Major differences in Canada?

NoelAPM

For any1 who plans to drive here. You can't park wherever you feel like it. As I generally did at home.

Got a fine yesterday for parking facing oncoming traffic. All I did was reverse into a space so I could access my boot from the pavement instead of loading/unloading while standing on the road. I'm still not clear what threat I was posing to Canadian life.

So baically park on the right side of the road and if its and angled space drive straight in!

pitythefool

NoelAPM wrote: »

For any1 who plans to drive here. You can't park wherever you feel like it. As I generally did at home.

Got a fine yesterday for parking facing oncoming traffic. All I did was reverse into a space so I could access my boot from the pavement instead of loading/unloading while standing on the road. I'm still not clear what threat I was posing to Canadian life.

So baically park on the right side of the road and if its and angled space drive straight in!

Nonsense

snowguy

^ Nonsense ?, can you elaborate.

Traffic laws are provincial jurisdiction so can vary from province to province. You have to park in the same direction as the traffic flow. IE, we drive
on the right side of the road, so you park on the right side of the street.

I think the reasoning behind this is that if you were to park on the left, you’d have to cross a lane of traffic, to pull in to the spot, and then
again cross a lane of traffic when pulling out.

NoelAPM is correct, traffic laws are enforced, you will get ticketed and/or towed. I’m amazed when I go back to Ireland to see people double parked,
parked on paths and everything.

Weather is one big difference, even though Edmonton is 300 KM north of Calgary look at the difference in temp

http://weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/ab-52_metric_e.html

http://weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/ab-50_metric_e.html

Martyn1989

Calgary is alot higher up then most of us would be used to, this makes running a pain and you won't be helped by the amount of steep climbs. You get used to it though. The dryness is what gets me. Sometimes you'll walk down to the shop, by the time your back your lips, face and hands will be in bits, not helped if you shave everyday. Carmex is your friend.

Frostine

I must say I have to admire you all for comming to a new country and learning to fit in and find your place in society. But then again, that's how Canada was built, by immigrants. Unless you're ancestry is First Nations, you're from an immigrant background. Irish is one of the top 5 ethnic groups in Canada:D.
Anyway I must be going, I'm first going to meet some friends and once they're properly bored to death, I'm going to drive my big-a$$ truck over to the store(parking legally, of course) and by a couple of 2-4's and some expensive dairy products. Then I'll make my way back to my igloo sit my fat ar$e down and guzzle down some maple syrup,eh!;)

WillPainter

Frostine wrote: »

I must say I have to admire you all for comming to a new country and learning to fit in and find your place in society. But then again, that's how Canada was built, by immigrants. Unless you're ancestry is First Nations, you're from an immigrant background. Irish is one of the top 5 ethnic groups in Canada:D.
Anyway I must be going, I'm first going to meet some friends and once they're properly bored to death, I'm going to drive my big-a$$ truck over to the store(parking legally, of course) and by a couple of 2-4's and some expensive dairy products. Then I'll make my way back to my igloo sit my fat ar$e down and guzzle down some maple syrup,eh!;)

Can I've some?

Frostine

Sure can WillPainter!! Come on over!;)

greenteaicedtea

- People are super friendly, but massively offense-averse. I once commented that a particular logo looked silly and I was met with aghast and worried head-shaking (from white people) because it was, apparently, based on something tribal. I also mentioned that a lady wearing full traditional Pakistani clothing looked really cool, and that it wasn't something you'd expect from a Canadian (the lady spoke perfect English with a local accent) and similarly people got uncomfortable and acted as though I had said something offensive.

The best thing to do is pretend that cultural differences don't exist. If later on, you get to know someone well, ask all the questions you want.

The classic thing to try to avoid doing is asking someone where they are from, even if they speak English with a heavy accent. They might have been here 20 years and be "Canadian", even if they don't look or sound Canadian to you.

Many people who grew up in Canada as the children of immigrants, some of them go back and forth between Canadian and other traditions at the drop of a hat. They speak perfect English, but break into Cantonese when Mom calls, or suddenly wear shiny shalwar kameez outfits if they are going to some special event. I've run into families where the parents speak entirely in some other language to their kids, and the kids reply only in English. Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason to it.

And why would you say that any logo looked silly? I'm not sure what you expected to happen, by saying that.

ciaran67

WillPainter wrote: »

Can I've some?

Canadian attempt at satire.

You're supposed to reply, that's hilarious, without showing emotion.

seb65

Frostine wrote: »

I must say I have to admire you all for comming to a new country and learning to fit in and find your place in society. But then again, that's how Canada was built, by immigrants. Unless you're ancestry is First Nations, you're from an immigrant background. Irish is one of the top 5 ethnic groups in Canada:D.
Anyway I must be going, I'm first going to meet some friends and once they're properly bored to death, I'm going to drive my big-a$$ truck over to the store(parking legally, of course) and by a couple of 2-4's and some expensive dairy products. Then I'll make my way back to my igloo sit my fat ar$e down and guzzle down some maple syrup,eh!;)

Well, at least one of them congratulated us on being intelligent...or at least more intelligent than our US counterparts.....

V8_man

seb65 wrote: »

Well, at least one of them congratulated us on being intelligent...or at least more intelligent than our US counterparts.....

I've noticed some pride being taken in being more worldly wise than those over the Southern border, but it's also true that Canada is highly urbanised, and visiting an urban area in the US you are as likely to encounter educated people. Canada has small, remote areas too but fewer than the States, and Canada is smaller so people have to travel outside their country to see anything of the world.
A lot of Canadians I've met are highly critical of Americans without being aware that they are far more similar to them than to us Europeans, which is meant as a compliment in my book.

seachto7

But we are probably more closer to our North American and British neighbours than our continental ones....?

I wonder where Quebecers fit into all of this.... Reminds me of a bit of France plonked into the North American way of life... I've never been though...

retalivity

seachto7 wrote: »

But we are probably more closer to our North American and British neighbours than our continental ones....?

We are closest to the British first, then European, then North American imo.
I too find it funny when Canadians talk about being so different to the US. Plenty of liberal folk around but it also has its share of backwards bumpkins once you move outside of the cities...and at the heart of it all they are nearly all as fiercely jingoistic

Quebec is definitely closer to Europe than English-speaking Canada...its like an overseas departement...french, but not France. Kind of like a Switzerland but across the ocean...

seb65

retalivity wrote: »

I too find it funny when Canadians talk about being so different to the US. Plenty of liberal folk around but it also has its share of backwards bumpkins once you move outside of the cities...and at the heart of it all they are nearly all as fiercely jingoistic.

You must be quite efficient to be able to meet nearly all 30 million plus Canadians and get their views on foreign policy. Canada not getting involved in vietnam or iraq is perhaps a better indication of the majority view on war.

Your comment on Canada's "backward bumpkins" is quite amusing considering you seem to comparing it to a country that doesn't allow for gay marriage, sees women die rather than preforming a medical procedure and can't run it's own economy.

ciaran67

Did you know that 40% of all Quebecers have Irish ancestory?

Canadians are different as you go across the country. BC people, especially older ones can be quite British i've found. I work with lots of seniors. Had a fella in my bus the other day who drove fuel tankers, at 17, right behind the front line on D Day. What an interesting man he was. Talk about brave.

V8_man

retalivity wrote: »

I too find it funny when Canadians talk about being so different to the US. Plenty of liberal folk around but it also has its share of backwards bumpkins once you move outside of the cities...and at the heart of it all they are nearly all as fiercely jingoistic

well I don't think it's about 'liberal' versus 'bumpkins' by any stretch but they are very different kinds of country and if attitudes are determined in part by where and how people live there they're not comparable at all. Change happens faster in Canada (for good or ill) because there is more centralised government than in the US, but still much less so than there is in Ireland.

That said, Canadians are no less patriotic than Americans ( I don't think they're 'jingoistic' but they're not a superpower so you wouldn't expect them to behave like one), but the military plays a larger part in American culture so you'd expect it to be more important to Americans than Canadians. Also, participation in international wars is more difficult for a small, spread out nation than for a huge highly populated one so I'm also not sure it's much of a gauge of how citizens think about 'war' in general - Canadians have a proud military history and their winding down in that regard probably has more to do with the end of the British empire and their role in it.

excuse the long post but we are in election mode in BC at the moment and I'm busy helping out candidates, so I have been discussing a lot of these things with Canadians of various stripes lately.

citytillidie

uncleoswald wrote: »

Less of a drinking culture, but less stigma attached to drink driving in my experience.

Both of these may be caused by people settling down at an earlier age.

Montrealers would beg to differ

Also on the Island of Montreal you cant turn right on a red like everywhere else

retalivity

seb65 wrote: »

You must be quite efficient to be able to meet nearly all 30 million plus Canadians and get their views on foreign policy. Canada not getting involved in vietnam or iraq is perhaps a better indication of the majority view on war.

Your comment on Canada's "backward bumpkins" is quite amusing considering you seem to comparing it to a country that doesn't allow for gay marriage, sees women die rather than preforming a medical procedure and can't run it's own economy.

I can only give my opinion on what ive seen and who i've met in southern ontario.
Jingoism might have been too strong a word, but any criticism of the country is usually met with scorn and astonishment that a foreigner would actually complain about living in their great country. Airing grievences about the place with canadians usually illicit the same response above, or worse, asking me 'to go back to my own country then'.
Rather than listen to an actual viewpoint different to theirs, a lot would take the narrow view shared by many americans & that presented above when questioned or criticised.

V8_man

retalivity wrote: »

I can only give my opinion on what ive seen and who i've met in southern ontario.
Jingoism might have been too strong a word, but any criticism of the country is usually met with scorn and astonishment that a foreigner would actually complain about living in their great country. Airing grievences about the place with canadians usually illicit the same response above, or worse, asking me 'to go back to my own country then'.
Rather than listen to an actual viewpoint different to theirs, a lot would take the narrow view shared by many americans & that presented above when questioned or criticised.

It might be worth asking, why are you going up to Canadians and complaining about their country?! just saying....

retalivity

V8_man wrote: »

It might be worth asking, why are you going up to Canadians and complaining about their country?! just saying....

When people ask me where Im from, its often followed by a "and how do you like Canada?"
Ive learned that "Its great, yeah" is the easiest answer...

seb65

retalivity wrote: »

I can only give my opinion on what ive seen and who i've met in southern ontario.
Jingoism might have been too strong a word, but any criticism of the country is usually met with scorn and astonishment that a foreigner would actually complain about living in their great country. Airing grievences about the place with canadians usually illicit the same response above, or worse, asking me 'to go back to my own country then'.
Rather than listen to an actual viewpoint different to theirs, a lot would take the narrow view shared by many americans & that presented above when questioned or criticised.

I don't see it as a different viewpoint so much as an extreme generalization. I wonder how many Irish people would offer you a "don't let the door hit you on the way out" if you started on about all the things wrong with Ireland and its people, when you were a guest in their country.

Mrs McSweeney

seb65 wrote: »

I don't see it as a different viewpoint so much as an extreme generalization. I wonder how many Irish people would offer you a "don't let the door hit you on the way out" if you started on about all the things wrong with Ireland and its people, when you were a guest in their country.

I actually think that the Irish are fickle in this matter...

Irish people will usually accept/join in with the bitter complaining about the state of the country, when talking with their friends/acquaintances (both Irish & non-Irish people), and will see it as lively banter.

Ditto when talking with Irish strangers.

But they tend to bristle/get offended when a non-Irish person that they don't know has anything negative to say.

This is a very broad statement, and of course there will be many exceptions, but I believe this is broadly the case.

cuterob

regarding the tax being added afterwards does this include renting apartments? like if I see a one bed apartment on the kijiji or craiglist site for 800 dollars say.. does that not include tax or whats the story?

onemorechance

cuterob wrote: »

regarding the tax being added afterwards does this include renting apartments? like if I see a one bed apartment on the kijiji or craiglist site for 800 dollars say.. does that not include tax or whats the story?

No there is no tax to be paid on top of that. What you need to worry about is the cost of utilities. If heating is not included and especially if it's heated by electricity, your bills can be huge. Plus then there's the a/c in summer.

seachto7

Where are the hotter women? Toronto or Vancouver :o:o

JustRoss23

seachto7 wrote: »

Where are the hotter women? Toronto or Vancouver :o:o

There in Calgary Mate:rolleyes:;)
Or so i keep telling myself:o

pitythefool

JustRoss23 wrote: »

There in Calgary Mate:rolleyes:;)
Or so i keep telling myself:o

They dont let ugly people in Toronto city centre

seachto7

Oh Lord!!!

justsomebloke

seachto7 wrote: »

Where are the hotter women? Toronto or Vancouver :o:o

in the summer it seems to be Toronto however in winter it seems to be Vancover

WasterEx

Speaking of, What are the women like in Calgary? (are they hot or not)