“Do you ride moose there?” a young girl asked my son on his first day of school in Texas, having just discovered he was from Canada.

We found that while living in the US we werehaving to
constantlydebunk myths about our home country and it isn’t exclusive to our experiences. Just this past weekend I had a conversation witha couplewho spent two years in United States working in the medical profession - they got the same barrage of questions. Someone actually indicated surprisetofind
outthatweused forks and knives. Unbelievable.

Numerous studies have indicated that a higher percentage of Canadians have travelled out of the country than their American counterparts, therefore myths are propagated more readily if one hasn’t experienced the reality.

In honor of our national Canada Day celebration tomorrow I’m about toset the record straight onsome of the most common myths floating around the universe regarding the Great White North.

Firstly, regarding that Great White North moniker - we actually do have four seasons here. Our ground isn’t covered with snow for the entire twelve months. Granted our winters can start as early as September and its not that unusual to see some snow activity in June at higher elevations. The west coast of British Columbiahas aparticularly mild climate. We have a diverse landscape that ranges from the rainforest region of the west coast to mountain ranges, prairies and the eastern coast’sMaritimes provinces.

We have two national languages and “Canadian” isn’t one of them. However that’s not to say we don’t have our own linguistic idiosyncrasies. For example:

A four
bangeris a car; anda double/double is a large coffee with two creams and two sugars that has most likely been purchased at Tim Horton’s which is the Canadian equivalent to Starbucks (only better tasting and less expensive).The franchise was begun by a former NHL hockey player.

“Eh” is the most accepted form of making sure you’re understood by the person you are having a conversation with. It’s a catch all for the phrase “You know what I mean”.

“Eh”is not, however, the most commonly used word. That honor belongs to “sorry” which based on my own personal, comprehensive study is usedon averagefifteen times in a single grocery store outing, even if its not necessary.

We are alsoslow to interrupt, assume or demand. We will wait our turn patiently and when watching a performance we generally remain seated and applaud in-between songs only. However, never ever assume that doesn’t mean we aren’t having fun. We’re just politer about it.

That said, the aforementioned decorum is not applicable while viewing hockey, particularly live. Don’t talk while the game is on orleave your seats during play if you don’t want to see our dark side.

Yes, curling is a real sport and they do teach it in schools. Hockey however is our national pastime, whether its watching with a group of friends or joining in an impromptu game in the neighbourhood on a homemade ice rink someone’s dad made by flooding the yard after the first good freeze.

We don’t know Suzy from Winnipeg, so please stop asking us that. Granted we have a considerablysmaller population than our neighbours to the south, but our land mass is the second largest in the world and we haven’t had a chance to meet everyone just yet.

We do not live in tepees or igloos, or at least haven’t in many, many years.We actually have real houses these days.

We don’t eat wild meat as a regular fare, but it isn’t unheard of for someone to consume everything from bobcat and cougar to elk and moose. We eat a regular diet of fast food just as much as anybody. However - be careful when ordering.Ordering tea will get you a hot steaming cup of black tea not sweet tea. If you order gravy - expect brown not white andvinegar is as common as
ketchupin some parts.A poutine is an order of fries with gravy and cheese curds. (don’t knock it until you try it). We eat meat pies on Christmas Eve and for dessertNanaimo Bars are the nearest thing to heaven that we’ve come up with thus far.

We understand that you knowCeline Dioncame from Canada. We’re really trying to keep that a little quiet these days. Our musical heritage is more than Shania Twain and Anne Murray as well, but I’m certain that our most notable music icon, Stompin Tom Conners,is most likely not a household word in your neck of the woods.

Politically we’re pretty liberal. We believe in peace andmulti-culturalism notworld dominanceand assimilation. We don’t tolerate fools in office too long and if they really mess up an election can be called.Most likelyvery little is known about our leaders outside of our borders. While the US media was all over the prospect of Hillary Clinton running for office with the potential of being the first woman president, Canada had their first woman prime minister, Kim Campbell in 1993.

We do have a strong national interest and personal investmentsin the environment and just
asside note - calling someone a tree-hugging liberal here is not necessarily an insult.

We do have universal health care, and despite the fact that its never perfect, I’ve learned first hand that its far better than having nothing.

Oh and finally, no, we don’t ride moose.