Americans tend to think Canada is just like Europe, and many Europeans assume Canada is just America lite. And we've talked about American assumptions about Canada before, but today, we're gonna clear up some things that tend to surprise Europeans when they visit here for the first time.
Not too long ago, Reddit user u/caitsxoxo, who is from the UK, asked Canadians to share some surprising culture shocks she might experience when visiting Canada. And people from all over Europe and the UK dropped their answers. So here we go! Ready to learn!
1. "Take your shoes off when entering someone's home. Always."
"It's so gross to wear your shoes in the house! Even if told out of being polite, 'Oh, it's okay leave your shoes on,' it's not ok. We're just being polite and actually expect you to still take your shoes off and carry them to the back door or wherever else you're going from the front door!"
2. "Telling distance with time instead of kilometres."
"So true. 'I live 15 mins from here' is way more relatable than whatever that distance may be."
3. "The price you see when making any kind of purchase is NOT what you pay."
"Our prices do not include taxes. I know that's a big shock to most of the Brits I know."
"I remember the first time I went to a shop in Ontario without my Canadian (at the time) boyfriend. I saw the item was around 15 CAD, and I very proudly pulled a 10 and 5... and when the lady at the till said that the total was nearly 17 CAD, I just stared back at her dumbfounded for 5 whole seconds until I realized my mistake."
4. "Resist the urge to use the word 'cunt' — it's not the same here."
"It's amusing how it's a term of endearment elsewhere; but in Canada, it might be the most offensive, derogatory, insulting term ever."
5. "Looooooong drives. Like, you have no idea. Canadians will drive hundred of kilometres a day as a matter of course."
"Boggling huge country."
"In England, I have family members who live an hour or two drive apart who haven't bothered to see each other for years because 'it's so far.' They genuinely see me more often than they see each other (and I visit them from Canada)."
6. And on that note: "Speaking with colleagues from Europe, the one thing that seems to be the most common shock is just how big Canada is."
"Some don't even realize until they try to plan out a weekend road trip somewhere. Look at a map of Canada — it takes 2 days to drive across just Ontario."
"St. John's, Newfoundland is close to London than it is to Vancouver."
7. "English breakfast is not going to be what you expect."
"Everything but the black pudding is common here. Eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, potato, tomatoes can all be found in a restaurant — perhaps not as a 'full English breakfast,' but it's available."
8. "How bad the chocolate is [in Canada]."
"A visit to the UK has ruined me on Canadian/American chocolate."
"At least it's not as bad as American chocolate."
9. "We walk on the right side of the sidewalk."
"This is a big one. If you walk on the left side you're gonna have a lot of awkward moments."
"People in the UK ain't sure what side to walk on. Is it left? Is it right? Does it follow the roads? No one's sure."
10. "Milk in a bag."
"I think it's maybe just an Ontario/Eastern thing. We have regular carton milk in Manitoba/Western Canada."
11. "The endless monstrous pickup trucks carrying no cargo, and massive SUVs with only one occupant are something to behold."
"Welcome to Alberta."
12. "When you go to a pub in Canada, you sit down at a table and you get table service. You do not stand around with a drink in hand and banter with strangers. Our pubs are just booze-forward restaurants."
"Being able to drink outside of the establishment on the street with your glass from the pub along with other mates doing the same is sadly missing in Canada."
14. "Tea at restaurants varies in propriety."
"A lot of times, they will bring you a metal teapot with water — that may or may not be hot enough — and a tea bag on the side. As you know, the tea is already ruined at this point. It's likely also a very weak orange pekoe.
Your best bet while you're out is to stop at Starbucks or Tim Hortons, but you'll have to remove the tea bag yourself. Honestly, just bring tea and make it yourself.
(If you ever go to the USA, the tea situation is even worse, so do not even bother)."
15. "Hardly any CCTV on the streets [in Canada]."
"The CCTVs in the UK was unsettling."
16. "Not much public transit outside of very big cities. You will need to know how to drive."
17. "Saturday night is hockey night in Canada. A lot of people will be watching it."
18. "Get somebody local to properly prepare you for winter. Pick good boots and a coat. The weather here could literally kill you."
"Like, if your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere in -40 weather and you can't call for help, you could actually die."
19. "Folks from the UK expect to find mountains all over Canada, but in Ontario, you are thousands of miles away from the dramatic glacier-covered alpine mountains and turquoise lakes from the pictures of Canada in your mind."
"Ontario is as far from the Rockies as the Middle East is from the Alps."
"Whenever a European/Brit tells me they went to Canada and loved it, it's always Banff."
