How to Spot a Canadian

Tracking down Canadians one toque at a time.

About this Site...

Canadians are a tricky people to distinguish. They are often able to blend into a society and appear to be American, British, French or any other number of nationalities. This site will provide you with some tips and tricks to help you recognize a Canadian no matter where you are.

 

This site is for entertainment purposes only. "How to Spot a Canadian" is filled with humour, satire, hyperbole, parody and sarcasm. All statements here should be taken with a grain of salt or a bottle of maple syrup, whatever the case may be.

Their Summer Lasts About 10 Minutes

If you were ever going to rank oxymorons in terms of relevance, "Canadian summer" would be at the top of your list.

Everyone knows that Canadian winters are cold. It's not uncommon to see your breath turn into ice the moment it leaves your mouth. Cold and Canada are synonymous, everyone knows that. However, what you may not know about Canada is that summers there last about 10 minutes. Depending on what part of the country you're looking at, sometimes if you blink for too long, you'll miss the entire season.

A good way to spot a Canadian is to tell them that summer lasts three months. If they instantly turn into a confused, stuttering mess, you'll know that they are a Canadian.

In Canada summer realistically lasts about a month. And that's in a good year. This year Toronto had about one week of summer weather. It's hot during the summer, but the heat doesn't normally last long enough to give the average Canadian a chance to climb out of the three parkas they've been wearing for the last eleven months.

However, don't think that the short summer means there is nine months of spring and fall either, because that couldn't be farther from the truth.

Fall and spring don't exist in Canada. They are simply called "early winter" and "late winter." In these two seasons it's still cold, just not cold enough to build an igloo in the middle of a downtown street. It is however cold enough that vistors to Canada think Canadians live in some weird hemisphere and that winter takes place at during different months there.

Winter in Canada, as has already been discussed, is cold enough that only the heartiest Canadians survive it each year. Bagged milk has been known to freeze solid for several months and beavers relocate their dams into the local Tim Hortons during the winter months.

In case you're wondering, summer in Canada is already over.
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Some More Ways That People Found This Site

We did this once before and people seemed to like it.
Here are some of the search terms people have used to find this site recently:

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  • rusty the rooster this hour has 22 min

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  • What is the Tragically Hip song CBC Hockey Night In Canada used for a theme song?

  • hate toronto

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  • Mr Dressup Passed away

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  • Americans are touchy

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A Doughnut Shop Opening in New York is a Huge Canadian Story

We're back.

We couldn't resist this one.



Tim Hortons has taken Manhattan.

The once-again Canadian company has expanded into New York City.

And Canadians couldn't be more proud. Newspapers and television programs presented the news as if it were a successful Canadian invasion. And, in a way, it was. Not since the War of 1812 have Canadians felt so proud and victorious when entering the United States.

Maybe now Americans won't give us strange looks and point us to a basketball court when we ask for a "double-double."

Tim Hortons is an icon in Canada and, in a world where American companies have invaded almost every aspect of Canadian life, Tim Hortons opening in New York City represents a rare victory for Canadians.

In fact, if Canada really wants to claim victory over New York here's a simple plan they could use: After about six months they should suddenly close all of the Timmies in NYC. By that point New Yorkers will be hopelessly addicted to the coffee and fatty treats. Suddenly taking it all away will weaken them severely. That's when the Canadians can strike.

Tim Hortons: the first shot in the war against America.

It sounds good, doesn't it?

Of course, it will be hard for Canadians to fight while they're full of Timbits.
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They Forget About The Rest of Their Life During the Playoffs

So, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are over and that means we here at "How To Spot A Canadian" can go back to focusing on that "real life" thing everyone has been talking about for the last two months.

That means we will be updating this site again.

We'd like to apologize to those who were unable to spot Canadians during the last month. An unidentified Canadian is a dangerous Canadian.

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A Prejudiced Sports Commentator is a National Icon

If you know anything at all about Canada, you know who Don Cherry is. For those who don't, Don Cherry is a former NHL hockey coach who now provides commentary during the first intermission of CBC's Hockey Night In Canada program. The fact that a former coach is now working on television isn't strange or unique to Canada at all. Many coaches and players take up broadcasting positions at the conclusion of their sports careers.

What is unique is that Don Cherry is incredibly controversial. He has called Russian hockey players cheaters and quitters. He's insulted French-Canadians and Europeans do for wearing visors. And he does all of this on the country's national public television broadcaster: the CBC.

Don Cherry definitely isn't politically correct. He was on a seven-second delay for a while due to his comments. He has been investigated by the Commissioner of Official Languages. He has been criticized frequently by pretty much everyone.

You would think this sort of attitude would be frowned upon in Canada.

You would be wrong.

Most Canadians love Don Cherry. He came in seventh in a recent "Greatest Canadian in History" poll. He beat out Sir John A. Macdonald (Canada's first prime minister), Alexander Graham Bell (one of the inventors of the telephone) and fellow hockey icon Wayne Gretzky.

It's strange.

Canadians are generally very polite. They are very accepting. They don't like to create controversy. And yet Don Cherry, a man who breathes controversy, is a hero. A man who goes against the very Canadian idea of celebrating the differences of the country is, for some reason, loved.

In 2004 rumours that he was not going to return to the CBC drew huge complaints from the Canadian public. For some reason this man is incredibly popular. But why?

We've already mentioned how Canadians take on completely different personalities while watching hockey. Even the most gentle Canadians cheer at the sight of a fight. Polite Canadians forget their manners when they're screaming at referees. Their culture of acceptance and tolerance disappears while watching hockey.

That probably explains why they like Don Cherry.

Average Canadians do not insult other cultures. They do not typically request more violence and less art. They don't take shots at people based on their names or their appearances. But while they're watching hockey they do. And so does Don Cherry.

And most Canadians love it.
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Do you have your own unique way of spotting Canadians? If you'd like to share it with us, please contact us by email. We're always looking for new tips!