What would an American like to ask a Canadian?

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I'm not an American, but let me get the obvious one out of the way... does your milk really come in bags?

I'm not an American either, but if I were I'd be wondering if your Health Service was as enviable as some Americans (eg Michael Moore) seem to think it is.

Yes it does. Especially within eastern and central Canada (not so much in western Canada apparently). I have never bought milk in any form than bags, though it is available in cartons too. You put the milk bag in a "holder" of sorts and then cut it open from one of the corners to use it.

Does hearing the temperature is only 30 degrees make you feel any cooler in the summer?

Did you have a great influx of immigrants after Trump was elected?

And the big question about the meaning of life in Canada: What's it all aboot, eh?

I've never seen it myself in Alberta, or in BC for that matter either. We just get ours in cartons or plastic bottles.


When I hear someone refer to 30 degrees being "cool", I can tell they're either old or American. We're caught in a weird state where we're officially Metric, but we still use Imperial a lot informally. Usually people refer to distances with kilometers, measure outdoor temperatures with Celcius, measure cooking temperatures in Fahrenheit, refer to their height in feet and inches, and refer to their weight in pounds. For liquids, it's usually litres but it's still common to refer to a gallon of milk, or an ounce of liquor, or a cup of a cooking ingredient. It's a weird mix.

We had a small influx of immigrants, but not as many as I expected. Then again, immigrating to Canada is a lot harder than one may think.

We don't say "aboot", at least not in Alberta. We say "about" just like everyone else, and the only time "aboot" is ever used is in the context of Canadian stereotypes. This one kinda annoys me.

Milk in bags is very common here in Ontario. And "aboot" is hard to detect if you're Canadian but unfortunately.. it is all over the place. Canadian Raising is pretty much nation wide except for Quebec.

Maybe it's just family influence, since my great grandfather was German American, but I'm not used to hearing people say "aboot".

I'm the first American to ask a question on this thread.
But do you guys say aboot instead of about?
Is hockey the most popular sport or just stereotypes?
Do people over apologize for anything?
Are people over polite there? Because I see it in movies and tv shows to be that way.

Because of our accent. It's not actually "aboot" it's an accented "about".
Hockey is popular, nearly universally so but not everyone likes it.
Yes I say sorry when someone steps on my feet. It's just a "reflex".
People are more "closed" than actually polite. Most people are cautious to warm up to someone.

Yes, our milk really does come in bags, as well as cartons and plastic jugs. But mostly in the Atlantic provinces only. The bags are long and rectangular, and you put them vertically inside a special pitcher designed to hold them. Then you snip off a corner of the bag to make a spout, and pour it. I really don't get what's so strange about that.

When I was a kid at school, we also had small plastic bags of milk and juice that we'd buy and drink at lunch or recess. The bags came with a thick plastic straw that was pointy on one end, and you had to stab the bag with the straw to drink out of it, and if you weren't careful the liquid would shoot out everywhere or you'd poke your fingers. I guess that's why I usually only see one-serving milk in little cartons now. I usually only buy milk in cartons or jugs now.

I never say "aboot", unless I'm referring to the singular term for footwear.

Hockey is our national sport. The stereotype that all Canadians love hockey is possibly my most hated of our nation's stereotypes. It's probably acceptable for me because I'm female, but I've read stories about guys getting bullied, ridiculed, or even nearly killed just because they said they didn't like or hated hockey. It's like saying all American people love baseball and we all know that's not true.

I do say "sorry" a lot when I'm out grocery shopping or anywhere else there are a lot of people, it seems to be just an instinctive reaction to the invasion of personal space. But I tend to pronounce it "saw-ry" and not "sore-ry", so now it's makes me feel weird saying it all the time, and yet it bugs me when other people pronounce it "sore-ry" for some reason. Also in Nova Scotia where I live people supposedly all speak with a quaint Irish or Scottish accent, but mine is pretty neutral. People have said that I speak very well and that's it easy to understand me.

I think the general politeness thing varies on which part of Canada you go to. I've heard that people where I live are usually polite, friendly and helpful, even to total strangers. I think they're not that far from the truth. If you hear people working at restaurants or in stores call you "dear" or "sweetheart", try not to be offended because it's not a come-on, it's just their way of being friendly.

But I've heard that people in Toronto or maybe even all of Ontario are usually rude, arrogant, opinionated, and basically all the negative stereotypes of American people. Also just just saying hello or acting friendly to someone you're just passing by makes them think you're some kind of a psycho. But may be true in most major cities. I only went to Ontario in the summer once as a kid and spent it mostly in Ottowa, so I really don't know.

You shouldn't believe something just because that's how it's usually shown in movies or TV, because it's fictional. An of course, the internet. Good, sweet dearest lord of lords, the internet!

Would would you say to an American who might consider moving to Canada? Partly for political reasons and somewhat cultural. Maybe on some level wanting to get away from our Religious Right to a country that is more Secular?

I'm from Michigan, so perhaps a move to Ontario wouldn't be to different in terms of weather or climate.

Why do americans view Canada as a liberal paradise? Doesn't Canada have just as many right wing anti muslim (list goes on) as america does?

People in northern Minnesota say aboot, but that's here in the U.S...

Also do Canadians ever think its weird that usually 'America' refers to the U.S.A when people say it, when Canada is technically also part of America? Or does it ever seem weird to call the U.S America?

There is the Healthcare Social Safety Net and seeming less likely to unilaterally go to war. Maybe for political reasons as an ally, they will participate when America enters a conflict.

Anyway, the Liberal politics as a small part of it, but I'm mostly wondering if Canada is more of a Secular Society.