American Reacts to Words Canadians Say Differently (Part 2) 

In my experience, Canadians say “washroom” in a public place, or a “bathroom” in someone’s home.

One I think is funny is that Americans say "tuna fish" where we just say "tuna". We know it's a fish without specifying the fact

So if it's in a plastic tube it's a freezie or Mr. Freeze(brand name). If it's on a stick it's a popsicle even if it's not popsicle brand.

Workout a doubt, “feezies” is a ubiquitous term in Canada. So much so, that I was shocked to learn that it wasn’t that way in every English-speaking country. We would never call something a popsicle unless it came with a wooden stick in it.

I totally agree!! Saying “on accident “ sounds like something a toddler would say because he doesn’t know that it should be “BY ACCIDENT “

a lot of the canadian slang was very ontario specific, and not used through the rest of the country

I think most Canadians when talking about distance we use hours instead of Kilometres. Instead of saying its 210 km we would say its about 2 hours away.

I've never heard of a Canadian saying soda lol.. it is definitely pop

I’ve noticed on the home renovation shows in America that people there call a barbecue a “grill”. In Canada, it’s “barbecue” (it’s a noun and a verb) and the grill is actually just the rack that that you place the food on over the flames.

I have never, once, in my 50 years of growing up in Canada, consuming Canadian media, travelling all over the country... EVER... heard a bachelor (or stag) or bachelorette party called a 'Stag & Doe'.. or a 'Jack & Jill'. Maybe thats a very outdated term... or very localized to where that guy lives. I have friends from all over Canada, and I've never heard those terms mentioned once.

I would love to see a group from east coast to west coast describing different way they say things.

"Click" has come to mean kilometre but we've used "click" even before we changed to metric. Back when cars had analog or mechanical odometers you used to be able to hear a "click" when the number changed over. So you could count the clicks and know how far you had travelled.

Another case of being confused about why a room where you wash your hands would be called a washroom, but not questioning why a room without a bath is called a bathroom.

With electricity, MOST of Canada calls it hydro because most of Canada used water to generate electricity. In Alberta, we don't call it hydro because we don't have enough powerful waters to produce hydro electricity. We unfortunately do rely on fossil fuels to generate our power

When I was growing up, a serviette was the paper disposable one and a napkin was the cloth reusable one. So, napkin was actually the fancier word to me.

I don't know about other parts of Canada, but in my area of Ontario, a stag and doe is a party the bride and groom put on to raise money to help pay for the actual wedding. Usually it involves different types of games, door prizes, etc. with some stuff being bought by the couple themselves or being donated by close friends and family. It's like a mini carnival or fair. People still go for their bachelor and bachelorette parties, but those are typically much closer to the wedding date.

The influence of US media over the last few decades has changed Canadian language. When I was a kid, "serviette", "chesterfield" (which I still use), were standard Canadian words. Now you rarely hear them. I'm also hearing a lot of young people using "zee" these days and it kind of pisses me off. 😉

The purpose of saying “eh” is not to turn a statement into a question, its purpose is to prompt a response from the person we’re speaking to.

Napkins are usually made of fabric and sit on your lap at an elegant dinner, where one might gracefully dab one’s mouth. Serviettes are paper napkins at everyday meals or, say, a BBQ… or for serving food, in lieu of a paper plate, e.g. under a doughnut at a business conference. Cocktails are often served upon serviettes, if they are served in glass/crystal/stemware. Electricity is used when referring to the energy. Hydro refers to the utility, i.e. the electricity company, generating station, dam, service, bill, etc. Most of our power used to be hydroelectrically generated, so the utilities’ names were Ontario Hydro, Hydro Quebec, BC Hydro, etc.

I'm Canadian, and we don't usually call a serviette by serviette, but rather, often say napkin (though most would understand what a serviette is if you said that) and re: "hydro" many refer to their electricity bill, as their hydro bill or if there is a problem they'd say they have to call/notify "Hydro"(the Hydro company) but if the electricity goes out, we usually say the "power" is out or that there's a "power outage" not saying the "hydro" is out...I've never heard that in casual conversation...enjoying the videos though, they're fun!

If you order a "soda" here, you'll likely get club soda (carbonated water).

I use chesterfield as a more formal, structured piece of furniture, a sofa/couch as more relaxed, and a settee sits only two people. They are definitely different words in Canada with different meanings.

I was visiting a friend in Iowa years ago. Her mom set up a buffet lunch and we were all standing around the table filling our plates. There were people from all over the States, I was the lone Canadian. At one point I asked for someone to pass me a serviette. Everyone literally stopped and froze trying to figure out what I was asking for. A friend from Indiana, who had been to Canada, piped up "She means a napkin" ... Ohhhh!!!! ... They loved listenting to me with my odd words and strange pronunciations, with the odd French word thrown in for good measure.

Yes, a room to wash up before eating, for example. Every washroom has a sink to wash up, but not every washroom has a bath tub.

As a Canadian I love watching these and seeing others point of view of Canada

Interesting! I live in southern Ontario and in this area, we use the term “clicks” mostly to refer to speed rather than distance (I was doing 80 clicks down the highway). We have a tendency to describe distance in time rather than kilometres or miles …. Such as “it’s about 2 hours south”. And yes, we use “napkin” more often than serviette.

As a French Canadian, I’ve learned mostly American slangs because we have access to a lot of American content, but I’m aware of some Canadian slangs, especially the Loonie, Twoonie and Zed. But my English tend to be a mix and match of what I’ve heard throughout my life. As long as I can get my point across, it’s fine. 😅

We do still have bachelor/bachelorette parties. The Stag and Doe is a separate ordeal. Cuz we like to be extra😅

Chesterfield is a term that's fading. I can remember my grandparents using it in the 70s and 80s..not heard much today

Canadian here! a stag and doe . Is not the same thing 15:49 15:49 as a Bachelorette and bachelor party . Canada has both but they can't be compared. A stag and doe like the guy said is for friends and family and usually includes a nice dinner to celebrate getting married but its also really common to bring gifts and money to help the couple with a new home and or the wedding itself . And our Bachelorette/bachelor parties are the same as yours. Just with friends usually the night before the wedding

PS: in UK they say serviette for the paper ones, and napkin for the cloth ones (from the word nappage, which means table linens, plus the suffix -kin which denotes small).

I've lived in Canada all my life. I love your videos because you seem genuinely interested in learning about us. And I've even learned somethings from your videos too. I enjoy your sense of humor too.

In Manitoba it is common to hold a “ social “ for the couple who are getting married. Friends and family get a hall. Sometimes local businesses donate items for a silent auction. A dee jay is hired. People buy tickets to attend the social and buy tickets to purchase liquor. It’s an evening of dancing and fun. The money raised is given to the couple to put towards their honeymoon or wedding expenses etc.

Out here on Vancouver Island, I always hear “fire hall”. Fire station is not something I recall ever hearing out here.

We use “hydro” as a synonym for electricity because a lot of our electricity is derived from hydroelectric dams, especially in Quebec and Ontario.

In Canada bachelor or bachelorette parties are common and the tradition is that the bride goes with her female friends and the groom goes out with his friends. Similar to the US, although sometimes the male one called a stag. The Stag and Doe phenomenon is more modern, and more common in smaller towns or rural areas. It is not uncommon for these types of parties to be used as fundraisers for the bride and groom to help them pay for the wedding.

In Quebec, we call "soda" a soft drink.

In Canada we used to say runners or tennis shoes in the 70s or early 80s, but by the mid 80s, they became 'runners' because having specific shoes for running became a thing, it wasn't before. Short for kilometres we often say "Ks". "I ran 5ks, today." "Yesterday, I ran 10k." So, you can put the 's' or not. 'Klicks' is getting more rare.

Maritime Canadian... we call them sneakers. Chesterfield is very old school. It's a couch. Love the loonies and toonies! Pop! Never soda! We also measure distance in "time"... how long it takes us to get somewhere. Clicks is more the older generation/seniors... the younger ones don't. Eh isn't used all the time, but is common. Canadians don't say "aboot". I have never heard that we say that until we were in the US and they were trying to get us to say "aboot". We say it "about". Smarties in Canada are chocolate candies with a hard shell, similar to M&M's but flatter and taste much better. What the US call Smarties, we call Rockets. Whole milk in the Maritimes. We also often buy milk in bags, cartons or sometimes 2L jugs. Washrooms are in public places. Bathrooms in homes where you can shower or bath, although when visiting someone you use washroom as a more polite term. Hydro or power. Power poles in the Maritimes. We call it power in the Maritimes... Serviette is old school. We call them napkins.

Tyler, you will love this. We have victoria day as our long weekend in may-usually the 3rd weekend. People refer to it as the may 2-4 weekend

Back in the 70s, Readers Digest offered my parents in Canada a free dictionary with a subscription. They had to choose if they wanted an American dictionary or a British dictionary - but neither really fit our circumstance. My dad was do glad when a Canadian dictionary was published a number of years later. It includes definitions such as "looney" also meaning "a dollar coin."

if your carbonated beverage happens to contain alcohol it is sometimes referred to as "wobbly pop" because of the effects of excess consumption on your gait.

To me, most of the term that the Canadian from Ontario is saying is completely foreign, but I presume that's because I live in Québec and what I hear from the English language comes from either tourist and from what we watch (or video game we play) that isn't dubbed in Quebecer French. So when we speak in English we usually have more similar words to the US English than the English Canadian one.

I just want to say as a Canadian I am really enjoying your podcast and the interest that you show in our amazing country. I do hope you make the time one day to come and visit and see all it's wonder and glory in person. Eh😅

Rural distances are expressed in miles in Canada because our prairie regions were divided up into 1 square mile sections as part of the settling of the western provinces. Hilariously, rural Canadians use "buck" as a slang for a speed of 100km/hour, eg. I was flying down the highway at a buck-30 (driving at 130km/hour)

I'm 70 year old Canadian used all those words over the years and many more i find Canadians love to play with words and sayings from all over the world comprendo

You can’t underestimate the impact of US television and movies on Canadian vocabulary. As well, a lot of uses are generational. I’m in my 50s and almost always use chesterfield and definitely serviette.

Some of his Canadian terms seem regional. One thing that wasn't covered on the Niagara Falls video you did was how the hydroelectric power generated at the falls was a major source of power for the province, so that's where the company name Ontario Hydro probably came from. There are generating plants on both sides of the border, which even after nuclear power supply one quarter of electricity to Ontario and New York. A couple of other terms : soft drinks, washrooms for a public facility and bathroom in a house.

Tyler, man you do a good job. I've seen reaction videos of all kinds. You are talented.

in my experience, washroom, bathroom, and restroom are all fully interchangeable in Canada, occasionally "the toilet" "washroom" is used because that's where you wash up before a meal

Im a frenchie from quebec, near the montreal area and here is how we mostly say things 1- Z as Zee in english, Zed in french 2- Running shoes, or just shoes 3- couch in english, divan in french 4- we just call it 'a dollar' 5- we mostly just call them by the brand name, a sprite, a pepsi, a coke... 6- kilometer (km) 7- bachelor party 8- in english a smokez in french a clop 9- we use popsickle if it has a wooden stick, otherwise we call them mr.freeze 10- mostly toilet 11- we say electricity or hydro (but hydro mostly because our electricity comes from Hydro-Quebec) and the big metal post we call them pylon. 12- napkin

My experience in BC 🇨🇦 is that stag parties are held by the groomsmen a few days before the wedding. A party such as the Canadian mentioned might be held for close family & friends a few weeks earlier, chiefly to tweak arrangements & invites. When I was at uni in Montréal, the groom's party was called Enterrement (de vie de garçon), which means the Burial (of the life of the boy)😂

Hey Tyler. When it comes to parties before a wedding I think it might be slightly different as to the region of Canada you are from. I’ve heard of Stag and Doe parties but I feel those are an Eastern Canada or maybe a prairie thing. In BC where I’m from we have a Stag for the guys or a Stagette for the ladies usually a week before the big day where you and your friends head out for a night on the town.

As a full English speaking Canadian we do have our own local words and slang's, but a lot of it gets over written since we are raised surrounded by American influence every where. they come in all forms from movies to ,tv shows, games, art, books, music, radio, school (makes it difficult in English class for spelling test when we have to use common words like colour-color), news (I know more about whats going on in the US than in Canada lol) and most or our products. For a lot of the American longer/multi words we just tend to shorten them because being nice all the time takes a lot of energy, so we tend to take shortcuts to save a bit of energy (my opinion :p ).

in general, in canada, we also use the term 'soft drinks' for soda. my mom had to explain to me that this is opposed to 'hard drinks' such as alcohol.

Growing up in the 70s and the 80s, we used to have the “pop shop”, and happy pop brands of soda, they were popular in western canada…

You're right about clicks being a military term in America. For Canadians, it was the quickest easiest way to shorten kilometre, possibly influenced some by military people using it in the 70's when Canada changed over to the metric system. Kilometre is such a mouthful it's easier ( and more fun) to say clicks. The reason a lot of our words "sound fancy" is because we are using Englishized French words. If you look up the etymology of serviette you'll find it's from Old French, meaning to serve. Canadian English has been largely influence by our Quebec brothers and sisters.

Some of the 'Canadianisms' reported are more regionally based in Ontario. For example, 'hydro' in Ontario is often called 'power' in other parts of Canada. Others such as 'Loonie' and 'pop' are Canada-wide.

I'm Albertan and we use "smokes" synonymously with cigarettes; in fact, most convenience stores will advertise them that way. We use "stag/doe" parties the same as the US bachelor/Bachelorette and the get together with family is called an "Engagement Party". In Alberta we also use "serviette" for anything that fits in your hand and a "napkin" for anything that fits on your lap. So, for example, at a bar, the thing they place under your drink is oftentimes a "serviette". We do have Slang specific to each province; where I'm from, we tend to use words like "head'r" which means to leave. A slang commonly used for underwear in my province is also "gonch/gintch". A "double double" means coffee with 2 creams and 2 sugars. We often refer to the RCMP as "Mounties". A case of 24 beers is called a "two-four" or "two-fer" for short. And a "mickey" is a small container of liquor. "Beauty" is also a common word around here used to appreciate something nice looking. "Sasquatch" is what the US calls Bigfoot. We often refer to Calgary as "Cow-Town" and Medicine Hat is always called "The Hat". Winnipeg, MB is referred to as "The Peg" and Vancouver is sometimes referenced as "North Hollywood". We also call dessert squares "dainties" and jelly filled donuts "jam busters". Depending on where in Alberta you come from, we also use "takitish" which means "take it easy". Hope that adds to your Canadian vocabulary studies!👍🏻

In rural areas of Canada we use miles because farmers fields are separated in 1 square mile sections

You had me laughing all the way through, especially when you said we use fancy words. You are such a charming host.

Western Canadian here. I use napkins, go to the bathroom, electricity and it's a Stag and Stagette. 😂

In Manitoba we have a Social before a wedding. It is open to everyone with attendance that can number a few hundred; whatever the venue can hold. Tickets are sold and there is music for dancing. Items are raffled off to raise money for the couple. One big party and often you don’t know the couple very well. We also have Stag Parties for the guys and Batchlorette Parties for the girls. We like to party on the prairies.

We used to use miles (remember the Terry Fox video you did... It was old enough that we were still using miles). Now that we are metric (partially, anyway, because we use a mixed, hybrid system!), it's Kilometres, pronounced in two different ways; "kill-Om-eters" or "Kill-o-me-ters", but klics, klicks, clicks, etc are used. And we even use "time" to discribe distance (for example, if you live in Montréal, it's about 3 hours to Québec!). Cheers from 🇨🇦.

and for the kilometers, clicks would be more for the speed limit, like 90 clicks, and for cigarettes, for sure 'smokes' as in "can I bum a smoke?" which is a phrase in itself worth dissecting.

Hey Tyler. A stag and doe, or a buck and doe party is usually a fund raiser for the couple to help take the sting out of the cost of the wedding. Traditionally there are games which you pay money to play and the house ( the couple) takes a percentage. Usually casino games; poker, black jack, roulette, crown and anchor table, darts etc. Also there is a cash bar where the couple takes all the profit. In Canada we dont usually do the bachelor or the bachelorette party.

In Canada, when we had both the Canadian paper one dollar bill and one dollar coin, we generally referred to them as a dollar bill (paper dollar) or silver dollar (coin), respectively.

I never heard "runners" being used. I live in Southwestern Ontario and I always just hear "running shoes".

Some areas of Canada will call a soda a "soft drink".

We say bathroom in Canada too, again, washroom is probably used more in upper Canada

Reason why UK uses Loo. Despite being a very British word for toilet, 'loo' is actually derived from the French phrase 'guardez l'eau', which means 'watch out for the water' Bathroom was originally meant for exactly that, Bathing, same with Washroom was meant just for a place to wash up, or clean up dishes and utensils

The guy is not saying the most typical things we say, he is using the more obscure references.

In the area of Canada where I live, which I am proud to say is Saskatchewan, we have our own special rules WITHIN the Canadian English. So, chesterfield is generally used by older residents and the rural country-people while sofa and couch are used by the rest. We do use the term buck as often as we do loonie or toonie. We actually call pop soft drinks here, combining all the drinks that companies like Pepsi or Coca-Cola produce. We call hydro or electricity simply POWER. Like, "The power 's out", or "There's a power pole on the side of the road". We do use napkin intermittently with serviette, but usually serviette are exclusively for paper and napkins apply to all types. Other than that, the other phrases mentioned here do apply to Saskatchewan. Plus, we call hoodies "Bunnyhugs". If you come to Saskatchewan, this is your essential dictionary!

For the pre-wedding party, in northern Ontario we call it a shag (SHower + stAG) and it is usually held as a celebration and a money raising event, at a hall (like a legion etc.) to help pay for the wedding. There are usually 50/50 draws with prizes. They sell tickets to it, and the attendees do not need to know the couple at all. Brits would find this term very funny.

Hey Tyler! As a born and raised Canadian I can say there are a lot of the terms here that when they said the "Canadian" vs "American" slangs for we often use both interchangeably like when you asked if we only say "pop." We actually just use both terms. Which one we use depends on who you're talking with and where you are.

What bother me the most is that a lot of schools get educational material from the US. The words are all spelled wrong. When my kids were doing spelling tests, if they were using US material and the teacher lazy, they would often mark Canadian spelling wrong because it did not match the answer sheet that accompanied the work sheet. I got a rather huge wake up when I went to university as they would mark papers wrong if they had American spelling. This is totally acceptable as we are not American, but it is very confusing for Canadians as so meny can not spell Canadian anymore.

Tyler, having a different word for an object (pylon versus traffic cone) is not the same thing as saying a word differently. But as far as having different words for the same thing, you could do an entire video on Canadians having different words from other Canadians, lol!

As a canadians I sometimes say fizzy drinks, I really don't have a name for any soda pop, I usually just call them by their names, like, Ginger ale, sprite

We as Canadians absolutely use the word pop 100% of the time. Stag and Does are actually used more in rural areas. And it’s to raise money for the couple getting married. We also have Bachelors and Bachelorette’s. We say bathroom too but most of the time it is washroom. And in all public places it says washroom. We might say 1K or 2K. I have never used the word clicks for distance. We say napkins for lunch or eating at fast food restaurants. But for dinner at home with the family on Sundays or fine dining restaurants we would absolutely say serviette. It’s French. And yes, we say Hydro for everything. The 2 4 comes from May 2 4 weekend (Queen Victoria Day weekend). People like to get out of the city and go to the cottage and drink beer (a 2 4).

The fact that this gentleman is older, makes his responses generational. For example, my granddaughter would never say homo milk, Hydro or serviette. She says sneakers more than runners, always says Zee instead of Zed and says fire station not hall. She uses bathroom and washroom interchangeably. Klicks became obsolete almost instantly. Everyone says K as in “I ran a 5K race.” Different regions of Canada, have different terms and customs regarding stag and doe. For example, we still use bachelor and bachelorette parties which are all one gender or female. The shag and doe , called shag locally, is a huge fundraising dance with prizes. Tickets are sold to family, friends, and complete strangers. There are 50/50 draws and raffles with huge prizes like BBQs.

In Canada a popsicle is on a stick. It's also a name brand.

Stag and Doe parties are separate from a Bachelor or Bachelorette party which we (Canadians) will also do, Stag and Doe Parties are usually used to raise money through party games for the wedding, and not all couples do it.

Interesting they had the spelling for km backwards on this video, the UK and Canada spells it "metre" while America spells it "meter". However, the device "meter" is spelt the same regardless of region.

Another way of referring to the bathroom: the "Privy" or "Biffie" (from old usage having to do with the outhouse). Still heard in Northwestern Ontario on occasion.

I’ve never heard a Canadian call it a parking garage. Out here in British Continue, “parkade” seems to be the only term in use. And I’m told that term is starting to catch on in Washington State now. Definitely a term of Canadian origin, as it started from the original lather The Bay stores.

Canadian here 👋🏽🍁 A Bachelor/Bachelorette is NOT the same as Stag and Doe/ Jack and Jill. The latter is more like an engagement party/ backyard BBQ for the engaged couple. The purpose is to raise money to give to the couple for the wedding. There are games and raffles and big prizes such as a wheelbarrow full of alcohol, tickets to a sporting event, spa package, or smaller things like gift baskets. It can be held months before the wedding. A Bach is where you go out and get hammered and party with ur close friends 😛🍹🎉

Fun story: On youtube, An american argued with me saying that the way we pronounce foyer was pretentious. Because we don't say it the american way. I had to tell the poor girl that most of the world says it how Canadians do. She and her friends doubled down and told me, You can't say it with the french pronouciation then you would pronounce all other words the french way and they then proceeded to give examples. They simply didn't believe me that most countries in the world pronounce it how canadians pronounce it.

I say a lot of the "Canadian" words, but I have noticed American language coming into Canada.

Debit/credit machines are everwhere in Canada. Even independent tiny business oeople have small portable versions of them.

This ones more subtle but WHEN DISCUSSING SCHOOL. USA- FIRST GRADE, 2ND GRADE , 3RD GRADE CANADA- GRADE 1, GRADE 2, GRADE 3 AUSTRALIA- YEAR 1 , YEAR 2, YEAR 3 and than in HS in the usa they do the whole. Freshman, sophmore, junior , senior. NO one really ever uses those terms in canada. We just keep saying the grade right up to grade 12

I’m part Irish, part English, and the rest Canadian…so I’m familiar with Canadian and English words.

Canadians very rarely ever say serviettes, we say napkins...

The thing about Canadians, as pointed out by the Canadian, is that we grow up learning American English on TV, Canadian English in school and Canadian slang from our friends and family. But you'll notice that for every word Canada shares with the US there's a Canadian equivalent. We use them interchangeably. Sometimes for added context, sometimes for emphasis and sometimes because it's the first word that made it to our mouth. I think we're also more likely to use American English in public and Canadian English in less formal settings.

I’m a young man from Canada and we do not use imperial anymore, but my dad learned it in school

These are cool! Klick is also US military slang for km. The weird one for non-Canadians is the milk being sold in bags!

First, I'm just going to say I'm from the area surrounding Toronto and lived in Winnipeg for a while during my adult life. Our $1 and $2 coins are called the Loonies and Toonies but we also call them a buck and two bucks. We call kilometres, clicks, K's, and kilometres. The Stag & Doe (more of an Ontario thing) is a big party the couple put on to help raise money for the wedding. It could have some, none, or all of the following: games, an auction, 50/50 draws, gambling, selling drinks and shots tickets, and more. In Manitoba it is called a Social. A Social is big party to help raise money for the wedding as well, it is also put on by the couple but I found Socials are more focused on the party side of it. Both Ontario and Manitoba have Bachelor and Bachelorette closer to the wedding. I don't know how it works in other provinces and territories but I would assume they are similar some way. As far as the cigarettes go anyone who smokes calls them smokes. The deal with the parkade/parking garage. Older people use parade, younger people use paring garage. For the Fire Station, we call it all three but it could depend on if it's HQ or where it's located; Firehall, Fire Station, and Fire Department. The whole thing with the napkin or serviette just depends on where you are in the country and how you were raised because I've heard both and used both. Take all of this with a grain of sand because this is just my opinion but I have been around the sun a few times.

I'm born and raised Canadian. In reference to bachelor and bachelorette parties, the terms are very commonly used. I've occasionally heard the term hen party for bachelorettes. In terms of Stag and Doe (sometimes Buck and Doe) as well as Jack and Jill parties, I haven't heard of one in ages but the few I've attended were parties that anyone could attend, females and males, generally a couple of months prior to the wedding to help finance the event. You would likely pay for your drinks, possibly purchase raffle tickets for a prize, and whatever money making scheme works! So if you just wanted to go to a party and spend money and possibly win a prize, that's your venue. I personally give enough at the wedding! My thoughts, ... if you can't afford it, set your sights a little lower!

I would love to be a Canadian informant for Tyler for some of these videos cause I’m yelling at the tv saying “we say that as well” or wanting to explain some things.

Klicks or K was an abbreviation for kilometers that started being used in the late 60’s. A lot of time when discussing driving distances we use time.

I believe the terms clicks comes from old speedometers rolling over from a 10th to a full unit (clicking over to the next number). In rural areas miles are still often used as much of the road/lands is laid out in miles, example in southern Ontario east/west roads are 1 mile apart and north south roads are 2.5 miles apart. So if you go west two intersection then north 1 intersection you have traveled 2*2.5=5 miles west + 1 mile north for a total of 6 miles. most people can quickly tell you how many miles away something is just by counting up the intersections.