The Canadian Cultural Quirks That People Find Amusing

For many people around the world, the Canadian country flag, the accent, currency, their love for hockey, and their polite and somehow ever apologetic social protocol are simply amusing and interesting. To most Americans, their neighbors to the northern border ought to have been part of the USA, probably as a state, sharing all the provisions and values of the American dream.

But as a sovereign country with its own constitution, history, and the canadian cultural quirks it would be understandable why Canada looks too identical yet too different from the US. In this post, we will be looking at 10 baffling cultural quirks that you will find in Canada but not in the US… quirks that would probably define Canada and its people.

1.         Canadians are immune to cold

Many Americans who haven’t been to Canada assume that their northern neighbors live around snow all the time including during summer. While this isn’t entirely true- after all, Canada heats up to over 40 degree Celsius during summer, Canadians would do just fine even if it were true. It is not strange to find Canadians walking along the streets of British Columbia donning light clothes in the middle of winter. To them, a cold season doesn’t necessarily mean that they stop taking part in outdoor activities. Simply put, Canadians are immune to cold.

2.         Their government offices have the friendliest staff world over

Government officers across the world are notoriously rude and arrogant, particularly in the US, but not in Canada. You will be fascinated by how friendly and accommodating Canadian government officers are. Perhaps this is why Americans assume that all Canadians are super friendly, overly nice, and perpetually apologetic.

3.         Canadians are technically not Canadians

Whereas Canadians will defend their national pride tooth and nail, they don’t always pledge their allegiance entirely to Canada. Speak to any Canadian and he or she will tell you of his/her European roots. They have that sense of pride when they talk about their English, French, German, or Irish ancestry.

4.         They eat meat from, well, weird-animals

People living in London, Ontario eat anything from beef to camel meat to horse meat… you name it. Don’t freak out when you find exotic, weird meat in a grocery store in Ontario or Quebec. And don’t try to lecture them on which animals should or should not be eaten if you don’t want things to get really ugly. The last person Canadians want advice from is an American.

5.         Canadian music, good or bad, is prioritized over any other music

American broadcasters and deejays in clubs play foreign music all the time, provided that people are entertained. In Canada, however, has a set of broadcasting laws that dictate to radios and television deejays to prioritize local music. That is not to say that foreign music such as country and reggae are not played here.

6.         Powdered cheese is a staple food in Canada

Do you think that you love powdered cheese? If yes, then you haven’t lived in Ontario. Here, an average Canadian will eat almost twice the amount of cheese an average American eats in a year.

7.         Gun holders are very responsible with their weapons

Most households in Canada have guns that they use for hunting. They don’t enjoy as progressive rights to bear arms as the Americans, but these neighbors upstairs know how to behave well when carrying guns. This explains why there aren’t as many cases of mass shooting in Canada as there are in America.

8.         Their English is more British than American

Although most Canadians can comfortably speak with the American accent, they don’t really spell words like their neighbors. In simple terms, they speak like Americans but write like Britons.

9.         They love their beer

Canadians find no shame in drinking their beer right from the bottle. They are actually proud of this and will occasionally make fun of Americans for their weakness when it comes to drinking. As a matter of fact, Canadians are heavy drinkers and their beer is way too strong for an average American drinker.

10.       Milk containers are, well, BAGS

You haven’t seen enough of canadian cultural quirks yet if you haven’t been to their grocery stores or supermarkets for milk, only to find that milk containers here are plastic bags. You might need to buy a pitcher that you will be using to hold the plastic bags upright so that you can use your milk.