Canadianisms in Reading

I love that when I search for pictures of Canada, the first ones that appear are from my home province 😄 Being Canadian, I'm cognizant of some differences that appear when reading books written by American authors. Thankfully, the differences are quite nominal, but they do subtly pop up from time to time.

One thing that stands out is whether characters remove their shoes upon entering a house. Also being Asian, this is doubly paramount to me! In fact, in one of the recent books I read, I almost cheered out loud when the characters did take their outdoor shoes off (thank you, Kristi Ann Hunter!). I know this only applies in contemporary fiction, but it makes a difference; I'm not left wondering about hygienic conditions or whether the characters end up making a meal or going to sleep while still wearing their shoes. Since most stories don't get into their characters' cleaning habits, wearing outdoor shoes in the house is too much a stretch of the imagination for me.

Another is when characters are sent to Canada in historical novels. I'll sometimes do a double-take to check the dates as I remember one instance where Canada was casually mentioned, but the novel was set in the earlier part of the 19th century (I wish I remembered which book it was, but maybe it's better that I don't). Although the British and the French had settled in North America and Upper and Lower Canada came into being in 1791, the existence of a unified Province of Canada as a British colony did not take place until 1841, and the existence of the Dominion of Canada as a self-governing nation did not occur until Confederation in 1867 (source: Wikipedia as I don't want to dig through history textbooks). Since Canada is much younger than the United States, I'm usually surprised when it shows up in historical fiction—especially when that's where the villains are disposed of. Perhaps they were meant to go to Australia since Newfoundland didn't seem to work out in the late 1700s and the first penitentiary in Canada wasn't built until 1835, but I'm probably taking the mystery out of the story by delving into this more deeply.

Side note: My husband who's more of a historian thinks that it is feasible for people to have moved to Canada before it was known as Canada, but not likely on a whim as the weather conditions would have been a deterrent. I'll leave it at that, although I definitely welcome more research on this interesting topic.

Going back to books, something else that I have had to resign myself to is American spelling since there will likely be very few books published with Canadian spelling versus American. I used to think that having a Canadian Bible would have been interesting, but the market would probably be less than 1/10th that of a standard Bible sold elsewhere. With books, while differences such as the missing "u" in words like honour and favourite aren't as noticeable (or even the reversed "re" in centre or theatre), there are times when something requires a second read, such as seeing cheques written out as checks—namely paycheques now as cheques seem to have disappeared from usage. Beyond spelling, there are also differences in Canadian and American words and concepts, like the following:

• Canadians in reality use a mix of the metric and imperial measurement systems as a cross between the U.K. and U.S. You'd think that we'd be perfectly aligned with the U.K. but there is a lot of American influence in Canada. Examples include using square footage for home sizes as opposed to square metres, pounds for weight, and feet and inches for height. Measurements that are metric for us include road distances (less so for farmers as land was surveyed under the imperial system) and temperatures (though not for baking). As you can see, quite the hybrid model!
  
• Faith comes across a little differently between American and Canadian Christians. Canadians are generally more reserved or private about matters of faith, and there is more of a separation between state and faith, where faith is less political or politicized in Canada. Additionally, Canada is fairly secular. I have been taught that Quebec generally lags behind Europe not by much and that English Canada lags just a little behind Quebec, making us lean more toward the direction of Europe.
  
• There is less of an emphasis on the military in Canada, so reading about veterans and war heroes in American novels is a little different being up north. Although I know a few people who have or are serving in the military, it is more of an exception than the norm. When I had the opportunity to visit Charlotte, North Carolina years before, I ended up at a goodbye party for someone who was being deployed the next day amidst a group of people who all had military ties, which was a new experience. Since the military is quite foreign to me, I admit that I have a harder time getting into these types of books, though I have read a few series with military characters.
• Another difference is with sports, especially at the college level. While people are generally fans of hockey, most of my peers are not that into sports in a general sense. Canadian football has different rules than American football, and since there are few professional basketball or baseball teams nation-wide, it feels like there is a little less interest in athletes, with the exception of hockey (and if you're based in Toronto, I suppose). Beyond professional sports, amateur sports don't seem to garner the same attendance that would take place in the U.S. It's actually amusing that among romance novel trends right now, there is a thing for sports romances, and in particular, hockey romances. Maybe there is interest after all!
  
• Geography is another major factor. With Canada only having ten provinces and three territories, it is a lot easier to envision what life could look like if we are only given a broad geographic description, such as the Maritimes or the Prairies or la belle province (Quebec). Regions are very distinct and people tend to have more of a regional or provincial identity. The US though—50 states! When books are set in lesser known states, it is extremely difficult to understand how life looks different for those in say, Ohio versus Missouri. California, New York, Texas, and the Southern states are distinct enough but Wisconsin versus Minnesota? I would have no clue.
• Race relations is also something that is slightly different in Canada. While there are marginalized people groups and there has no doubt been a lot of unspeakable things done to people of other races, Canada is working more on its relations with the Indigenous population as part of its Truth and Reconciliation efforts. Just as how much harm has been done to people from Black communities in the U.S., there has been a lot of harm done to Indigenous communities that Canadians are atoning for. This is by no means equating any actions or pitting one above the other (or minimizing the suffering of Black Canadians); it is simply that the Canadian context is not identical to the American one when it comes to racial reconciliation.
• This is a recent addition based on an Instagram exchange with Liwen Y. Ho: School grade levels are different where Canadians use cardinal numbers as opposed to ordinary numbers. For instance, a student will be in Grade 10 (as a proper noun) instead of being in the tenth grade. We also don't use the freshman/sophomore/junior/senior terminology that's more common down south. On a semi-related note, Canadian proms are known as grads, so while we're familiar with the vernacular term of prom, I don't think it has near the same emphasis here. With my friends, we all went to each other's grads at different high schools as the "plus-one" so that we could enjoy fancy food and have fun (no dating involved!).
  

The nice thing about reading American books is a broadening of understanding. I appreciate gaining new insights, learning new things about history, and stepping into the shoes of those different than me. My intent in putting this list together is to indicate that what we presume as normative for most others, may not be as much for those in different countries. I imagine that there are even more differences for those who live further abroad, like Australia or Europe, since our border sharing means that Canadians are still fairly influenced by Americans. At the end of the day, a good story is a good story, whether it takes place in a familiar context or completely different. Being transported to worlds unknown is certainly one of the beauties of reading.