Canuck's Embassy

[i luv tom welling]

Top o' the mor- er, hi everyone, this is a new place to discuss all things Canadian - currrent events, past events, news, people, places, fact vs. fiction, anything as long as it's PG-13. Have a question? Ask it here, I or one of the other friendly Canadians on this board can answer it for you.

Certain questions ("do you live in an igloo?") will be frowned upon. Please think before posting ;)


To start off, has anyone heard that Ed Belfour will not be playing goalie for Team Canada because of his back injury? They're sending in Theodore instead. Grr.

[Dukegirl]

*dances around*

Ok I'm not Canadian but I love everything Canadian so... thanks for creating this thread.

Raise your hand if you also like Victor Garber :D

[Sharkie]

Kam promised me pics of Canadian money. POST EM, Kamera!

[i luv tom welling]

Here are the front and back of the 5, 10, and 20 dollar bills.

Five - Front (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/5front.jpg)
Five - Back (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/5back.jpg)
Ten - Front (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/10front.jpg)
Ten - Back (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/10back.jpg)
Twenty - Front (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/20front.jpg)
Twenty - Back (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/20back.jpg)



Sir Wilfrid Laurier is on the 5 dollar bill, he was Prime Minister from 1896-1911. The picture in teh background is the West Block of Parliament. The words on the back of the 5 dollar bill read "The winters of my childhood were long, long seasons. We lived in three places - the school, the church and the skating rink - but our real life was on the skating rink," which is an excerpt from a famous book by Roch Carrier (an author from Quebec). The French translation is above the English on the bill.

Sir John A. Macdonald (Canada's first Prime Minister), is on the front of the 10 dollar bill. He was PM from 1867-1873, and 1878-1891. A picture of the famous Library of Parliament is located to the right of his head. This building survived a massive fire, protecting the thousands of books and documents inside. The words on the back of the 10 dollar bill read "In Flander's fields the poppies blow, Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our places, and in the sky, The larks, still bravly singing, fly, Scarce heard amid the guns below," which is part of the famous World War I poem, Flander's Fields by John McCrae (1872-1918). McCrae was a paramedic in the first World War, and died in battle.

Queen Elisabeth II is on the 20 dollar bill, as is the Library of Parliament again. I really don't know why we keep her on our money any more, as the country is completely independant of Great Britain. I guess it's for nostalgia. :p She's also on the loonie (one dollar coin), the toonie (two dollar coin), the quarter (25 cent coin), dime (10 cent coin), nickel (5 cent coin) and penny (1 cent coin). On the back of the loonie is a loon, the toonie has a polar bear, the quarter has a caribou, the dime has the Blue Nose (scooner), the nickel has a beaver, and the penny has two maple leafs.

So far, the 5, 10, and 100 dollar bills have been updated. I haven't got my hands on one of the new 100's (and I doubt I will for a long, long time :p), so you may have to search online if you want a picture. I don't have a 50 dollar bill either.

Hope that helps, Sharkie :)

Oh, I also wanted to add: the newer bills all have braile on their upper right hand corner.

[Dukegirl]

:D I have 5 C$ and 1 C$ :D But they're quite old I'm afraid :lol: I begged my mum to get them for me... honestly!

[i luv tom welling]

That's cool! I hold on to old bills that come up in my change, or I've kept them from before they went out. I have a $10 bill from the 70's, one from the 80's, a $2 bill, and the old $5 bill. My dad used to have a $1 bill (which went out in 1987, the year of my birth), but Bobby Orr won it from him in a golf tournament. My dad was going to give it to me, so now I say that Bobby Orr owes me a dollar :lol:

(if you don't know who Bobby Orr is, you need to brush up on your Canadian hockey legends ;))

[Dukegirl]

The one dollar bill is from the sixties I think. There's a picture of Queen Elizabeth on the front.

No I'm sorry but I don't know who he is. Please explain.

Btw I'm delighted to see you're back! Welcome, eh!

Oh and another fact: Tynnecotte Cemetery is probably the largest Commonwealth WWI cemetery in Belgium - there are more than 1000 British soldiers buried there, and about 997 Canadians.

It's in Ypres btw. I've been there twice, once on a school trip and once with my parents, I think that was last year during the Easter holidays.

[Sharkie]

Cool, I think I have a 20 laying around for our trip up north to Wyoming and Montana. We went into Canada for a day and I try my mom got us some money.

One time at a basketball game I got a coin with Queen Elizabeth. I'll have to look for it and scan it. I thought it was Bristish but it could be Canadian.

[Dukegirl]

Oh Bryan you're going to love this - the son of my aunt's former neighbour gave me a one dollar bill (US dollar of course) after he came back from his vacation in NYC.

I keep the dollars (both Canadian and American) in my wallet all the time :D

[i luv tom welling]

Bobby Orr is a famous Canadian hockey player... or was. He's quite old now, but was extremely popular back in the 60's or 70's.

Sharkie - all Canadian coins say Canada on the back, so check for that :)


Did you know: The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police, aka "Mounties") are Canada's equivalent to the FBI?

[SullivanLane]

Sometimes I wish I lived in Canada.

Can I hang out in this thread? :p

[muttley]

I'm kinda 1/4 Canadian (my Grandad is from Newfoundland). :)

Cool, your money is alot nicer then the UK's.

Is it true that in the winter you can plug your car in outside to stop it from freezing?

[Sharkie]

I couldn't find my coin. I'll still look though.

[HuffyTheCampfireSlayer]

If it has the Queen wearing a crown, it's most likely to be British, can you remember it's size, shape and colour? Because that would help us. Also British coins are called: £2 (two pound) coin, £1 (one pound) coin, 50 pence, 20 pence, 10 pence, 5 pence, 2 pence and 1 pence. When writing them down, or saying them though, most people will refer to 50 'p', as in the letter, 20p, 10p, etc.

Hee. Anyway, that's enough Britishness in the Canada thread.

*ducks out*

[Sharkie]

Size and color of an american quater.

[HuffyTheCampfireSlayer]

That sounds like it could be a 10p piece then, or perhaps an old 5p piece. They used to be like 3x bigger than they are now. But got changed when I was a little kid.

[Sharkie]

You're right. I remeber it siad Pence on it. And it looked new so it's probably a 10. Thanks Huffy! Now the question is why was a Bristish coin in a High School gym in Georiga? Hmmm.

Again thanks for helping out! Forien currency is interesting to me so I was excited that I found. Now I have to find it again :p

[HuffyTheCampfireSlayer]

You're welcome. :) Perhaps someone had had a visit to Merry Ol' England recently?

[Sharkie]

Most likely and then forgot they had it on them when buying a coke, lucky for me :p

[i luv tom welling]

Originally posted by SullivanLane
Sometimes I wish I lived in Canada.

Can I hang out in this thread? :p


Of course! :D


So... any questions? :p;)

[Inochi no Rizumu]

Did you know: The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police, aka "Mounties") are Canada's equivalent to the FBI?

Yep, they're both. If the city doesn't have its own police force (for example Vancouver does, but Burnaby doesn't) then the RCMP is the police as well as the federal investigative body. (I just realized how redundant that sounds... Ignore, please.)


Is it true that in the winter you can plug your car in outside to stop it from freezing?

HUH?! *confused* You know what, this is probably an Eastern Canada thing...

[Sharkie]

What is Canada's offical bird and mammal?

[Dukegirl]

Originally posted by HuffyTheCampfireSlayer

Hee. Anyway, that's enough Britishness in the Canada thread.

*ducks out*

Enough Britishness? I don't think so :p Victor Garber's hometown ehm I mean city is London, Ontario: check out the Forest City's official site (http://www.london.ca).

I love to find references to Canada's British past. Btw, I spend hours online to learn all about Canadian spelling :D


Originally posted by HuffyTheCampfireSlayer
You're welcome. :) Perhaps someone had had a visit to Merry Ol' England recently?

Not recently, in 1997 my parents and I visited London for 4 days.
I still have 3 pounds (1 Scottish, two English) and 60 p :) left.
Will save them for the next time we go to the UK :D


Originally posted by Sharkie
What is Canada's offical bird and mammal?

The beaver =official mammal.
Official bird = a loon.. but I believe it's on the back of a 20 dollar bill :)

[i luv tom welling]

Hehe, you're correct, DG :)


One misconception about Canadians is that ALL Canadians pronounce 'about' as 'aboot' and stuff like that. To me, that's like some of the somewhat rude misconceptions about Americans - sure, maybe a few people say that, but not everyone. At least, not enough people that I haven't heard someone say it seriously (it is quite commenly used in the many Canadian comedy shows on TV, but usually to illustrate that they're from some back woodlot in the wilderness. And I have heard Scottish people say aboot.) I know that I, and most people I know, pronounce "route" as "root", compared to "r-out". But I don't see the big deal in that, as I've never heard the word "routine" pronounced "r-out-ine". Hehe, if you think about it though, it sounds kind of southern :p:)

[Dukegirl]

Especially South Park the Movie makes fun of the 'aboot' thing.

Canadian ambassador: Release the prisoners! Or we'll give you something to cry aboot!

(rest of UN is laughing like maniacs)

So ok it was funny.. but I don't believe that Canadians actually say 'aboot'. A Canadian buddy of mine once told me his pronounciation was more inbetween 'boat' and 'cow' if you know what I mean.

I've mentioned this before: if you want to get a nice taste of Canadian spelling: here it is... the Harbour Centre in Vancouver :D

http://www.johnrobertmorris.com/gallery/Vancouver/images/Harbour%20Centre%206925.jpg

[HuffyTheCampfireSlayer]

Hee. Yes, us Candian and British like our U's, re's rather than er's and our s's rather than z's. :p

[Dukegirl]

Yes but Canadians do use z in their verbs - oh they don't pronounce the last letter of the alphabet like Americans (so not 'zee') - they say 'zed' like the British do.

Cool, eh? (yes I do that a lot I know :p)

[SullivanLane]

I have a (maybe stupid) question for Canadians: Are you all taught English and French in primary/secondary school? Or is that only in the eastern part of Canada?

[Dukegirl]

Sorry to interrupt... in Belgium we have to learn French in the 5th year of primary school which does not end until we leave secondary (high) school.

I think (because French is the second official language in Belgium and in Canada) that the English speaking majority of the nation gets French in primary/secondary school, whereas the Québeçois have to learn English.

Correct me if I'm wrong :)

[Sharkie]

Originally posted by i luv tom welling
know that I, and most people I know, pronounce "route" as "root", compared to "r-out". But I don't see the big deal in that, as I've never heard the word "routine" pronounced "r-out-ine". Hehe, if you think about it though, it sounds kind of southern :p:) Very very southern. The northerns say "Ra-out." Southerners say "Root." Even if someone has lived here for a long time and don't have a distinct accent, you can tell if they are from the south or north by how they pronounce some words.

[M.D.]

I do know canadians who do say aboot, so it might be a provincial or rural thing.

[zhuuka]

Here comes the resident goalie. I might move to Canada to play juniors if I don't like college. :)


To start off, has anyone heard that Ed Belfour will not be playing goalie for Team Canada because of his back injury? They're sending in Theodore instead. Grr

Eddie has a back injury and is going to rest up for the hopeful NHL season. Theodore won't get playing time I believe, Brodeur and Luongo are too good of goaltenders. The main reason they signed Eddie on is to show Luongo the ropes, he wouldn't have gotten a lot of playing time sadly. :( I love Belfour.

[KJK]

*wanders into thread* I'm home!! :lol: Ummm, not sure if the french question was answered or not...

When I was in school, (Alberta, which is Western Canada) French was mandatory until I believe it was grade six. Might be different now though.

[sexylexy]

I'm not Canadian, tho I have been living in Canada (YAY Vancouver!!) for about 10 years now (past two years in Toronto cuz i go to school there).....so I kinda feel I'm part Canadian...:P

I love the Molson Canadian commercials "I AM CANADIAN!"
I was also very happy when both men and women won the gold medal in hockey in Salt Lake..yay Lucky Loonie!

[i luv tom welling]

Originally posted by SullivanLane
I have a (maybe stupid) question for Canadians: Are you all taught English and French in primary/secondary school? Or is that only in the eastern part of Canada?

In Ontario public schools, French is introduced in grade 4 and is manditory until the completion of grade 9 French (first year of high school). Private schools may have it whenever they want, as long as it's there. Then there are also separate "French Immersion" schools that offer most or all classes taught in French. My school has the French Immersion program where the students must take history and geography, and a few other courses in French.

I've taken French up until this coming school year. My teacher did nothing to refresh our language skills, and I've therefore lost a lot of my ability to write it. I understand it quite clearly, but there are so many verb tenses (and that whole masculine/feminine thing :p:lol: ).

Most high schools also offer Spanish from grade 10 and up, and if there are enough students, other languages such as German and Russian.

[sexylexy]

Originally posted by KJK

When I was in school, (Alberta, which is Western Canada) French was mandatory until I believe it was grade six. Might be different now though.

In Vancouver, French was mandatory from grade 5 to grade 8...
Comment Ca Va? Ca va tres bien merci! HAHa..that's basically all I remember :p..and SILENCE TOI! (which means shut up...hehehe)

[i luv tom welling]

Originally posted by sexylexy
I'm not Canadian, tho I have been living in Canada (YAY Vancouver!!) for about 10 years now (past two years in Toronto cuz i go to school there).....so I kinda feel I'm part Canadian...:P

I love the Molson Canadian commercials "I AM CANADIAN!"
I was also very happy when both men and women won the gold medal in hockey in Salt Lake..yay Lucky Loonie!

10 years can count as Canadian, if you want it to :);)

The Molson commercials are my favourite. I hope the Coors merger doesn't affect them!

Have you touched the Lucky Loonie? I got to last summer at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. In fact, I may be going there tomorrow!! And the Royal Canadian Mint is issuing special edition lucky loonies into circulation. I'm hoping to pick one up soon :D

[sexylexy]

Originally posted by i luv tom welling
10 years can count as Canadian, if you want it to :);)

The Molson commercials are my favourite. I hope the Coors merger doesn't affect them!

Have you touched the Lucky Loonie? I got to last summer at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. In fact, I may be going there tomorrow!! And the Royal Canadian Mint is issuing special edition lucky loonies into circulation. I'm hoping to pick one up soon :D

I've been to the Hall of Fame..but that was for an architecture project, so didnt' really get to look around....but i'll definately check the loonie out..since I ddin't know its there!

Are they really circulating the lucky loonie edition? wow! didn't know that...I thought I have to buy those!! woohoo! Now i cant' wait to get it!

[KJK]

I also heard that the juniour team did the same thing with a loonie. Coolness!

As for beer ads, Alexander Keith's are my favorites. Might be because I can do that accent perfectly and it cracks everyone up. :p

[sexylexy]

yea! it think they started the lucky loonie tradition for all the canadian hockey games after the winter olympic...so look out for the lucky loonie on centre ice during the World Championship coming up!...haha Alexander keith's ad is funny too..tho it sometimes does gets a little annoying with the accent :P

who else here says "eh?" often? Tho I'm not Canadian..in fact, I'm oriental...I keep on finding myself saying "eh?" after sentences quite often! lol

[KJK]

I'm finding myself saying it more lately. Don't know why, eh. :p

[zhuuka]

I say because half my team is canadian. :D.

[i luv tom welling]

Hehe, I went to the Alexander Keith's brewery in Halifax, NS, and they also had the bar there where they film the commercials. Of course, I wasn't allowed in :p

I say 'eh?' when asking some question-type sentences (can't believe they did that, eh?) because, in my opinion, it sounds more intelligent than 'huh?', like "can't believe they did that, huh?". I 've always used 'huh?' when I don't understand something, as a simple sound on it's own :)

Have you guys tried the new Smarties chocolate bar? They have mini Smarties in white or milk chocolate. I tried the milk chocolate because I often find white is a little too sweet for me (and the darker the chocolate, the healthier it is for you). It's pretty good.

[KJK]

Man, I wanna go to the Alexander Keith's brewery! Yep, I've tried the new Smarties bar. Tasty! Just not the white chocolate one, white chocolate is gross. :p

[i luv tom welling]

The only time I really love white chocolate is when it's with milk chocolate. In Ireland they had this Cadbury bar called "Top Deck" (I still have the wrapper!), and it was the normal squares of milk chocolate, like in a Dairy Bar, but with white chocolate on top. It was to die for! Now the only place that I know sells it is an online store from Australia :p

But I think some of the best chocolate bars you can find in Canada are by Nestle, especially Coffee Crisp :D

[Dukegirl]

Hmmmm smarties :D

I once drank something called 'Clearly Canadian'.

Oh yes.. funny no one has said this before: the Smallville/Canada connection? Vancouver! The Hollywood of the North :p

[i luv tom welling]

:lol: Vancouver is the 4th largest film/tv making city in North America, after Hollywood, L.A., and Toronto.

[Dukegirl]

Let's see how many series and movies we can think of that are made in and around Vancouver :D
TV SERIES:
Smallville
StarGate SG-1 (and most likely also the spin off, Atlantis)
The Dead Zone
Dead Like Me

Now R.I.P. if I'm not mistaken: X Files

MOVIES
Daredevil (and the Elektra movie)

That's all I can think of for now...

[i luv tom welling]

I, Robot was filmed in Vancouver...

Russell Crowe is in Toronto right now filming a movie. I'm going downtown today, so maybe if they're still there, I might catch a glimpse of him on set somewhere :D (although, with Toronto being something like the largest city in Canada, there are a lot of odds against me seeing him :p).

[Dukegirl]

The Criminal Instincts movies (starring Victor Garber :D) were made in Toronto, right?

Have you seen them? I think they were pretty good.

About Canadian movies.. I have Men With Brooms on DVD. Now that's a great comedy, you have to see it!

[KJK]

I have seen it! I love Paul Gross... not like that, but you know. :p Speaking of Paul Gross, Due South was made in Toronto.

[zhuuka]

Let's list some of the ladies/men that come out of Canada who are gorgeous. Well in my eyes.

Brendan Fehr
Joshua Jackson
Kristin Kruek

[Dukegirl]

*adds some more names to the list*

Paul Gross
Victor Garber
Eric Johnson
Emmanuelle Vaugier
Michael Shanks

[KJK]

*adds another couple*
Kam
Allison
Kristen
Yam
Gizmo (I don't know her real name) :lol:
Caitlin
:lol:

[Sharkie]

Kevin Zegers

[Dukegirl]

Ehm Jim Carrey's also a Canuck.

[i luv tom welling]

I saw Jim Carrey's star on the Canadian Walk of Fame today :D

And I also saw part of the set for Russell Crowe's new movie "The Cinderella Man", which is based on a true story (it's set in New York in 1935). Here are some pictures!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/DSCN1495.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/DSCN1492.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/DSCN1501.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/DSCN1500.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/DSCN1505.jpg

I also took a picture inside of Union Station, which has been used for numerous movies, two of the most popular being Superman and X-Men.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/DSCN1476.jpg

[KJK]

Nice pics, iltw!! :D

[i luv tom welling]

Thanks, Kam :D I also have pictures of me with the Stanley Cup and my friend beside the Lucky Loonie, but I don't think they'll be leaving the folder on my computer :p Besides, it's not the REAL Stanley Cup, because the real one is out with the Tampa Bay Lightning. It's the stand-in, right now, but I do have pictures of the old, original cup :)

[i luv tom welling]

BAD news!!!!! That US discount-store chain Target is trying to buy the Hudson's Bay Company :mad::( The Bay is 334 years old, and the only domestically owned department store retailer. How the hell can we support the economy if EVERY single store in Canada is American owned?? I'm just so pissed off. Ever since Eaton's folded, The Bay is all we have.

Here's the article from the Globe and Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040812.wxtarge0813/BNStory/Front/

I wonder if we could start a boycott. That would be so cool. But hopefully, it won't come to that. Let's hope the HBC is thinking in the interests of Canadians rather than their wallets.

[zhuuka]

I think Target is own by French stock-holders, something along those lines. They didn't let the Marines stand infront of thier store to the Toys for Tots campaign. I hate that store. Wal-Mart all the way. :D

[Inochi no Rizumu]

What?! Target wants to swallow the Hudson's Bay Company?! o.O The thing's part of our heritage, there'd be no freakin' CANADA without the Bay's!

You know. I'd be perfectly willing to start a boycott, but there's no Target here in BC, anyway. However, I urge those in the East to do something, BEFORE the monster attacks!

And Kam... :rotfl: You'll want to remove that "Yam" name from the list.

I trust you guys all know that Molson sold out? :\ It "merged" (hah, U.S. companies have only one way of dealing with Canadian companies, and it's not by merging...) with Coors. I heard it on News1130 (radio station) about a month ago. Bye-bye "I AM. CANADIAN."

[sexylexy]

haha..just watched olympic opening ceromony.......go Canada!! I always liked Canada's choice of clothing...go ROOTS!

Other films/TV filmed in Vancouver (at least part of it)
Dudly do right (or something...the one with Brendon Fraser)
I'll be home for Xmas (with JTT)
Isn't XMen filmed in Vancouver too?
and also X Files

another cutie from Vancouver..or more precisely Richmond BC (where i'm from) Past Smallville guest- Shawn Ashmore

[Sharkie]

X1 Was filmed in Toronto, X2 in Vancuvour.

[Inochi no Rizumu]

Exactly. Victoria mostly.

The Butterfly Effect
Sliders (TV)
Riddick
The horrible, never-should-have-been-made, misleading, disgusting abomination known as Catwoman (although I think it's been mentioned already)
White Chicks (They don't have to be good movies, do they? o.O)
Tru Calling (or good TV shows, for that matter)
...is Elektra out yet?

Yeah, I remember when I found out Shawn Ashmore was from Greater Van... He was Jake in the Animorphs TV show. :lol: It's funny, he'll always be Jake to me. The actress who played Cassie was also a Vancouverite, something Nacimiento.

Nice, sexylexy. But guess who I have? :p Michael J. Fox is from Burnaby.

[i luv tom welling]

There are no Target stores in Canada (yet), that I know of.

I did hear about the Molson-Coors merger. But if they'd like to stay popular with Canadians, they'll keep up their funny and somewhat bashing commercials ;)

I used to have Shawn Ashmore's addresss in Toronto, but when my computer went bezerk two years ago I lost the bookmarked page with the map and address.

The Barenaked Ladies and Mike Myers are from the Toronto area :) And, um *cough* Avril Lavigne is from Napanee or something. Not sure which province Alanis Morissette is from. There's sell-out Celine Dion from Quebec. Tom Cruise grew up in Ottawa, as did Matthew Perry. Sarah Mclaughlin is from the Maritimes. Keeanu Reeves grew up in Toronto. Neve Campbell is from Ontario. :lol: That's all I can think of for now.

[KJK]

Yam, you're still Canadian in my books!

Three Days Grace is Canadian as is Our Lady Peace and Nickelback.

[i luv tom welling]

Pamela Anderson, Nelly Furtado, Shania Twain, Sum41, Neil Young, Bryan Adams, The Guess Who, Steppenwolf, Alex Trebek, Dan Aykroyd, Leslie Nielsen, Hayden Christensen, Margot Kidder, John Candy, William Shatner, Ryan Gosling, Terry Gilliam, Joshua Jackson, Michael Ironside, and Colin Mochrie.

I got an email a while ago with the Top 10 Myths about Canada and Canadians:

We live in igloos. - We live in houses, and they are very well built houses.


Canadians do not have the same technology as Americans. - Canadians have access to the same technology as Americans and the rest of the civilized world.


There is snow everywhere all year long. - Anyone who has spent a summer in Vancouver, Toronto, or Montreal will strongly disagree with this.


We don't get the same movies Americans do. - We get the same movies, on the same day, and our censorship is less severe. Furthermore, the Paramount theater in Montreal is the most attended and most lucrative movie theater in North-America.


Canada does not have a film industry. - We have a thriving film industry, and many of the syndicated US TV shows, not to mention major studio motion pictures are filmed here. Canada is
renowned to have some of the best production crews in the world.


Canadians all say "eh" and "aboot". - Maybe some of us do, but Canada is a big country with many different people who speak many different languages with different dialects.


Everyone in Quebec speaks French. - Although a large percentage of the Province's population is Francophone, there is also a large number of Anglophones and Allophones.


Canadians have less guns than Americans. - Canadians have just as many, if not more; we just have less murder. If you want stats and figures, see Michael Moore's excellent documentary, Bowling for Columbine.


Canada's national sport is hockey. - Not true. While hockey is very popular, and considered our national pastime, our national sport is lacrosse. Oh, and we invented baseball and basketball too.


Canadians policemen are all Mounties dressed in red uniforms. - Our cops overall look and function like American cops, and other policemen around the world.

[sexylexy]

and also...err..some "one hit wonder" bands...
B44 (what were they thinking!!), Default (love their Wasting My Time song), and Soul Decision (who recently had a new record..after a while of disappearance)...oh and also...from like....7 years ago or something....VIP: Voices in Public, who sang "It's Just My Luck"........
and who can forget the Moffats!! LOL

[KJK]

Ok, here's Alberta's flag:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/KJK97/Altaflag.gif

Also, here's more info on the best province in Canada ;) :

Our mammal is the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep.
Our flower is the Wild Rose.
Our bird is the Great Horned Owl.

[i luv tom welling]

Ontario

Provincial flower: White trillium, Trillium grandiflorum
Provincial bird: Common Loon, Gavia immer
Provincial tree: Eastern white pine, Pinus strobus
Provincial mineral: Amethyst
Provincial motto: Ut incepit fidelis sic permanet (Loyal she began, loyal she remains)
Provincial symbol: Trillium flower

[KJK]

Oh ya! I forgot our motto! It's: Fortis et Liber, which means "strong and free".

[Inochi no Rizumu]

:rotfl: Why, thank you, Kam! Too bad Molson can't say the same thing. I don't drink, but it's still a shame, eh?

Canada's motto is "ab mari usque ad mare". From sea to sea.


There is snow everywhere all year long. - Anyone who has spent a summer in Vancouver, Toronto, or Montreal will strongly disagree with this.
Anyone who has spent a winter in Vancouver (excluding, at BEST, one week in January) will disagree, too. :(


BC motto: "splendor sine occasu". Splendour without diminishment. [side note: "occasu" also means "west", so it's kind of ironic in that way... "splendour without the west" :rotfl: ]
BC flower: Pacific dogwood.
BC bird: Steller's Jay
BC tree: Western Red Cedar
BC mineral: Jade

I love Newfoundland & Labrador's and PEI's motto. :D

[Dukegirl]

*is still madly in love with this thread*

Now I wish I had something useful to say :(
Maybe I could switch to asking questions about Canada :D

Errr has anyone ever been to London, Ontario?

And did you know there's a town in Manitoba that will make LOTR fans go nuts? (it seems they have a town called Gimli :D)

[i luv tom welling]

I've driven through London to get to Stratford :p Hehe, it sounds like I'm talking about England. But we also have Paris, Ontario, and Athens, Baltimore, Brussels, Dublin, Kingston, Melbourne, Princeton, Salem, Scotland, Toledo, Tara, Verona, Wyoming and Zurich, out of popular city names from around the world. There's also a place called Welcome, Ontario :lol:

[Dukegirl]

No Louvain, eh? :lol:

Cool! I didn't know, no offence but those towns are probably too small to show up on a (small) map of Canada...

[HuffyTheCampfireSlayer]

Psht. Looks like someone was uninventive when it came to thinking up names. ;)

[KJK]

:lol: Eh, it was easier that way. :p

[Link(rist)inPark]

canada is amazing. lol. all the hot celebrities are from there - its true. umm lets go down the list
kristin kreuk, elisha cuthbert, morgan webb, estella warren, the girl that plays lois in season 4 is canadian too :) lol. there are more, just cant think of em now

[Dukegirl]

I totally forgot about Michael J Fox - thanks a million for the reminder ILTW!

Ah isn't he just adorable? When I found Michael's a Canuck, I liked him even more.

If anyone here has the Back to the Future DVDs, you should watch the first disc, turn on the Behind the Scenes feature, heck it's one of them dunno which one anyway he says his childhood dream was to become a Mountie. Isn't that cute?

[zhuuka]

Mikey J. Fox is adorable. Love him to pieces!

[i luv tom welling]

Yeah, he's really cute. I was so sad when we found out he has Parkinson's :(

[Dukegirl]

When I was searching for a taste of Canadian humour, I found this joke:

How do you get 50 Canucks out of a swimming pool?

You say: Please get out of the pool.

:p :D

So it is really true - are Canadians always very polite?

[i luv tom welling]

Well, it depends on how one is brought up. I've met people who are quite rude, but people who are nice. I guess it's like the 'aboot' thing, depends on who you meet.

I don't get why people view it as a negative thing, though. Would you rather have someone be rude and disrespectful to you, or kind?

[sexylexy]

YAY! Finally Canada got a medal at the olympics. Today, women's 10m Synchro diving....Canada placed third for the bronze...behind Russia (silver) and crazy China (gold)..hopefully this will boost up the rest of the canadian athletes and bring home more medals!

ps...Canadian Beach Vollyeball teams are kicking some major butt!

[i luv tom welling]

Heese and Child are on fire! I love those guys :D Too bad we can't say the same thing for the Canadian's women's beach volleyball team :\

[Sharkie]

Would you guys mind taking the Olympic talk to the Olympics thread? I've worked hard to make a great thread for Olympic info, it'd make me happy.

And I'd really really appreciate it, thanks.

[i luv tom welling]

I was just replying to a post.... but it works as double matter, as it's concerning the Canadian team :)

[Dukegirl]

Originally posted by i luv tom welling
Well, it depends on how one is brought up. I've met people who are quite rude, but people who are nice. I guess it's like the 'aboot' thing, depends on who you meet.

I don't get why people view it as a negative thing, though. Would you rather have someone be rude and disrespectful to you, or kind?

That's true, it's another thing I read, and I figured nawww that's gotta be someone who's just making fun.

I'd rather meet a kind person, but if someone is angry because something is bothering him/her, I will understand that.

New topic I'd like to ask questions about: food.

Can someone sum up the most famous 100% Canadian dishes?

[i luv tom welling]

Um, steak? :lol: I don't think there really is "Canadian food" as one might go out to have Chinese or Mexican.

Alberta is famous for its beef, Saskatchewan for wheat, BC for its salmon, Ontario for its corn and wine, and the Maritime provinces (PEI, Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) for their fish. Kind of like how New Zeland and Ireland are famous for their sheep.

I don't know if we can claim things like pancakes and french toast. Bacon, I suppose. I'd even say smoked salmon, except I think Scotland claimed it first. When it comes to food, Canada isn't so different from any other country (although I doubt you could find anywhere that would give you boiled peanuts or chicken-fried steak, or anything else chicken-fried for that matter :lol: ).

But I think we do have a cookbook somewhere with recipies that are supposedly Canadian. I think I got a recipie for Sugar Pie out of it. Sugar Pie is like a maple syrup pudding pie, and it's from somewhere in the Maritimes, where the Acadians lived.

[Dukegirl]

No no what you just posted was exactly what I meant :) thanks.

We have maple syrup in our fridge.

[sexylexy]

Originally posted by Sharkie
Would you guys mind taking the Olympic talk to the Olympics thread? I've worked hard to make a great thread for Olympic info, it'd make me happy.

And I'd really really appreciate it, thanks.

sorry about that...im just happy that canada finnnallyyy won a medal...I won't and don't intend to post any more olympic stuff on this topic....I just wanted to tell the canucks that Canada is finally on the board..that's all.....Besides, i thought probably more ppl would care in this board since its regarding the canadians...Most of the ppl on the olympic board are cheering for US...so didn't think they would have cared as much..
ps...you did a great job on the olympic topic..i love the daily updates..


Originally posted by i luv tom welling

Alberta is famous for its beef, Saskatchewan for wheat, BC for its salmon, Ontario for its corn and wine, and the Maritime provinces (PEI, Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) for their fish. Kind of like how New Zeland and Ireland are famous for their sheep.



In the maritime provinces, the lobster is famous!! in the McDonald's in New Brunswick, there's even something called McLobster..which is a Lobster sandwitch!

...canadian food...hmm...all i can think of is smoke salmon(on the west coast) and lobster patte (on the east coast)..and maple syrup/maple candies.....cuz these are the stuff you can find at gift shops in Canada........i've also seen salt water taffey...but I think its the east coast thing...not necessary canada..

[noleafclover]

Canada rules and is known for having amazingly beautiful women;)

[WJB1]

Canada is Cool! They invented Hockey!

[TWShakar]

Canadians are cool!!

[Inochi no Rizumu]

Originally posted by noleafclover69
Canada rules and is known for having amazingly beautiful women;)

:rotfl: Apparently you haven't met me.

I can't believe you guys have been forgetting la poutine! And PEI is known for its potatoes.

One thing that does not rule is the weather. This morning it was raining with thunder and lightning and the whole shebang at around 8:30AM. By 9:30 it was scorchingly sunny. The heck...? o.O

[noleafclover]

Did I also mention these beauties are also very modest:rolleyes:

[Dukegirl]

Well Canada has it's share of handsome men... :D

Hey Kam where are you? I'm talking to you :p

Weird, Yam, and I thought Belgian weather was crazy :lol:

So now that we are discussing the weather... Canadians express temperatures in degrees Celcius, right?

[KJK]

Awww! Thanks Kelly! I'm just an average Canadian guy.

Yep, degrees celsius for us. I don't know degrees fahrenheit and get confused when somebody tells me the temperature in that. :lol:

[i luv tom welling]

Guess where I went yesterday..... :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/DSCN1591.jpg

[sexylexy]

nice! You should try that stair climb thingy up the CN tower that they hold once every year!! Very good work ouT!

[SullivanLane]

ILTW, enlighten the ignorant as to what is that ... tower thing. *embarrassed for not even recognizing it*

[i luv tom welling]

It's the CN Tower, the tallest free-standing structure in the world, right in the heart of Toronto :D

Here are a few pictures from the observation deck. It cost extra to go higher to the sky pod, so this was as high as we went (I'm not sure of the exact measurements).

Here you can see the CBC building in the bottom right corner. This is a view of pretty much directly down.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/DSCN1595.jpg

This is a view out over the more urbanized side of the city.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/iluvtomwelling/DSCN1592.jpg

[sexylexy]

*squint*...ohh..i think i can see my apartment!!...actually..no i can't.....Is that area of green in the middle of picture Queen's Park?

[i luv tom welling]

I'm not sure... this area is west of Toronto, right near the lake. My house is farther left and west, around the bend in the lake.

[KJK]

That's awesome! I wanna go!

[i luv tom welling]

If you ever come to Toronto, I'll show you around ;) It's fun playing tour guide, because then you get to see everyones' reactions to doing things like the CN Tower and going to the Sky Dome for the first time.

[KJK]

Toronto is on my list of places to go in the next year or so. Have to visit relatives and catch a Raptors game and of course, I need to be shown the sites. ;)

[Dukegirl]

Originally posted by i luv tom welling
If you ever come to Toronto, I'll show you around ;) It's fun playing tour guide, because then you get to see everyones' reactions to doing things like the CN Tower and going to the Sky Dome for the first time.

*raises hand*

Uhm *shrugs* If I ever come to Toronto.. ehm maybe someday... would you.. uhm could you perhaps find the time to.. you know.. show me around as well?

:)

Toronto is also on my list of must-visit-cities-of-the-Great-White-North.

That list is as follows:

1)Toronto
2)Vancouver
3)Edmonton
4)Ottawa
5)Montreal
6)London, Ontario

[Inochi no Rizumu]

You know I'll show you around Raincouver any day, Kelly! Just gimme some advance notice, eh? And you can get "good-ol'-average-Canadian" Kam to show you around Edmonton, he's just a few kms away. :lol:

I want to go to Toronto as well. Wanna see what all the hubbabaloo is about. ;) And Ottawa, of course.

I'd absolutely love to visit the Maritimes... The Atlantic coast, the history, the music, the culture... the dialect :lol:

I hear Montreal's a scary place to go to. Is this true?

[Dukegirl]

Thanks Yam. It would be an honour. My dad once said that he would like to travel as far as Canada just to do me a favour - however when I mention the Maledives he says 'not in my lifetime'.

Guess one day I'll put down my suitcases and kiss Canadian soil :D

Oh and one more thing: I have a triband phone so in theory I should be able to use it in Canada (and the US). Unfortunately trying to call someone when I'm abroad is incredibly expensive - the moment I leave Belgium I'M the one who has to pay when someone calls ME :mad: So in the US and Canada I'd run out of money in no time.
That's why I thought - wouldn't it be better if I could just buy a new SIM card? It that worth it if you know you'll stay for at least two to four weeks?

Because I'm not familiar with the average price of a SIM card. I'd prefer the prepaid ones btw :)

[HuffyTheCampfireSlayer]

I'm guessing that would probably work out better, if at all. I'm planning on buying a triband phone and trying that out, when I move over to the States, so that I don't have to buy another phone when I get to the US.

[i luv tom welling]

I'd be happy to show any of you guys around Toronto :D Four things that you HAVE to do when visiting are:

1) Go up the CN Tower
2) Attend a sports event (whether it be baseball, football, hockey, basketball or lacrosse)
3) Go to the Hockey Hall of Fame
4) Visit the Toronto Zoo (the largest zoo in Canada, 3rd largest in the world)

Another fun thing to do would be spend a day in Niagara Falls. They have a Ripley's museum there, which is always my favourite :D My dad also knows lots of places around Toronto that were used as movie sets (Superman, X-Men and Good Will Hunting to name a few). I think a tour around Toronto where you stop at all those places would be really cool. Oh, and if you visit between August 20th and Labour Day, the Canadian National Exhibition (The Ex) is open. I've only been twice, and after you pay to get in it still costs money to do stuff, but it's still fun.

It's too bad the sun doesn't set over Lake Ontario. That would be awesome. The moon rises from it, though, but it was only worth seeing last year during the black-out. I wish I brought my digital camera!


I hear Montreal's a scary place to go to. Is this true?

Umm, not from my experience. And I go there at least twice a year. Montreal's pretty cool, just don't go there in the winter, because it's freezing! (what can I say, it's slightly farther north than Toronto :p) Unless you plan on going to the winter carnival, which I haven't done before. But in Montreal you can visit the Bio Dome (the old Olympic stadium from the 70s or whenever has been turned into a zoo-like place). I don't know much of the tourist-y places to go, as I mostly go to visit family. I guess if you plan on visiting Montreal, you should be a Canadian History buff, because all the places to visit are historical or teach you about the city's beginnings.

[Dukegirl]

I know Edmonton has the largest mall in the world.

Are there any other malls in Canada I should certainly visit when I'm there?

[i luv tom welling]

Yep, West Edmonton Mall is the largest in the world. It has everything from scuba diving to an indoor roller coaster. I haven't been there yet, though.

I can't say I know of any other 'famous' malls, really. I guess there's the Eaton Centre in Toronto... Square One in Mississauga, the Rideau Centre in Ottawa. I mean, every city has like 10 malls, lol.

[KJK]

See, it's funny because I just think of West Ed as another mall. I go there probably a couple times a month. I don't go on the rides though. I'm scared. :p :lol:

[i luv tom welling]

:lol: Yeah, I don't like rides much either. Whenever I go to Canada's Wonderland, I try to spend most of my time in the water parks. But even some of the water slides freak me out :p

[KJK]

See, I can't swim so I don't even go to the Water Park. :p I stick to Silver City where the dragon breathes fire. It's cool, the first few times anyways. :lol:

[i luv tom welling]

Ohh, I haven't heard about that yet!

Ok, here's my promise. When you come to Toronto, I'm going to show you around then teach you how to swim!! At least tread water and front crawl!

[KJK]

Ya, at the big movie theatre in West Ed they have a big dragon hanging from the ceiling that breathes fire every 15 minutes. Kinda cool.

Hmmm... you may have some trouble with that. I was told by my swimming instructor way back when that a rock floats better than I do. :lol:

[i luv tom welling]

Wow, I want to see this dragon! Sounds dangerous :p

If I can get a stick-figure 3 year old boy to float, I can get anyone to float :lol:

[Dukegirl]

Well Kam, is it possible that - even with a map of the mall in your pocket - one could get lost in the West Ed mall? :lol:

[KJK]

Well, I don't know about me floating. You can try though. ;)

Yes, Kelly, it's possible. Especially for me. :lol: Although, with a map you should be able to figure out where you're going. :p

[i luv tom welling]

Hehe, I want a mall map! That would be a cool souvenir. Just like one from Disney World, you can point on it "Oh, and I went here, and that's where we ate lunch. And I bought that shirt here, and that bathroom was really nice!" :p:D

[supe cjk]

Cool a Canadian thread, I haven't been to Krptonsite in so long, I use to live 3 blocks from the West Edmonton Mall, I haven't been there in 12 years though, I live in BC now, Cloverdale to be exact,
I was in Toronto last summer, and Niagrara Falls, I went to the CN tower all the way to the top it was pretty cool, Hockey Hall of Fame was awesome, lunch at Wayne Gretzky's resturant, and then to the Skydome, Toronto was fun alot to do, but I prefer Vancouver.

Dark Angel was filmed in Canada, Steven Speilbergs Taken was also filmed in Canada, well both in Vancouver, they used the same theatre they use for the talon in Smallville as a movie theatre in Taken.

[i luv tom welling]

I went to Vancouver once when I was 8, in February to go skiing. I remember walking around in a t-shirt :p Hehe. But yeah, I want to go back and spend like 2 weeks there. It would be nice to visit in the summer.

Did you know Canadians consume more Kraft Dinner per capita than anywhere else in the world?

[Dukegirl]

Another question about food:

Smarties are Canadian, right?

[i luv tom welling]

Yes, but they're sold in the UK as well.

[Dukegirl]

And in Belgium too :D

The provincial flags of Ontario and Manitoba are much alike... what's the difference again?

[i luv tom welling]

The Manitoba flag has a buffalo under the red cross in the shield while the Ontario flag has 3 golden maple leafs under the red cross in the shield :)

Ugh, it was 14 degrees this morning. Although it warmed up later, it's starting to feel like fall, which means back to school :( Public schools in Ontario start the day after Labour Day, which is the first Monday of September (Sept. 6th this year.)

[Dukegirl]

The largest province is Quebec, if I'm not mistaken.

Here's one fact that makes my eyes pop each time I think about it:

the entire population of Ontario (approx 10 million) is the same as the entire population of Belgium :eek: isn't that something - especially if I tell you our tiny nation is twice the size of Prince Edward Island = very small...

[i luv tom welling]

Hehe, France has double to entire population of Canada, yet you could probably fit two of it into Ontario :p

The only reason that Canada seems to have such a small population for such a gigantic country is that only the southern land is habitable, really. The Canadian Shield (a huge slab of rock that extends quite a ways over and under the land prevents a lot of development, as it would be expensive to drill into. I mean, there are towns up there, but not as many as there are closer to the boarder. But I guess it's just a matter of time (or a couple hundred years :lol: ) before more of the northern land is developed for industrial, commercial and residential needs.

[Dukegirl]

True. 30 million people isn't that much - the US has 240 million people living on its soil, that's like 8 times the population of Canada.

I want to see the TransCanada Highway one day - and hopefully get to drive all the way from Mile 0 in Victoria to Toronto.

The size is also a curse - you can't possible see everything you would like to see in only a month or so, you should come back a few times.

I'll let you know if there are any plans being made to go to Canada, it could be in a few years, though I hope I can do it before I graduate :)

[i luv tom welling]

I can't recall if I've been on the TransCanada highway before. I probably have, without knowing.

That would be really great if you came here to visit! We could go have a doughnut at Tim Hortons or something ;)

[Dukegirl]

Oooh that sounds great! :D

I really really want to see the CN Tower. The panaroma up there is said to be amazing.

[i luv tom welling]

Yeah, the CN Tower is really cool. You can go up to the Observation deck and look through the windows, then go down one flight of stairs to the glass floor and the balcony (caged, of course.) I've never been up to the SkyPod, though, because of the extra cost. But the best time to go up is probably in the winter, because there aren't hour-long line-ups and crowds. It can get quite crowded and stuffy.

[Dukegirl]

And there's a glass floor right?

(I'll confess, I have a travel guide about Canada... yes, it's truly an obsession :D)

I know people who have two nationalities (sp?/ or does one say 'identity? :\): Belgian and American.

So in theory, would you be able to become Canadian and still keep your former ID card as well? I wonder... that would be awesome!

[i luv tom welling]

It's called duel citizenship :) Many Canadian actors maintain a duel citizenship with the US so they may live and work in both places. My dad has one with Ireland, and I could actually have one too with Ireland even though I wasn't born there (some Irish politics).

[Dukegirl]

Ireland, cool! Have I told you yet I also have an Irish flag in my bedroom? :D

Well Victor Garber is still Canadian. Maybe he too has duel citizenship (thankies, I won't forget!) - he lives in NYC.

I gotta go now. Bye, eh (see I can't help that, it's become a habit :lol: )

[Sharkie]

Mary Sanders, a Rhythmic Gymnast in the Olympics has duel citizenship with USA and Canada.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/rhythmicgymnastics/5018072/detail.html

[zhuuka]

What would one have to do to get dual citizenship in Canada? I might be going to college in Toronto in two years.

[Inochi no Rizumu]

You only need to go through the application process for citizenship. (Or do you have to apply for residency first? When we did it we were from a non-N.A. country and we had to go through a huge looooooooooong and agonizing process, so maybe it's different if you're from the US...) Anyway, if you already have a citizenship in another country and you obtain one in Canada, you keep both, so it's automatically a dual citizenship. *points to self* Nicaraguan and Canadian. :lol:

I'd heard the U.S. didn't allow duals, though... o.O Are you SURE that gymnast is U.S.-Canadian?

But if you're just coming here to study can't you get a student visa instead, zhuuka?

Toronto must look beautiful in the winter from the CN Tower... ya better get up there then and snap us some pics, eh! :p

[Dukegirl]

We hardly get to see hockey on TV :(

Does anyone know whether you can watch it live on a website?

Inochi, have you ever been to Grouse Mountain?

[Inochi no Rizumu]

No, I don't know... :\ That's too bad, Kelly. Sorry I can't help out.

And yep, I have. The first time we went to it was during our second year in the city, I believe. We enjoyed the summer stuff, and we went up close and personal with the grouse birds. :lol: One of my sisters even got them to stay in her hand! The view was absolutely wonderful, and the gondola ride... Dude. :D

I haven't seen it in winter, which is poo, but I'm sure it'll be even better then (no snowboarding for me, though... tried that in Whistler-Blackcomb, and it was not pretty). I'd love to see it this year when it's all snowed up since I've only seen it all sunny and green... Oh dear, I'm not too good at being a tourist guide, am I? o.O My info's got nothing on iltw's!

[Dukegirl]

Snowboarding, wish I could do that.
I heard Grouse Mountain has one of the largest outdoor hockey rinks in Canada.

Canada in the winter = very white and very pretty, or not?
Does anyone have a picture of their street/city/etc when everything's covered in snow?

[KJK]

I have pictures when everything is covered in snow... in the middle of July!!! Due to the mental duress and anguish that causes, I can't post them though. :lol:

And no, everything is not pretty! :p Ok, I'm extremely biased, I'm sure most people would think it's pretty.

[Dukegirl]

Ah yes I forgot you don't like the winter - I like to see snow but once I'm out on the street I hate it, because you can barely walk, traffic is jammed etc.

*shudders when recalling the events of last winter*

Though Canada is also known as the Great White North :D

[Sharkie]

[
I'd heard the U.S. didn't allow duals, though... o.O Are you SURE that gymnast is U.S.-Canadian?[/B] We do, just read the article.

[i luv tom welling]

Haha, maybe Canada in the winter is white and pretty up north, but here it's brown and slushy. I guess it's mostly due to global warming, but for as many years as I can remember, we could have mowed our lawn on Christmas if we wanted to. And then in mid January we get a huge dump of snow, which begins to melt immediately, covering everything in ice :p Makes it extra fun to walk to school without snapping your ankle.

Toronto also gets less snow than, say, Buffalo, NY, because of the effect Lake Ontario causes. I learned about it a couple years ago so I can't explain it exactly. But it causes there to be a warm spot at the top of the lake, and the snow clouds move around it, or if they move over it just rains.

[Dukegirl]

Go Canada!

I love this banner. Just don't try the website, it's gone :(
It was all about humour, this site, and they even sold T-shirts!
So don't be scared, it may say 'Canadian World Domination' that was just one big joke.

http://users.chello.be/cr31983/cdnlinks/cwdbanner.gif

[zhuuka]

I'm planning on working for a Canadian goaltending company when I get out of school. Prefferably KOHO or CCM.

[Dukegirl]

Sounds nice! Could you please explain what KOHO/CCM stands for?

I was surprised to learn that school/college in the US starts the first week of August - to me that's pretty early, because we begin around September, and college/university starts the first week of October.
Is that the same in Canada?

[i luv tom welling]

I'm not sure what KOHO or CCM stands for, but they're huge hockey equipment producing companies. I think they both make jerseys for the NHL. My replica Maple Leafs jersey is by KOHO.

As far as I know, university starts the first week of September, and students usually arrive around the last week of August (frosh week and such). This means that some universities end as early as mid-April.

[Sharkie]

Originally posted by Dukegirl
Sounds nice! Could you please explain what KOHO/CCM stands for?

I was surprised to learn that school/college in the US starts the first week of August - to me that's pretty early, because we begin around September, and college/university starts the first week of October.
Is that the same in Canada? I started last week. The county I'm from where I went to elementary, middle, and High School started the 9th, the second week. In the US it all depends on the locality. The county (And in some cases the city) governments govern the school systems and set start and end times. A county north of my hometown goes year round. Some, though rarely, start in the first week of August, some the second, some as late as septmeber. It just depends on where you are.

[Dukegirl]

Here's a useful link: Canadian flag clip art gallery (http://canflag.ptbcanadian.com/) :D

[zhuuka]

CCM: Canada Cycle and Motor Company. They make mostly players gear, and have some goaltending gear.

KOHO: I am not sure what they stand for, but they concentrate mostly on goalie equipment too.

CCM and KOHO are both owned by "The Hockey Company" or THC. I want to work with goalie equipment. :)

[sexylexy]

Originally posted by Dukegirl


I was surprised to learn that school/college in the US starts the first week of August - to me that's pretty early, because we begin around September, and college/university starts the first week of October.
Is that the same in Canada?

The university i go to in Canada starts on September 9th, while most of the other canadian universtiy starts on the 7th ..(mainly because we have a longer orientation)..
Most highschools/elementary schools also starts on the 7th..all after labour day monday....

[Inochi no Rizumu]

Yeah, here in BC public schools start the Tuesday after Labour Day (7th this year), and SFU, UBC, BCIT, and most colleges start with the public schools. High schools in my district get out the third week of June and elementary schools the last week. UBC's Fall/Winter session ends in late April with the Summer session starting in May and ending mid-August. Education in Canada is a provincial ministry, plus each city has a say in the details.

As for Greater Van. being white and pretty in the winter... Pretty, perhaps. But definitely not white. On a good year, the most we get is one week in January and some snow around Christmas/New Year's. But the mountains do look white and pretty! That counts for something, right? :lol:

Kam, I betcha I'd love snow even more if I spent a winter in your hometown. :p Snow-hater!

So that's what CCM stands for... hmmm...

[Dukegirl]

Thanks for the info :)

I would give hockey a try if I could skate - and I can't, believe me, it's a disaster :p

[i luv tom welling]

Hehe, I can skate, but I don't really like to because my skates hurt my feet and they don't keep them warm, so it's just an uncomfortable experience.

[Dukegirl]

Another interesting question :D

I was watching Back to the Future a few days ago, and I noticed that the speedometer of the DeLorean showed both miles and km. Does every car in Canada have that?

Now that I think of it, one of the trucks in 'Twister' also had both miles and km on the speedometer. Weird...

[i luv tom welling]

Cars distributed in Canada have kilometres and then miles in smaller print measured underneath. I believe this is a must for every car in North America, as we're free to drive across the border and would have to obey the speed limit of the other countries.

[Sharkie]

Yeah, it's standard on all North American cars.

[HuffyTheCampfireSlayer]

It's the same for most UK cars, now a days, because we use mph, and most of Europe uses KM.

[Sharkie]

I didn't know UK uses MPH!

[Dukegirl]

Ah thank you :)

I will never forget the first time I crossed a street when I was in London :p
I forgot that people drive on the left side of the road in the UK.. well you can guess what happened. I was lucky my dad had seen that taxi, else I might have spend the rest of that vacation in the hospital...

It does not surprise me that Canadians drive on the right side of the road, well I think it's because Canada, unlike the UK, Ireland and Australia is not an island. Ok so India and perhaps a few other former colonies of the British Empire are the exception.

Mmm I should stop ranting :o

[HuffyTheCampfireSlayer]

Yeah, Sharkie. We do.

And Kelly, yeah, I think it's the counrties you just mentioned that drive on the left. Along with New Zealand, Hong Kong and a few of the UK channel Islands.

I guess Canada doesn't because it's connected to the US. It would be a difficult change over for people. Like you said, it's mainly island former colonies that drive on the left like us. I wasn't totally sure if Canada drove on the right or left, so I guess I have my answer now. :)

[Dukegirl]

What I also love about Canada is that they still haven't forgotten about their British past, and at the same time have created a unique culture (including elements of the American way of life)

The more I found out about Canada, the more I began to appreciate and love the country, it's culture and it's people.

[Sharkie]

I have learned so much in this thread.

[Dukegirl]

*agrees*

*waves Canadian flag*

[i luv tom welling]

What I also love about Canada is that they still haven't forgotten about their British past, and at the same time have created a unique culture (including elements of the American way of life)

I think, mainly, Canada and the US are so similar because they 'grew up' together. I wouldn't say that Canada has adapted to the States. Although the US severed their ties with Britain much before Canada did, there probably weren't many differences back then besides government and law (which is still pretty much the biggest difference today).

I love reading about Canadian history, but it always saddens me when stories are changed or overshadowed by other countries. Back in WW1, Canada became extremely noticed by other countries for its contribution. Canada was also among the first 6 (I forget which number :p) countries to join Britain in WW2 (and we liberated the Netherlands). Yet when you watch a war movie based on either of these wars, it's quite rare to hear even a mention of the name (unless it was specifically filmed about Canada's contribution, but then again if it was, it's doubtful that you've seen it).

[Sharkie]

Any books on Canadian history you'd reccomend?

[i luv tom welling]

I'm not sure about books that specifically outline Canadian history besides actual textbooks, but there are quite a few Canadian authors who are excellent at incorporating history into their stories. A few of these are young adult authors, but you might enjoy them anyway: Eric Wilson, Kit Pearson, Jean Little, Eric Walters, Farley Mowat, Mordecai Richler, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence (The Stone Angel is highley recommend), Robertson Davies, Stephen Leacock (Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town), Carol Shields and Morley Callaghan. When I was young, I read a trilogy by Kit Pearson about two British children who were sent to Toronto during WW2. The books are titled "The Sky is Falling", "Looking at the Moon" and "The Lights Go On Again".

My mom also recommends:

Jane Urquhart - The Stone Carvers
Ralph Connor - The Man From Glengarry
Gabriel Roy - The Tin Flute
John Richardson - Wacousta
Hugh MacLennan - Barometer Rising (about the Halifax Explosion during WW1, one of Canada's largest loss of life and property), The Two Solitudes

There was a continuing series on CBC called "Canada: A People's History". It started from the beginning with the First Nations. The entire series covered from the 1800's to 1990, although the land was settled much before the 1800's. I remember watching a few episodes back in 2000, but I think the Simpsons was on at the same time :p Anyway, it would probably be rare for you to get your hands on a copy of any of the episodes. My local library has it in VHS version, I think. There is also a book version, in volumes, that you could order from Amazon.com or Chapters.ca (there might be better availability from a Canadian site ;)).

[WJB1]

Canada rules!

[i luv tom welling]

:lol: I totally agree! :p:D

[WJB1]

Hockey!

[Sharkie]

Thanks! I'll look into those!

Some interesting facts I learned:
In the Olympics, Canada ranks 15th on the Overall Medal Chart, (Summer Only) 228 (51 Golds, 80 Silver, 97 Bronze)

[WJB1]

Who's first?

[Dukegirl]

Thanks, iltw, I hope I can find those books somewhere, sounds really interesting :)


Wyatt I think the US is first.

[i luv tom welling]

You're welcome guys :) But I forgot one of the most famous Canadian authors of all time - Lucy Maud Montgomery. She wrote Anne of Green Gables, which created a major tourist attraction in Charlottetown, P.E.I.. She also wrote Emily of New Moon. I've just started reading that recently. It's not too bad.

[Dukegirl]

I have a couple of books by William Bell.
He's also Canadian, eh?

[HuffyTheCampfireSlayer]

I love, love, love the Anne of Green Gable series. I've yet to read them all, too. Although, from my experience, the first few books of Anne growing up are the best ones.

[Sharkie]

Originally posted by Dukegirl
Let's see how many series and movies we can think of that are made in and around Vancouver :D
TV SERIES:
Now R.I.P. if I'm not mistaken: X Files The first 4 Seasons were filmed in Van. Then they moved to LA.


Let's list some of the ladies/men that come out of Canada who are gorgeous. *Points to Avatar*

[Dukegirl]

Oh yeah I noticed the avatar... yummy!

Oh I didn't know that, thanks for the info Sharks :)

[KJK]

Paul Gross (star of Due South) is from Alberta. I loved that show...

[Sharkie]

Which places are the best to live in terms of climate, value, park systems, employment, ect?

[Dukegirl]

Paul Gross...hmmm I should put him in the sexy boys gallery. On the other hand... he is not a boy (anymore) :D

http://img59.exs.cx/img59/949/gross01.jpg

[i luv tom welling]

Yay, Paul Gross!


Originally posted by Sharkie
Which places are the best to live in terms of climate, value, park systems, employment, ect?

I would say Toronto or Vancouver. Both cities have what would be considered a mild climate when it comes to winter. Condominiums are popping up all over Toronto (mostly along the water front and surrounding the SkyDome), as well as in the surrounding cities. Houses seem to be very "out" nowadays, and even when they do build them, you could fit the back yard in a shoebox :p Anything built before the 1980s is usually in the $300,000 + (Canadian Dollars), and anything before the 1960s tend to start at $600,000 + around here. That's only on average, though. The parks are a major asset to the city. In fact, with the money that they won't be spending on the 2008 Olympics (as Toronto didn't win the bid), they're spending millions re-doing the water front. The largest park in Toronto is High Park, which I guess could be compared to New York City's Central Park (although it's kind of located at the side of the city, on the west end, and it's slightly less than half the size). Lastly, I'd say chances of finding employment in Toronto are quite good. There are so many industries starting up, or already flourishing that always require fresh faces. The film industry is a big one, and other forms of entertainment like theatre, sports, recreation and tourism. Don't forget the numerous upscale restaurants where the Toronto businessmen invite their classy clients to dine several times a month. Once we ate at this restaurant called Hy's, where they practically filled your glass after every sip, and offered you a new plate of food if something was to your distaste. They'd even pick up every crumb you dropped :p A job like that would have to pay well.

[Dukegirl]

Wow! That sure sounds impressive :)

Would it be wrong to say that - after having read the previous post - Toronto is the NYC of Canada?

Vancouver also sounds like a nice place to live.
If I ever travel to Canada and I won't have much time to check things out I'd make sure to visit Vancouver and Toronto, oh yes I will :)

[KJK]

Yeah, I'd say T-Dot is Canada's NYC. Vancouver is coming up, but they have a ways to go. I'm happy to see Canada getting a bit more global recognition these days.

[Sharkie]

T-Dot? Is that a little cutsey name or a gay night club?? :p

[KJK]

:lol: Perhaps, but I didn't give it that name, and I'm all for shortening names, so I go with it. :p

[SullivanLane]

My ex-boyfriend (who was born in Toronto and remains a dual citizen of Canada and US) described Toronto as "like New York City, except cleaner." :)

[Sharkie]

Cleaner is good :p

I was watching an Ice Hockey World Cup thing with USA and Canada earlier. Canada was up 2-1 or something.

[KJK]

Yeah! We won!!! At least we have hockey!! Even if I don't really like it. :p :lol:

[Sharkie]

You have hot divers too.:p:p:p

[Inochi no Rizumu]

Originally posted by KJK
Yeah, I'd say T-Dot is Canada's NYC. Vancouver is coming up, but they have a ways to go. I'm happy to see Canada getting a bit more global recognition these days.

I once read in a newspaper a semi-joke that Toronto wants the world to come to it, while Vancouver wants to be the envy of the world. Dunno if that's true anymore, maybe it's backwards now. :lol: And the article was written by a New Yorker, too.

I'd rather not be like Toronto, thank you very much, although we are moving in that direction... no offence to your city, iltw, but it's just not my thing... I like houses with lots of yard space and many green things (i.e. trees) in the neighbourhood.

[Dukegirl]

Does your ideal street/neighbourhood look like this (http://img40.exs.cx/img40/6026/DSC71.jpg)? :D (that's a pic of my street, btw)

[Inochi no Rizumu]

Yep! Exactly! Very green and spacious, you see? :lol:

Nice place, Kelly... :eek: Wow!

[i luv tom welling]

Hehe, actually I live in a forest, so my neighbourhood does look like that :p Well, OK, not really a forest. But we have 100 year old (or more) oak trees everywhere and a forest at the end of my street. It's a tiny forest, but enough to keep the oxygen fresh ;) So the area I live in used to be a forest and is still heavily treed. I told you guys about the family of deer on my lawn, right? There's a large area of preserved wetland and marsh only about one or two kilometres away, which is probably where they came from (it's forested a bit as well).

I'll get a pic of my street, facing the forest, to show you guys.

[Dukegirl]

Wow! 100 year old oak tree! I'd like to see a picture of that , if possible.
The litteral translation of the name of the street where I live would be 'Oak Tree Av.'

[KJK]

Once I get a battery for my camera, I'll take a picture one morning when I come home from work. I live in a valley, and when you're at the top of the hill, everything is covered in fog except for the other side of the valley. It looks really cool.

[Dukegirl]

*tries to imagine what Kam just described*

Yes, that does sound amazing, you should try to post a picture asap :)

Today I read an article about the Canadian troops in Belgium during WWII. Interesting, they refer to the Canucks as Cinderella's Army. Hmm to me that doesn't sound flattering... :\

[KJK]

Well, it's not the fog picture, but here's where I live. (yes, I know I posted almost the same picture elsewhere :p)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/KJK97/House2.jpg

[i luv tom welling]

Wow! It's so pretty! :D Is there much wildlife around there?

[KJK]

Thanks, Allison! Yep, it's quite common for deer and moose and even elk to walk across my field.

[Dukegirl]

Wow! :eek:
Canadian wildlife is so interesting - has anyone here ever seen a grizzly bear in the wild?

[Sharkie]

I have.

[supe cjk]

I have as well, I was 4X4ing and he came right out in front of my truck, huge Grizzly Bear, my truck has 9 inches of lift as his rear end was pretty much even with the hood of my truck, he just stood there and wouldn't move.

[Dukegirl]

Cool! Where did you see the bear, Bryan?

[Sharkie]

I was in Yellowstone National Park.

[i luv tom welling]

I saw black bear cubs eating garbage on the side of a road in Perry Sound, Ontario about 7 years ago :p

[Dukegirl]

Sweet!

I know there are killer whales near the BC coastline.

[supe cjk]

I see black bears all the time when I am camping, or at my families cabin they are all over the place.

Yep, our coast has Killer Whales, Dolphins, Seals, alot of sea life, we have one Killer Whale named Luna, who won't go back with her pod and she is very friendly she goes up to fishing boats and sail boats and rubs her self on them, knocking some over and damaging them, she is sort of a problem because she won't go with her pod, and the natives are trying to protect her.

[i luv tom welling]

I remember following the stories about Luna in the newspaper and on Discovery Channel.

I wish we had cool wildlife stuff happening around here.

[Dukegirl]

She's like the female version of Keiko? :\
(though she's still living in the wild)

I don't think I've posted this before in this thread.
>>>How Canada got its name :D
Three explorers were hiking through what is now known as Canada.
"You know," said one of the explorers, "we should name this place we're hiking through."

"I know," said the second explorer. "We'll each pick a letter and then make a name out of that."

"Okay," said the third, "I'll go first. C, eh."

"N, eh."

"D, eh." And that's how they named Canada...

[sexylexy]

ahahah! took a sec..but i got iT! lol

[noleafclover]

This should be called Canuck's Igloo:p

[i luv tom welling]

But that has no alliteration. :p

[Sharkie]

It's metaphoric!

[KJK]

:lol: We don't all live in Igloo's. Just in Alberta! :lol:

[i luv tom welling]

Actually, I don't think anyone lives in an igloo, as it's not a permanent residence. Unless an igloo is some snazzy alternative to a cardboard box for homeless people in the territories to live in during the winter :p


WOOOOOOOOOO, CANADA BEAT THE CZECHS AT HOCKEY!!!!!!


Hee.

[KJK]

:rotfl: :rotfl: *pictures a bum in an igloo*

YAY!!! We won!! *grabs iltw and dances around*

Ahem... :p

[i luv tom welling]

:D

*dances with Kam*

[Dukegirl]

*waves Canadian flag*

I remember I watched the game between Canada and the US during the previous Winter Olympics - and Canada won or what did you think? I was so happy that evening!

[KJK]

That was a good day! Both mens and womens teams won!

So, the finals are Tuesday night. Gonna be watching!!

[i luv tom welling]

I remember that during the Women's final, I was babysitting for the first two periods, so I put the kid down for a nap so I could watch as much of those two periods as I could. Then they called me again for the day of the Men's final, and I didn't think that
"sorry, I'm going to watch the hockey game" was a good enough excuse, so I put the kid down for a nap during the first period and they came home during intermission :p Luckily their son was out with them, because he's not too much into hockey and was too old for a nap :p But yes, great games.

Tuesday will rock. I can't wait!!

[Dukegirl]

There's a new (field) hockey field (ehm that doesn't sound correct now does it? :lol: ) in my town, it's very expensive and very exclusive - it's said that the national field hockey team will come over for their training! If that isn't special...

I assume that field hockey was also invented in the Great White North? Is it less popular than (ice) hockey?

[Sharkie]

Field Hockey is from Europe.

[Dukegirl]

Whoa I didn't know! Thanks Bryan!

[i luv tom welling]

Ice hockey was invented after the Irish game hurley was brought over to Canada, and people wanted to play it outdoors in the winter :)

[Dukegirl]

Ah cool thanks!
Is it true that rugby is also a popular sport in Canada?
Or am I mixing it up with Canadian football - what's the difference between American and Canadian football?

[Carnage]

3 Down instead of four... 110 Yard field (I'm pretty sure?)... It rocks... :p

Thats actually all i can think of currently.

[supe cjk]

I luv Tom Welling do you mean curling not hurling?

Rugby is popular is Canada, I love it myself, use to play it in high school, like 10 years ago. The differance between Canadian and American football is small, we have bigger field, it is 20 yards longer, and we only have only 3 downs and not 4 downs, it is close to rugby but different and very different than soccer, Europian football.

Carnage you beat me to it, except our feilds our 120 american yards, 100 canadian yards.

[i luv tom welling]

Nope, hurley is like field hockey, with a something that looks a bit like a hockey stick but shorter with a wide, rounded end. It's played with a ball similar to a baseball, or was in the old days at least. I've never seen a real game of it, but my Nana (grandmother from Ireland) has two hurley sticks and a ball hanging on a wall in her house, and when I was in Ireland, my cousin and I were threatened by a couple 8 year olds with hurley sticks. :p

Curling is also a Canadian sport, though. It's not very popular, but there are school teams and such. I think I talked about it earlier, but I met George Kerrys, who was on the 1998 Olympic Canadian Curling team, and I got to hold his silver medal. I have his autograph too.

The CFL rocks. Go Ti-Cats!! :D

[supe cjk]

I know what you are talking about now, I just wasn't thinking straight, and yes CFL rules but Go Lions.

[Sharkie]

Candian football sounds a lot like the rules of American football before the rules changed in 1930. :p

[i luv tom welling]

WE WON!!!!!!!

*back-flips*

*happy dance*

I'm *so* wearing my Leafs jersey to school tomorrow. As will many, many other people who don't own a Team Canada jersey :p Yay!!

[noleafclover]

*steals Tupper's Leaf shirt*

[i luv tom welling]

... I have like 3 Leafs shirts :p There's a big difference between a shirt and a jersey ;):p:lol: Besides, you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands!!!! :D

[noleafclover]

I'll do what I must
*lights the shirt on fire*

[sexylexy]

yay!!
yonge street is sooo loud right now :(

[KJK]

WE SO DID WIN! *dances with iltw like crazy*

And by the way, the Eskie's rule!! :p

[i luv tom welling]

:rotfl:

I'm flame retardant :p

I wish I could have been downtown last night, it would have been awesome. I remember after we won the Olympics, car horns were blazing, even in my area. No car horns last night, though, because it was at night :lol:

I heard the crazy people in Toronto flipped a taxi!!

[Dukegirl]

Go Canada!
I'm so glad they won!

[supe cjk]

It was such a good game, I was a little nervous at times, but we totally dominated in the third, and the last ten minutes was pretty much just us, I am so happy we won, Team Canada World Champions of hockey, just the way it should always be, it is our sport.

[zhuuka]

Broduer owns, yay Canada! Glad they beat Kipper. grr!

[noleafclover]

Originally posted by i luv tom welling
I'm flame retardant :p


I'm just a retard:p

[Dukegirl]

I saw a Team Canada sweater (by Adidas) yesterday, too bad it wasn't the right size, I might have bought it.
Tomorrow we're going to Hasselt. Maybe I can find my size and get it anyway. I do hope so *crosses fingers*.
Then I can show the world - watch out here comes another Honorary Canuck in the EU :D

[i luv tom welling]

Cool! If you do get one, post a pic of you wearing it here! :D