Myths About Being Canadian, Eh

Because it's Canada Day on Monday and this long weekend is dedicated to celebrating all things Canadian, I think it's only appropriate to talk about all the myths surrounding Canada and what it means to be Canadian. Some rumours are so preposterous it makes me laugh and scratch my head; others may have some truth to them. So let's get started.

1. We Live In Igloos.

Now while this picture may look cool and realistic, it's not. I do not live in an igloo. I've never even seen an igloo in real life except for the snow forts my brothers and I used to build in the winter when we were younger (although it seemed so at the time, they were nowhere near as cool-looking as these).

This is my house (ok fine, my parent's house). See? Completely normal, no ice, no snow, grass, trees, sunshine.

2. We Say "Eh" and "Aboot".

Half of this one might be slightly true. I do find myself saying "eh" at times, but definitely not all the time, and not as much as people think. So for example, I might say, "It's so hot out, eh?" or "People think such weird things about Canada, eh?".  I definitely do not say "aboot". Never, ever.

3. We Drive Dog Sleds.

This is another one similar to the igloo story. Not true at all. Yes, in very remote parts of Canada way, way, wayyyyyyyy up north, people do live in igloos and drive dog sleds, but that is not the norm. Just like an igloo, I have never seen a dog sled in real life.

Found on yumfy.com

4. We Are Somehow Less Intelligent/Sophisticated/Technologically-Advanced/Knowledgeable About Health Care, etc, etc.

This is the one that probably bothers me the most. Where in the world does this come from??? Just because we are nice and considerate people, does not make us any less everything-I-listed-above-and-more than anyone else!

Have you ever heard of kerosene? the electron microscope? a little thing called insulin? been to an IMAX theatre? cooked on an electric stove? read Anne of Green Gables? used a telephone? written on a piece of paper? used a light bulb? have Java installed on your computer? used an alkaline battery?

All from Canada. You're welcome.

If you want to read more about Canada's contributions, click here, here, and here. 


5. We Have Real Police.

Yes, we have mounties. Yes, I have seen them in real life. Yes, they stroll down the middle of the road like they own the place (they actually do, they are real police, they will arrest you, don't be fooled). But we also have regular police who wear regular uniforms and who drive around in regular police cars arresting all the bad guys.

6. We Have Snow All Year Long.

As you can clearly see from the picture of my house above, that is not true. It starts to get warmer around April and summer weather usually lasts from June to September, and then the snow starts again in November. I live in Southern Ontario and the summers here get very hot. Today, for example, is 25 degrees Celsius but feels like 30. The only problem with the summer weather here is that it's very humid. Having curly hair, I don't enjoy it at all, it's a big pain the ass, but I try to remind myself that at least it's not snowing. That's something that I've wondered about. If the weather was nice all year long, would I really appreciate and enjoy the summer when it comes?

Just as a point of reference, where I live in Ontario is farther south than the following places:

• most of Wisconsin, North/South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Maine, and parts of New York
• England, Ireland, most of France, half of Italy, Germany, Poland, Russia
• all of the Scandanavian/Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, etc)

Winter vs. Summer

7. We Are Behind In Entertainment News

I know when you go to certain countries, Australia for example, you hear songs that came out 3 years ago. That doesn't happen here. We hear songs, see movies, hear about current events at the same time you do. The new scandalous Miley video? Despicable Me? Aaron Hernandez's murder charge? Check, check, check. 

8. Everyone Speaks French.

I don't, but I wish I did. I wish I spoke another language in general. I think it's such a cool and useful quality to have.


So there is my rant for all of the stupid, silly, sometimes completely untrue, sometimes true, myths about Canada. Now I'm going to go enjoy a hot summer day that includes barbecuing and wine drinking. Whatever country you're from, embrace all of the weird things about where you live. This Canadian does, eh?!