cuisine of our culture is highly influenced by this fact. In addition, Canada's First Nations and Inuit peoples have contributed their own tasty offerings to the awesome mosaic that makes up the Canadian diet. You're just as likely to find any of the items in this question from coast to coast as you are things like Pad Thai, pierogis, sushi, Rice Krispies, bannock, pizza, hamburgers, popcorn, blueberry muffins, curry, or countless of foods with roots stretching near and far alike.
15. Do you know so-so and from [insert name of town or city]?
A. No, I don't know Richard from Ottawa or Prince George or Regina or Yellowknife. Sorry, that's playing into a stereotype all its own there, as Richard is an extremely common male name, especially for men in the 35 to 65 year old age bracket in this country. While Canada's population is dwarfed by that of America, with nearly 35 million people and counting, chances are I don't know someone else simply on the merits of the fact that they too are Canadian. However, if they hail from somewhere I’ve lived or have relatives, there's a very small chance I might know them, and in that case, I'll tell Rick that you said hello. :)
Just as with many stereotypes, there is usually a grain of truth or understandable path that lead to their inception, and those regarding Canada are no different. We do love maple syrup and bacon, wear a fair bit of lumberjack inspired plaid, occasionally pronounce about as "a-boot", spend half of the year in the snow, say "sorry" frequently, spot a beaver every now and then (especially while out paddling a canoe), and adore our hockey something fierce.
{Just another typical moose, snow covered mountain, big horn sheep, maple leaf, bear, and Mountie filled day in Canada. Image source.}
We're a fun loving, hard working people who, come tomorrow, will rejoice in summer's unofficial return. For many, this will mean cracking open a 2-4 (a Canadian term for a 24 case of beer), tossing some burgers on the grill, and putting our snow shovels back into hibernation for another six months. And to that I say, have a very happy Victoria Day, eh!
