60 Things That Are Different In Canada

Q: From Reddit: What are some differences for people who moved to Canada from the US? A: Moved here from the US, in May 2021. So, 2 years, 8 months ago.

1. Peace of mind sending kids to school with relative certainty that some kid doped up on pharmaceuticals isn’t going to shoot up the school.
2. Peace of mind knowing that cops aren’t patrolling the halls of my kids’ school.
3. Peace of mind knowing that the school districts don’t have their own police departments.
4. Much less anxiety about seeing a cop in my rear view mirror.
5. Still a lot of anxiety about my kids getting hit by a car. I live in the GTA and people go 80km/h in a 40km/h on residential streets near me. And pedestrians and cyclists get hit by cars every day. And don’t get me started on the Amazon delivery vans. 5a. But hey, at least we can let our kids go walking/biking. Something we couldn’t do in the very pedestrian/cyclist unfriendly Greater Houston Area.
6. Constant struggles with mental health trying to figure out how to make ends meet.
7. I agree with some experts who say it takes a solid two years to recover from the shock of how expensive it is to live here.
8. I don’t blame Ukrainian refugees deciding to move back to an active war zone rather than stay here.
9. Constantly being on your guard that someone is trying to scam you.
10. People being helpful-not-helpful.
11. Poorly trained wait staff.
12. Never seeing your server again after they’ve brought you your food.
13. Waiting forever for your check.
14. Rules upon rules upon rules.
15. The extreme selectivity about what rules to enforce/follow.
16. Trying to get used to other drivers never actually stopping at stop signs.
17. I do love how drivers pull out into the intersection while waiting for an opening to turn left on green. It was like this growing up in the Midwest; the practice was pretty much non-existent in Texas; I felt like I was back home when I moved to the GTA. So, in summary, I love the Left Turn Yield on Green. 17a: I love that Canadians stop at yellow lights and don’t gun it. There are exceptions, of course.
18. Way more pedestrians than I was used to in the US.
19. I love that sometimes pedestrians will give a car the wave. Like considerate behavior between drivers and pedestrians actually exists. At least I see it more inside the city limits of Toronto, less so in the burbs.
20. Honking is usually just to tell someone “It’s your move.” I don’t see horns used in anger as much. I mean, yeah, I do see occasional road rage, because there are so bloody many aggressive drivers here, but mostly it’s inattentive drivers getting honked at.
21. I see fewer drivers on their phones than in Texas. People looking at their phones while driving—it’s worse in the burbs.
22. This my sound hypocritical, since above I complained about people speeding on residential streets. Nevertheless, the speed limits are way too low. A main artery may be 50km/h—that’s only 31mph. The same road in the US would be 35mph (56km/h) or 40mph (64km/h). Rarely do I see a speed limit and thought, yeah that’s appropriate for this stretch of road.
23. 100km/h that’s only 62mph, on a highway that would be 70 down in the states.
24. There are places where it get up to 110km/h, but even that is only 68mph. Embarrassing, when you consider the same stretch would be 75mph in Texas.
25. Full-sized pickup trucks are way too popular.
26. People’s parking jobs generally tend to be awful.
27. Although I do see that many, many more people back into their parking spaces than in the US, and those that do, tend to take a little more pride in parking straight and evenly. Except anyone in a full-size pickup truck, where care in parking is non-existent.
28. In Toronto, a red light camera nails you if your back bumper hadn’t crossed the white line by the time the light turned red (or so I’m told), whereas in the US (specifically in Texas), the red light camera nails you for making a rolling right on red.
29. Canadians think they’re more immigrant-friendly than they really are.
30. Canadians don’t treat themselves, or each other, very well. Happy to elaborate.
31. Store associates, clerks, receptionists, and generally everybody who is on the clock or on duty, finding every which way to get you to do something yourself so they don’t have to. In fact, I believe most people here will gladly expend more energy avoiding doing their jobs, or trying to get you to do it yourself, than just doing it.
32. Shuffling when you walk. I have never in my life seen so goddamned many people shuffle their feet when they walk. Pick up your feet, Canada! I know, wherever it is you’re headed, you dont really want to go there. But you’re a grown-ass adult for crying out loud.
33. I’m used to seeing couples where the chick is dolled up and the dude is in a ratty t-shirt, wrinkled cargo shorts and flip-flops. That’s any given Saturday night back home in the United States. Well, it’s worse here, but it’s better, too. At least the Koreans and the Persians make an effort.
34. You can nearly always tell if a Sikh hasn’t been in Canada very long, because their turban and their beard are perfect like Jagmeet Singh. But it seems the longer you’re here, the more beat down you get from just trying to keep your head above water, the turban and the beard start looking more and more unkempt, until eventually they stop bothering altogether.
35. I thought I knew diversity. I thought Houston, Texas was diverse. I thought New York City was diverse. I thought London, England was diverse. Oh, no, honey. You don’t know diversity until you come to the GTA. It’s probably the best thing Canada has going for it. I love that most of my neighbors are from somewhere else.
36. We love marijuana being legal.
37. Booze is way, way too expensive. It’s an example of Canadians mistreating their own people. It’s a tax on the poor. It’s unconscionable.
38. There’s no democracy. You’ll read a headline about some provincial premier—here it’s Doug Ford—making some new rule, and nobody bothers to ask where the democratic process went. Or the Minister of Education will lay down the law like a complete autocrat. And here I am an American thinking wow I thought democracy was a joke in the US. They don’t even pretend up here.
39. Sales tax is 13% in Ontario, somewhat less or somewhat more in other provinces. But you pay sales tax on almost everything here. Back home there were things that weren’t taxable. Up here, maybe a few items in your grocery cart, but not much else escape the “harmonized sales tax.”
40. They withhold a lot more from your paycheck here.
41. You will pay much more for rent and get a much smaller place.
42. You will spend a lot of money putting gas into your tank, especially if you’re used to paying US prices.
43. You have to have two sets of tires, and you have to pay to have them switched out, and you probably have to pay to store the set that’s not in use, because you probably don’t have room to store them where you live, because you don’t have enough storage.
44. When you move here, all those movies that you bought on Prime—guess what? They’re not yours anymore!
45. Your Prime membership is canceled when you move up here. You will have to start over with a Canadian Prime membership, which you will find isn’t as good.
46. Oh, and Prime Family Plan doesn’t exist up here.
47. And you’re not really going to find any deals on Amazon. Everything’s just as expensive as it is in stores.
48. The selection on Amazon.ca is way less.
49. And don’t think you’re going to get around it with your VPN. Yes, a VPN is a total necessity, and can help you access content that you otherwise can’t get in Canada, but it’s not a cure-all.
50. I’m planning a trip to the US just so I can watch Season 9 of Endeavour. Kidding, not kidding.
51. I miss big, cheap, strong margaritas. You could pub crawl across the whole state of Texas and never get served a bad margarita. Here, you’re paying 13 for a tiny margarita that’s mostly ice.
52. I miss good Mexican food. Of course the food in Mexico is amazing, not just in touristy places, but in local dives and even in crappy border towns. But the Mexican food in Texas is amazing, too.
53. I miss good food in general. Maybe I was spoiled, but the food in places like New Orleans, Houston, St. Louis, San Francisco, Boston is amazing. Maybe it’s geography; maybe it’s supply chain, but sorry, Toronto, the food’s just not that great here. It’s surprising because I think you have amazing agriculture. But somewhere from farm to table something wonderful seems to disappear from the food.
54. Canada has great dairy and cheese. But it’s too bloody expensive, and the stuff you can afford—the “Old Fort”—isn’t really that great.
55. I miss deli American. Boar’s Head American and Hill Country Fare American cheese. Not Kraft slices, but deli-style American. You can find it here at some of the higher-end supermarkets, but I never buy it because I won’t pay!
56. 100% grass-fed beef is harder to find, and when you do, you’ll probably refuse to pay.
57. At least Costco still has giant all-beef hot dogs, both in the refrigerated section and at the hot food counter.
58. At least I can still go to Costco and pay $1.50+HST and get a big polish dog or all beef hot dog and it’s 100% the same as in the US (I just wish the Costco near me would offer sauerkraut, though).
59. I can still go to Costco and get a giant chocolate cone for only $1.50+HST, which I believe they got rid of the chocolate back home in the US, if I recall correctly.
60. My favorite guilty pleasure, as they say, is the 70% Dark Chocolate Kit Kat Bar, which I note has been absent from the shelves for nearly a year. Can’t find it at Shoplifeters anymore; can’t find it at Superstore anymore, never saw it at WalMart.