Canadians Explain Canada to an American 

Years ago I went to a club in Florida during winter vacation as many Canadians do. The comedian was Canadian and he said "I can tell one short joke and know every Canadian in the room. The world will end at noon tomorrow. 12:30 in Newfoundland". All the Canadians laughed, the Americans had no idea why. Ask your sister or any Canadian to explain it to you.

Your nephew speaking Cree is heartwarming to me as a native person. 👍👍

Canadian living in NYC here...I'm constantly "outted" as being Canadian when I say "sorry" Canadians say it like "soar-eee", Americans say it like "sari" (which, is a garment worn by Indian women) so I think Canadians have it correct! 🙂

A beanie to Canadians is a brimless felt hat, often with a propeller on top. it used to be popular with nerds.

Just visited Canada last week on my road trip in PNW. Having lived in the US for almost 2 decades, I thought Canada would be very similar. But to my surprise, it felt very different from the moment we crossed the border. My wife and I were looking for all the small differences and it was so much fun. I’ll definitely return again and explore the beautiful country more.

I have now seen only two of your videos, and I'm hooked. I hit 'subscribe' pretty fast.😂 Just so you know, Tim Horton's (with apostrophe) was a REALLY fantastic chain up until about 2010. In 2014 it was bought out by the same Brazilian-based holding company that owns Burger King, and it has gone downhill ever since; it WAS a CANADIAN bakery with a HUGE glass case full of all kinds of donuts, long johns, apple fritters , muffins, pastries and 40 types of TIM BITS, all made on site fresh (my friend's husband was a baker for Tim's in the 90s and early 2000s.... was at work by 04:00) and it offered excellent coffee, tea and really good sandwiches of various types, all made fresh in front if you. When they took it over they changed everything- they even threatened to get rid of Tim Bits (the nerve!!), until people took to the streets and protested- including getting rid of the apostrophe, and it is now more or less a tacky 2nd rate Ammerican-style fast food joint that is so far from the original it is barely recognizable. They got rid of everything that made it truly good. They even did a dumb thing and changed the coffee! (Not that I care- I drink tea. But still.) More on that, below. Time was, if you went to Timmy's chances are there was a line up out the door. Now, that may only happen in the drive through in the a.m., and it won't be that long in most places. My kids used to love Tim Horton's but now, as young adults 19, 22, 24 they and their friends think it generally sucks, which is the demographic that Tim Hortons (no apostrophe) should not want to lose. About the coffee- My eldest daughter worked for McDonald's Canada for a few years. When the take over of Timmy's happened, the new management got into a kerfuffle with the coffee supplier, and the end result was they dropped the coffee contract. So who snatched it up? If you guessed McDonald's Canada, you win a gold star. So: if you want the coffee that made Tim Horton's famous, you can still get it, but not at Tim Hortons- you have to go to McDonald's. Talk about a twist ending, eh?

A folder just has pockets inside, a duotang has the three little metal clips to secure looseleaf paper.

Thank you for introducing your family to us! :)

It's nice to see you drove up the Frazer Canyon instead of the Coquihalla Hwy.

I watched your video driving through BC to Alaska before watching this one, didn’t realize you had family in my hometown of Edmonton. At the time of watching your adventures in BC I wondered if you’d explore some part of Alberta. And here we are.. a video of you in Edmonton! I’m flabbergasted.

“Parkade” suddenly made sense to me. I’ve lived in Calgary all my life, so I’ve known the word “parkade” since I was a little kid. It just dawned on me, while listening to this, that “parkade” is just the words “park” and “arcade” smooshed together. The architectural definition of “arcade,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary website is: a long arched building or gallery. 2. a. : an arched covered passageway or avenue (as between shops). A “parkade” is basically an arcade for parking cars! I feel stupid for not figuring it out sooner.

As a 54 year old Canadian whyte dude, it was very good to know that the young person which you’re related to is learning a Cree prayer in school. ❤

As a kid in US I listened to shortwave radio including CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). At the top of the hour announcer listed headlines of stories to follow, then “But first the Hockey scores”.

Note: Edmonton may have a crime rate in the top half of Canadian cities, BUT is still very low when compared to major USA cities. Safety and health always rate far above any USA CITY. Having four distinct seasons of weather is part of the variety of living in Canada. Having PAID vacation time, PAID maternity leave, PAID holidays, and Worker's supported if injured, plus all children have EQUAL access to Doctors, Hospital time, testing, medical services without anyone going to the front of the line. Most do not realize the structure in Canada for Policing, Prosecution, Judges, and victim services, whom are NOT ELECTED or chosen through "who spends more" on a campaign. Universal services like basic water or utilities are not run as a "WALL STREET" corporate greed in Canada. Lots of BETTER is Canada when one looks everywhere in society.

I really was touched by this sweet vid.

You’re such a lovely soul!! ☮️💕

Great video, thank you for visiting our wonderful country up here in Canada, I hope you had a wonderful time and everybody treated you well..!! 😀👍 take care

This was so positive and uplifting -- made my day. 🙂 DH went to grad school in Edmonton years ago, and his experience motivated me to explore and learn more about our nice neighbors to the north.

Very cool thank you for sharing 👍🏻🙏

Don't forget the maple syrup, we Canadians have it running through our veins 😅 If you have the chance to visit Ontario or Quebec during winter be sure to try the maple snow taffy, yes taffy, not toffee, pure maple syrup drizzled on top of snow and when its firm but still pliable it's rolled up on a popsicle stick, so good

This is really cool to see, I live south of Edmonton lol ❤hope you enjoyed your time up here in Canadaland!

Look at you go gilr !! Awesome !! I live in Edmonton for past 40 years. Even after all those years, WEM, is still a cool place to visit. If any folks read this, please try to watch all the way through, because there is a certain number of hours needed before RU-vid monotizes the chanel. Always be kind, and help someone if you can. Cheers to all.

hello, from Winnipeg here. It's so nice to see you enjoying Canada, I hope you had great moments touring around! hehe

Great job. Welcome to Canada.

I love this video the best so far! I'm from Edmonton so this one hit close to home ❤ I live down the street from West Edmonton Mall. One thing I'd like to point out is that the Indigenous peoples of Canada are quite diverse, Cree people are only one kind: there are Blackfoot, Saulteaux, Algonquin, Blood etc plus there are the Metis' and the Inuit too. You and your family made a really sweet video, I really enjoyed it. Thank you! Oh I'd like to share a little experience I had, regarding comparing Canadians to Americans and how nice we are: in 2021 I drove from Edmonton to southern Ontario, I stayed on the Canadian side during the trip until I reached Sault Ste. Marie. I was supposed to pick something up, from a hotel, left for me by a friend. When I went through customs, I immediately noticed the difference in demeanor of the officers working there. Canadians, anybody - it doesn't matter who they are - police, nurses, store clerks, restaurant servers - will greet people with a smile! Like 99% of the time. The customs officers were stony faced and extremely serious and definitely without a smile. That caught me off guard, I was not used to that and I immediately knew why people say Canadians are so nice, it's because we greet people with a smile. I've been to the US before when I was 15, I didn't really notice it then but I was a kid and the adults did all the talking and communicating. During that trip though, we drove through to California and then drove north east and re entered Canada via Detroit IL and Windsor Ontario. When I was in Las Vegas I met a young guy, a 16 yr old working in a restaurant and when he asked where I was from, he immediately had a hundred questions! He asked if we lived in igloos lol and if there were schools and stores.. I had a great conversation with him. Anyways, sorry about going off on a tangent but I really wanted to share my experiences with Canadians vs Americans. Again, I really enjoyed this video, I'm gonna keep on watching what comes out next and I'll for sure watch the previous videos!! I only discovered this channel tonight and have watched 4 vids including one Korean video. Very awesome, love it! ❤😊

What a lovely surprise seeing you film here in Edmonton! Glad you enjoyed your stay and visit with your lovely family! Safe travels!

I to am a subscriber and was born and grew up in Edmonton. Love that you spent time here and got to know more about this wonderful city. Have a wonderful week and look forward to the next one!!!

Thanks for making this video! I can't believe that no one got you a Nanaimo Bar!

Loved everyone you talked to

Very cool video, my home town! I love seeing your perspective of the place I live and grew up! Keep up the awesome videos!

Great to see you had a good time in Canada eh!

WOW. 2K followers! You are rockin it girl! Way to go! You should come to Canada more often!

I really enjoy your intelligence and witt. Loved your in-depth local interviews. So entertaining and informative. Didn't know about Drumheller in Alberta. Looks like Utah... sort of. Props to Mac... oh, wise one.

I just stumbled upon your channel randomly, I really like your editing and you're a lovely personality. Just thought I'd let you know, keep it up!

I just subscribed! This is the second video I have watched, both tonight, I really like seeing Americans who want to learn about Canada. 💌

Really enjoyed this, am a annual tracker of the Alcan Hwy. Peace.

Keep it going Lidia, I think your channel has the potential to grow exponentially!

I cant FREAKING believe you were in my hometown. I just stumbled on your channel today! Watched your whole playlist! I have been to texas a couple times and its a great place to visit!! Tambien soy Latino et je parle francais. I was so impressed with your french as well!!!

Virginian here and love this video. Love Canadians and wish I knew more about them. They are definitely on my bucket list. Big hockey fan so the history and connection with them is deep. Great people!

I totally agree that our biggest problem is the shrinking middle-class. This was an interesting video. I just watched your video on driving to Alaska so this was a good follow-up. It's fascinating to see an outsider's impression of our country. It's always good to get out of your own head and see things from a new perspective.

Love My Home Province! It's Beautiful ❤ Now Live In Bc. Thank You For Sharing. Just Watched The Alaska Trip 🤘

Hi Lidia awesome ❤❤love this video ❤❤❤you sure inspiring me thanks.. keep up your amazing smile vido❤❤❤ welcome to Edmonton Alberta I live here.

Thank you. Made my day.

So impressed with your videos Definitely getting the travel fever bug ! Had to subscribe

Nice video! You have a gift on camera. Thanks for posting

Beautiful Cree Prayer and pronunciation , hiy hiy. Thank you for your videos fr Treaty 6 Territory in Saskatchewan

That was fun. So happy that you tried original poutine. I used to eat it every day one fall at university in Montreal (college).

Lidia, I started watching your travels and found you in my hometown! You are so respectful and have a beautiful personality. Hope you can come back soon! Stay safe

Welcome to Alberta! I live here, near West Edmonton Mall. I'm following your travels and enjoying your videos.

You are just so beautiful ❤ I love watching your videos and hearing you explain stuff 🌹🌹🌹

You're delightful

You had me on your adventure through the Alaska Highway watched you go through Dawson Creek briefly it was nice to see the place I lived early on in my life. To hear you’re family member speak Cree was a blessing I would have responded under your ‘biggest issue’ residential schools in Canada it’s one of the countries darkest secrets

Thank you for the acknowledgement to the Native Peoples of Canada. Cheers from Manitoba from a proud Native Canadian ,eh 😅

First time seeing two of your videos. Glad to hear you got to visit your sister. You got to have ketchup chips. Visiting Alberta we have a connection to Texas. We both have an oil industry and we both have a cattle industry.

Awesome channel!

Another great video! From a Canadian eh!

Toronto here ... Glad you are visiting our country. Lovely family you have...try and get together more often. It is so important. Enjoy every minute 😘

I really enjoyed your video, so I watched more of them - you’re so funny and truly enjoyable to watch and share. I’d love to see you come to the Canadian Prairies, I live in Manitoba, you’d learn a lot about history and culture here! Come to Winnipeg, I’ll show you around!

It was nice to see the shout out to Swiss Donair, it's down the street from my house :) Best donairs in the city

I'm glad you enjoyed my hometown. Don't pay too much attention to the stereotypes. They mostly aren't true. Something like 1 in 4 Canadians were born outside Canada, so fewer and fewer people every year talk or act like that. Except maybe saying sorry for every reason under the sun. That seems to catch on really well, even with new immigrants.

West Ed Mall is actually the biggest mall in the world. At least it was. Maybe one in China bigger. Been there many times. Always fun!

I'm Canadian but lived many many years in the U.S. and I have to say, when I came back to Canada I totally heard "oout" and "aboot." Canadians may never be able to hear it unless you leave for a very long time. So it isn't that Americans are trying to insult or make fun of the Canadian pronunciation, it just sounds that way to American ears. I wouldn't say I heard it all the time, but it would sometimes jump out at me like wow, I totally heard the aboot right there.

Great video

That’s amazing you made it to Edmonton!! I live an hour and a half away!! So cool, love West Ed and Tim’s! ☕️ PS I was one of the people who commented on loving Lays ketchup chips lol my wife just bought me a bag today 😅

Lidia, I have been reading through all the comments and suggestions. Please add Canada as one of the countries you do with Luna and Worldschoolers! There is so much more to learn about Canada!

great video, in Canada slang changes a lot from region to region, what you might hear on the west coast it could be totally different on the east coast.

"Alberta is like the Texas of Canada." Yeah. No kidding. I grew up in southern Alberta and it is dry and flat for the most part. Cactus and plains until you hit either past Edmonton or west to Banff. Though some exceptions like the city of Medicine Hat where I grew up is beautiful. Lots of ravines and trees that the city was built on with the South Saskatchewan River flowing through it.

Hi Lidia, interesting video. We have Smarties and Kinder Surprise also here in Australia. Never heard of a Double Double before. Keeping in mind, we have some words that can actually change between states of Australia. "Z' is pronounced "Zed" and "Sorry" is pronounced "So-ri' here. Anyway, take care. Rob in Melbourne Australia.

I'm a french Canadian and I have never learned any of the native languages. Have to congratulate your nephew at least trying to learn Cree. This should be the next big step in Canada for reconciliation. I'm not woke by the way. I just think that learning other languages just makes you understand other cultures.

Great video! This Canadian approves!

A parkade? Lol. No. Parking garage is right. Haha. Great vid. Subscribing now. Watching from Ontario Canada 🎉

As a Canadian this was very entertaining 😆

That's because you live in the bubble called Edmonton. Out and aboot is East Coast - NFLD in particular

BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland

another great video thank you so much you are so likeable is that a word in Canada or the states LOL

You should do a cross country tour of the country! Your extended family in Alberta is awesome.

Great video - WEM is actually the biggest mall in North America, and until about 15 years ago, was the biggest mall in the world. The best Ketchup chips are Ketchup Doritos, but Lays didn't release them this year. 😢

Thanks for the little outlook from an American nice the westerners are great people to be around😊😊😊

Welcome to Edmonton!

A friend of mine in Wales🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 actually said it best that, in regards to military might and overall mentality, it could be said that the U.S.🇺🇸 is the son closest to the father🇬🇧. Canada🇨🇦 is the well-behaved first born but Uncle Sam is the rebellious son more like the father in his prime (which the father hates to admit😂).

Omg Hawkins Cheezies!! The way the cheese cakes on ur fingers..mmmmmm

Ive only been to Ontario and Quebec but i loved them, want to do the western part at some point

How nice to see Mac's concern for our First Nations People.

You covered the Cree which is apart of my culture I am Metis And Like Zed Or Zee You have a American version of my Acadian French side And Cree Of my family.......Cajuns Are Acadians that left Canada Hundreds of years ago They now have there own Culture and music And foods

Just to let you know, Western Canada is a frontier to the wilderness - and these folks are frontier people. Everywhere in Canada outside of Windsor - Quebec City corridor is at the frontier. God bless.

You needed to put lots of black pepper on that pouting and fried onions in butter with sour cream on perogies is to die for.

M and M's were developed by one of the Mars brothers after he saw soldiers eating what are now called "Smarties."

I prefer Old Dutch, haha! (more ketchup dust) We never grew up with Lays. Great video!

I live in Edmonton and love it! How was your visit?

Awesome video. You need ed to come back again.

Those roads look very good compared to a very similar landscape in Patagonia...

Used to live in Edmonton from 93’ - 2000. I did miss the peacefulness and the quality of air back then. And also Tim Hortons donut 😁

Nice video. I am taking my vacation in Canada in October. Driving from my home in Washington DC to Saint John's Newfoundland. Hope they have that dish you mentioned (Poulier?) with the cheese curds, fries and gravy! Sounds great! Have to try Tim Hortons as well Looks like you have a nice family up there in Alberta!

Her late Majesty's favourite Realm.

Cheezies are made in my home town of Belleville Ont!

Toronto's nickname the 6 is after the origional area code 416.

Wah-chay Lidia I am Moose Cree James Bay Ontario. It is good to hear that young one speak our language in the manner of prayer. Been enjoying your videos and wish you many more happy trails. Aah-koo-tah❤

The 6 refers to 416/647 area code in Toronto.

Keep it up, you and your videos are beautiful.

Up until about 1850, all the elite in the country were part native, a legacy of the fur traders who opened the place up. This has had a powerful, if subtle, effect on the nation's psyche, and explains a lot of the difference between us and the country to the south.