- We really do say "eh" all of the time. Doesn't matter where in Canada, it is one universal stereotype of us that is 100% true. Non-Canadians (and in particular Americans) who try to say "eh" get it wrong, mostly because they are
trying to say it. That's the thing, you do not
try, you just do it. A properly spoken "eh" sounds like "A", and is usually at the end of a sentence, both statements and questions depending on the nature of how "eh" is being used. In all cases, there is no noticeable pause in the sentence prior to the word "eh", and the syllable is not up or down accented, inflected or emphasized in any way. It's "So, you're learning how to talk Canadian eh?" not "So, you're learning how to talk Canadian, eh?" and also not "So, you're learning how to talk Canadian... EH?" It just blends in. The best way to master the Canadian "eh", is to simply spend time talking to a Canadian on the telephone regularly or in person. Not only will you learn how to use "eh" properly, but you will start doing it yourself without even realizing that you're doing it eh.
- We really do NOT say "aboot" for the word "about". Some people who live on the east coast do in fact say "aboot" due to their strong east coast accents, and we make a bit of light fun about that all across Canada ourselves, however the stereotype (generally put forth by Americans only) that we say "aboot" is definitely not correct other than a very small minority. There is a difference between how we pronounce it and how an American with a southern accent pronounces it, but it still is not "aboot".
-
Poutine may sound disgusting to some people, but it is fantastic and should not to be overlooked.
- Milk is sold in both cardboard cartons which are common throughout the world, but also in bags. The US and certain other countries where milk is not sold in bags generally find this to be very strange, but it is pretty normal here.
- It is legal to make a right hand turn on a red stop light if cross traffic is clear and it is safe. (In most provinces anyway)
- All products sold in Canada must have bilingual English/French labels/ingredients/etc. on them by law.
-
Canadian Tire: One might think a store called "Canadian Tire" is an automotive tire store, however it is one of the largest department store chains across Canada, with Walmart probably being the biggest competition. It is indeed an automotive tire store also, but it grew way way beyond that over time. Their motto is "There's a lot more to Canadian Tire than tires.", and the store is referred to informally by just about everyone as "Crappy Tire" in jest.
-
Canadian Tire Money: Yes, Canadian Tire gets 2 entries on the list because they have 2 kinds of strange. :) When you purchase stuff at Canadian Tire, you get 1-2% (roughly) of your purchase price back in the form of "Canadian Tire Money", which are basically a form of store coupon valid for spending on anything sold in the store. It is actual paper money that looks like a form of paper currency and comes in denominations from 1c to $1 or so. People normally dump all of their Canadian Tire money in a bag or whatever in a junk drawer or something and never actually spend it because they forget about it. It's now also available electronically kind of like Air Miles as well, which is much more useful. Additionally, while it is not too common some other stores accept Canadian Tire money at par with Canadian currency just as a customer service convenience, as the store owners likely shop at CT anyway. It's not unusual to find a big fat wad of CT money in a Canadian's home. :)
