Since I’ve spent a lot of time in these posts talking about how America is different from Canada I thought it was only fair that I talk about how Canada is different than America. Here are some random facts that many Americans have seemed surprised to learn about our home and native land:

1. Canadians don’t all speak  French despite the fact that it’s one of our official languages.  Most of us who grew up in Canada have some very basic vocabulary and conversational skills but are definitely not fluent. You want fluent? Go to Ottawa (capital city of Canada) or Quebec (the province with the highest population of French-speaking citizens). 

2. It is not actually brutally cold in winter in all parts of Canada. Where I’m from is definitely super cold. But it kind of annoys me when people say “Oh, you’re from Canada? You must be used to the cold!”. Cold is still cold! But. Some parts of Canada (read: the west coast) have very mild winters with little to no snow. It’s no California but it’s a lot nicer than many parts of the USA.

3. We really do have free healthcare (where free equals our taxes are higher to pay for our free healthcare – but most of us think it’s absolutely worth it).

4. Women get a whole year off for maternity leave. 

5. Canadians recognize/celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, Veteran’s Day (we call it Remembrance Day) and many of the same long weekend holidays (although some of those are for different things, though they are on the same dates).

6. Officially, Canadians use the metric system but almost anyone you talk to off the street measures their height in feet and inches and their weight in pounds.

7. Canadians aren’t necessarily ALL hockey fans. At all.

8. We don’t necessarily have an accent that gives us away (ok, unless you’re a Newfie). At least no one has asked our family if we are Canadian and when told our nationality, many have responded with “Really? You don’t have an accent at all!”

9. Canadians implicitly trust our gov’t (generally speaking) and our media doesn’t make a big deal of their sex lives or personal history. I’m pretty sure the current Prime Minister has a couple of kids but their genders and ages are not something that has been in the media spotlight.

10. Saskatchewan is not near Calgary (seven hours away), Vancouver (17 hours), or Toronto (30 hours). It is a province. It is located here.

11. Canadian-made beer has a higher alcohol content than American-made beer. Yeah. We’re badass.